Mentoring Handbook
Collected by Pacific Crest from its Faculty Development Events
for August 18th Mentoring Workshop at University of Idaho
Table of Contents
Section 1: What is Mentoring
Definition and Language
Principles
Expectations of a Quality Mentor
Benefits of Mentoring: Mentee, Mentor, sponsoring agency
Skills important for a Mentor
Concept of Mentoring to produce self-growers
Section 2: Mentoring Process
Issues in Mentoring
Performance Criteria for the process
Mentoring Methodology
Contextual variations for process
Section 3: Designing a Mentoring System
Selection of a Mentor
Mentoring of the mentors
Designing a sub-system to assess mentor performance
Evaluating the success of specific mentoring relationships
Organizational structure/managing the structure
Section 4: Profile of quality mentors/mentees
Performance Criteria for a Mentor
Performance Criteria for a Mentee
Section 5: Improving performance of the mentoring process
Effective use of assessment
Challenging performance (constructive intervention techniques)
Effective communicating techniques
Needs analysis
Connecting/building rapport
Section 6: Assessing Mentoring Performance
Assessment instruments
Rubric for measuring mentor level of performance
Section 7: Common Issues – FAQ
Section 8: Additional Resources
Section 1: What is Mentoring
Section 1.1 Description of a Mentor
A mentor is open-minded and through active and respectful listening provides practical guidance on key issues defined by the mentee. The mentor establishes a very strong rapport and professional friendship by being able to relate and be empathetic. The mentor provides encouragement, motivates and challenges performance. A mentor is honest and confidential in giving reliable, realistic, and appropriate advice through innovative thought and strong problem solving. A mentor also sets high standards for performance and provides ongoing assessment that leads to growth academically and personally. Both mentor/mentee have performance criteria. A mentor seeks to be a self-grower and helps the mentee to become a self-grower also. Mentor focuses on professional development of both the mentee and mentor through a motivation to perform exceptionally. The mentor is a strong and well respected professional who is a quality role model. A mentor provides a strong prospective and is accessible professionally to share relevant experiences. The mentor is willing to take significant risks to support the right type of advocacy.
A mentor is…
a trusted advisor, a provider of wise counsel and advice (Oxford Dictionary)
a teacher, coach, advisor (Pacific Crest TI Handbook)
· a particular kind of relationship in which a person with identified abilities or competencies enables another human being to develop his/her own abilities and talents
· a close personal relationship, a process of working together to achieve agreed upon goals
· a mutual relationship, with mentors and mentees deriving satisfaction from their alliance
(Mentor 2000 – mentoring at-risk students, http://home1.gte.net/mntr2000/whatis.htm)
an adult who, along with parents, provides young people with support, counsel, friendship, reinforcement and constructive example; mentors are good listeners, people who care, people who want to help young people bring out strengths that are already there.
· a mentor is a guide, friend, listener, coach, responsive adult
· a mentor is not a savior, foster parent, therapist, cool peer
(National Mentoring Partnership, http://www.mentoring.org/index.html)
Section 1.2 Principles of Mentoring
1. Must believe in the potential of the mentee
2. Both parties must consistently show mutual respect and trust
3. Open, clear communication with active listening
4. Volunteered relationship
5. Counsel by prompting self-discovery
6. Advocate when requested
7. Commitment to do what is needed
8. Must have quality assessment integrated in the relationship.
9. Must be based on honest give and take.
10. Mentor must be respected in the ‘community’.
11. Relationship is based on very focused growth needs of mentee.
12. Relationship must offer growth opportunities for the mentor.
13. Relationship must have a natural agreed upon closure point
14. Awareness and acceptance of different viewpoints and value systems.
15. Mentor is expected to challenge mentees to reach their desired outcomes
16. Mentor and mentee are as conscious of the process as they are of the product.
Section 1.3 Goals of Mentoring in Higher Education
1. Making undergraduate research experiences an essential part of the mentoring process.
2. Promotes and emphasizes survival techniques for success in graduate school
3. Encourages proteges to improve their communication skills.
4. Encourages proteges to improve their communication
5. Good mentoring validates achievements and gives sound, constructive, and critical feedback.
6. Encourages research and active learning.
7. Emphasizes time on task.
8. Communicate high expectations
9. Identifies professional contacts and networking opportunities for proteges.
10. Respects diverse talents.
11. Encourages mentor-protégé contacts
12. Provides emotional support
13. Provides for both teaching and guidance to assist proteges in making their own decisions.
14. Challenges the protégé to become exposed to new skills and projects
15. Promotes open communication between the mentor and protégé.
16. Emphasizes goal attainment
17. Encourages accountability on behalf of the mentor and protégé
Encourages and promotes to the fullest extent, success
Section 1.4: Job Description of Mentor in Scholar’s Project and Faculty development Events
1. Provide expertise of personal experience of putting into practice aspects of the PE and active learning philosophy
2. Consulting on issues during breaks and meals and across the terms
3. Providing effective affect management on individuals who are struggling
4. Providing timely assessment either for your team or individuals within your team
5. Modeling of each of the roles in the process – captain, spokesperson, recorder, skeptic, optimist, reflector at specific points to improve their performance in these roles.
6. Provide insights about what is going on to increase their metacognition of what is going on
7. Build personal relationships that have likelihood of extending beyond across events
8. Facilitate an activity during the different events.
9. Provide your share on quality recording of the knowledge produced during the event
Section 2: Mentoring Process
Development of the methodology…
Step 1: Direction of Process (Includes starting point and ending point of the process)
Starting Point: Someone who is searching for something that they don’t understand how to obtain or get there.
Ending Point: When the person has clearly demonstrated that they have obtained what they were searching for and has achieved 100% ownership of being there.
Step 2: Top issues concerning quality mentoring
1. Effort of the mentor/mentee
2. Trust of the mentor/mentee
3. Openness of mentee/mentor
4. Ability to take risks – mentor & Mentee
5. Awareness of the need
6. Accessibility of both mentee/mentor
7. Tracking and measuring progress
8. Respect of each other
9. Developing a plan
10. Skills at accessing key resources
11. Shared of value system
12. Interest in mentee success
13. Clear statement of the goal
14. Doing quality construction intervention
15. Doing quality assessment of mentee
16. Challenging performance
17. Having the expertise
Step 3: Larger System or Context
The college environment – which includes the mentoring of both students and faculty.
Step 4: Set criteria for the process and outcomes
Process
· Reasonable amount of time to completion
· Level of energy reasonable for meeting goal
· The challenge perceived acheivable by the mentor is transferable to the mentee
· Mentee does not quit
· Mentor must provide key foundational skills and processes to support the development process
that produces the level of performance needed for success.
Product
· Mentee has ownership for their accomplishment and performance level
· Mentee has accomplish the goal they sought
· Mentee can continue personal development in that specific area of growth targeted
· Mentee is affectivity satisfied with the growth they have made and is documented.
· Mentee is willing to sever the relationship.
Step 5: Get an expert
Step 6: Formalize methodology
Mentoring Methodology
1. A need for mentoring is recognized by the mentee.
2. The mentee selects an appropriate mentor.
3. The mentor clarifies goals with the mentee.
4. The mentor and mentee put together a quality plan.
5. Both mentor and mentee make a commitment to follow through with the plan.
6. The mentor and mentee design an assessment plan.
7. The mentor and mentee implement the plan (including the assessment plan).
8. The mentor monitors the plan, appropriately providing support and challenge.
9. The mentee celebrates growth at key points.
10. The mentor and mentee celebrate final success.
11. The relationship between the mentor and mentee is ended.
Note: the essence of mentoring a person’s growth is to provide assessment feedback in real-time.
Step 7: Test the Methodology MATC – Learning to Learn Camp
1: A Learning Community of 12 students who have failed many times before at MATC. They will have 3 mentors each who will work with 4 students. These students are seeking help.
2: The mentors have volunteered because they want to learn how to mentor especially how to be successful with the students they have select to come.
3: The process of the camp in the 1st morning will have the students identify and start defining their life vision. This will include their career goals, their educational goals, their personal goals.
4: Creation of a Life Vision Plan – With detail specifications
5: The startup of the learning community is getting both the mentees and the mentor to make a shared commitment to the process of the Learning to Learn Camp and the follow through of the 1st year.
The Center for Coaching and Mentoring provides a more general methodology on their website. <http://coachingandmentoring.com/Mentor/learningflow.htm>
Section 3: Designing a Mentoring System
Section 3.1 Needs of the mentee
Incoming Freshmen
Build stronger self-confidence
Orientation to key resources
Advising
Clarifying their life vision
Following their dreams
Incoming Juniors
Mentees need to
· Focus on their major
· Demonstrate mastery of fundamentals
· Develop effective practices for collaboration
· Develop the ability to demonstrate competencies of realistic performances of the discipline
· Develop professional attitudes (ways of being) and behaviors
Graduating Seniors
Assessment and confidence of skills and interests
Improve ability to adapt (from academia to industry)
Open-ended problem solving skills
Identify and acquire career skills
Assessment of workplaces
Graduate Students
Access to resources
Critically review papers
Literature review
Develop proposals
Formulating thesis statement
Understanding real requirements
Comfortable with independence
How to be a mentor
Familiarity of culture in and out of university
Section 3.2: Selection of a Mentor
Considerations…
1. Mentor qualifications and competency
2. Temporary initial matching process
3. Have a session inviting mentors also to review the mentoring process
4. Assessment process to determine effectiveness of the current matches
5. Window of opportunity for a mentee to look for and choose a new mentor
6. Define the boundaries ot the permanent mentoring relationship
7. Availability to meet at least once per week during academic term
According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, the definition of a mentor is “1. a wise, loyal adviser 2. a teacher or coach.” This portfolio component suggests that you will find a mentor and work with that mentor to help you on your educational or personal journey. Teachers are obvious people to act as educational mentors. I had a three during my years as a Master’s candidate—one taught me how to write, another taught me to interpret literature passionately, and the third taught me to interpret literature dispassionately. I’m not even sure that these people would have known they were my mentors; I just saw them as such and used them for the knowledge they could give me. In other words, I spent a lot of time picking their brains—I stalked them intellectually. I also had a great deal of respect for them—one I even grew to love.
Parents, relatives, clergy, counselors, or older friends might make good personal mentors. I see a personal mentor as a person who would provide advice or different perspectives on the circumstances of your life. My dad is somewhat of a financial mentor for me. He is helping me to invest my money in the right way, and believe me he is much wiser than I am in financial matters. I think you could also have a spiritual mentor—a wiser person who would help you on a spiritual journey.
So how to choose a mentor? Perhaps by answering these questions you could decide on possible mentors, both educational and personal.
Questions to explore for a possible educational mentor:
1. Do you have a teacher at MATC that you feel you are learning a lot from? Do you enjoy his/her class and look forward to it every day? Do you enjoy the subject area they teach?
2. Do you have a relationship with any of your teachers? Do you spend time talking to the teacher after class or in his/her office? Have you shared any part of yourself with the teacher and vice versa?
3. Is there a teacher here at MATC who is in the field of the major you are planning to complete and you know that teacher might be able to teach you about the field?
4. Do you have a teacher whom you like and feel comfortable with and can talk to?
Perhaps one of these teachers might be a potential mentor if you spend some time talking with them about their area of expertise or if you take more of their classes.
Questions to explore for a possible personal mentor:
1. Do you have a person in your life whom you look up to and admire?
2. Is there a person you know who seems to have it all together—they are organized, happy, productive, emotionally stable, and intelligent?
3. Is there a person already in your life whom you naturally drift to for advice because you like their outlook on life?
4. Is there a person in your life who gets you to look at yourself honestly but, at the same time, does not make you feel bad about yourself?
Perhaps one of these people can become a personal mentor.
Now, from the list of teachers and lay people you have considered, can you pick out one teacher from the educational part and/or one person from the personal part? These people may be potential mentors.
Thoughts on establishing a mentor/mentee relationship:
To establish a mentor/mentee relationship, you might want to approach the person or people you have identified and share with them this assignment and why you think it is important. Then suggest that you would like to create a relationship with them in which you might seek knowledge, advice, or their perspective at times.