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Archive for Mentoring

Tips for Transitioning from Coworker to Leader

You’ve been working with the people on your team for three years, and now suddenly you’re their leader. Are you excited? Of course.  A promotion is a step in the right direction. And are you somewhat nervous? Absolutely. Moving from coworker to leader adds an extra level of stress to the challenge of any new position.  Here are some tips that will help make your transition smoother.

Meet with the team. The formal announcement of your promotion should come from HR or your manager. As soon as it does, however, schedule a meeting with the team to talk about the transition and allow some open discussion about concerns or issues. This will be your earliest opportunity to establish some authority and credibility as the leader, so be careful not to let this meeting turn into a gripe session. Focus on talking about your leadership style, what your expectations are of them, and what they can expect from you. This is also a good time to share with the team your 90-day plan and what your leader’s expectations are of you.

Pace yourself. As a team member, you probably noticed a lot of things you’d like to change, given the opportunity. Don’t make big changes too quickly. Based on input from the team, consider some quick successes you can achieve to help establish your credibility and team confidence.

Step back. You’ve probably established some personal relationships among the team. As their leader, you’ll need to step back a bit to avoid the appearance of favoritism. This will be especially important if there was someone else on the team who wanted your position and may harbor some resentment. If you know that someone else on the team wanted the position or was being considered for it, make an opportunity to have a private discussion with them to acknowledge their value to the team and enlist their support.

Get training. Take advantage of any leadership development opportunities offered. Leading people has many rewards, and also many challenges. You can’t be expected to instantly know how to handle all of them. Leadership training and networking with other leaders will strengthen your ability to deal with issues as they arise.

Consider an executive coach. A coach can help you hone the particular skills you will need in your new role. Having outside support and constructive feedback from someone can help you grow as a leader and learn effective approaches to leading and developing others.

Ask for feedback. Let your team know that you believe in two-way communication and are open to hearing their positive and constructive feedback. Creating an environment of honest, open communication is one of the best ways to succeed as a manager.

Consider getting a mentorship from a Senior Manager within the company whom you trust. A mentor can serve as a sounding board as you encounter new experiences and challenges.  They can give you suggestions on how to handle a given situation.  They may also be able to provide you with sound advice and even access to resources.

Contact me for more information on leadership development and coaching.   You can also read these articles for more information: Get the Best from Your Team – Be an Effective Coach, The Best Leaders Continue to Learn, Successful Leaders Listen More, Talk Less.

Enhancing Personal Growth Through Affinity Groups

AffinityGroups-5As I wrote in my last blog, mentoring programs provide myriad benefits to mentees, mentors and organizations. There’s a specific type of mentoring program I’d like to discuss this time – Affinity Groups.

A workplace affinity group is a group of employees with similar backgrounds, characteristics, or life experiences, such as: women, people of color, or Veterans.  The purpose of an affinity group is to provide diverse populations within an organization the opportunity to share ideas and experiences. Often these groups are under-represented in a particular career path and/or leadership. Matching experienced mentors with mentees within the affinity group can help break down barriers and enhance mentees’ personal growth. For example, matching a Veteran who’s been back in the workforce for several years with a Veteran who’s just re-entering it. Their shared experience accelerates rapport, and the mentor can provide insight that a non-Veteran might not be able to.

In the affinity group mentoring program I worked with, we created what we called “mentoring circles” for the groups that had fewer than 10 people. Two mentors met with the groups twice a month. We encouraged the groups to schedule group activities in addition to the meetings, and to broaden their knowledge and exposure to different parts of the company so they could identify potential opportunities. Participant feedback indicated that getting input from mentors in the same affinity was very helpful.

Whether you create a general mentoring program or one based on affinity groups, best practices for your mentors and mentees are the same. Both mentor and mentees should be reminded of basic relationship skills: open and honest communication, active listening, being accessible, building trust, sharing knowledge and ideas, and working together to resolve differences. Here are some additional tips.

Mentor success tips:

  • Handle the awe factor. Make the mentee feel comfortable. Share times when you’ve made mistakes. Be enthusiastic and patient. Invite feedback.
  • Set expectations. Share your availability, preferred ways of communicating, and what you expect from the mentee in order for them to get the most out of the partnership.
  • Help with specific goals and plans. Encourage the mentee to develop a personal vision. Help them think of concrete goals based on their vision and a plan of how they’ll reach those goals.
  • Give feedback. Provide the mentee with frequent feedback, both positive and constructive. Help them measure progress.

Mentee success tips:

  • Ask questions. Ask for what you need in terms of knowledge, advice, guidance and information.
  • Keep your commitments. Arrive at meetings on time and prepared. Complete your action items.
  • Build trust. Communicate open and honestly. Respect confidentiality. Demonstrate a willingness to learn. Follow up and follow through.
  • Make the experience count. Keep a mentoring journal. Capture and reflect upon what you’ve learned and how you will apply the learning.

Mentoring Programs Benefit Both Employees and Organizations

Mentoring-4One of the most frequent comments that comes up on employee surveys is that employees want more opportunities for growth and development.  And studies show that companies who provide those opportunities have more engaged employees, higher retention rates, and better business results.

Providing your employees with learning and development doesn’t have to involve costly training programs. It can be as simple and cost-effective as transferring knowledge through mentoring relationships.

A mentoring program involves matching a less experienced employee or manager (mentee) with a more experienced employee or manager (mentor) for guidance and development.  In most mentoring programs mentees do not report to their mentor, which often allows the mentee to be more candid about issues and concerns. Mentoring relationships provide development for the mentee and also benefit the mentor by helping them develop or enhance their leadership skills. Often the experience helps the mentor regain passion around his/her work and thus become more engaged and productive.

There are also myriad benefits to the organization. A mentoring program:

  • Shows employees that the company is willing to invest in its people
  • Conveys to the outside world that the company values its employees
  • Reduces turnover by increasing loyalty among employees (saving replacement costs)
  • Creates a more positive work environment
  • Helps mentors develop leadership skills
  • Provides growth opportunities for employees
  • Promotes a sense of cooperation and harmony within the organization

There are different schools of thought about the process for matching mentors and mentees. Some recommend that the pairings be allowed to evolve naturally. Others ask for volunteers to participate and then manually match mentors and mentees based on function and/or location. Others use software tools to do the match.

If you are thinking about developing a mentoring program, here are some tips to help it succeed:

  • Select mentors who are positive role models and enthusiastic about the program.
  • Establish clear expectations for the mentoring partnership, such as minimum number of meetings, length of partnership, who is responsible for initiating meetings and driving the relationship, etc.
  • Include at least one check-point to evaluate the relationship.
  • Encourage mentors and mentees to create specific goals for the partnership.
  • Orient mentors with best practices and guidelines around goal setting, giving feedback and basic relationship skills such as open communication, active listening, being accessible, building trust, sharing knowledge and ideas, and working together to resolve differences.
  • Develop a process for obtaining and incorporating feedback from both mentors and mentees about the program to ensure continuous improvement.

I had the privilege of starting a mentoring program for a large organization some years ago. We established it initially for 6 months, with a kick-off, mid-term event, and Mentor/Mentee luncheon with all participants at the end of the period. The program was very successful, and we were able to track the progress of participants. Several of the mentees received promotions.  Another mentee decided to go back to school to obtain an advanced degree. Another mentee decided to make a lateral transfer to a different position that would provide the experience he needed to achieve a promotion. The mentors also benefited from the program. They felt more engaged and motivated in their jobs. They were very proud of their mentees and the progress they saw. Several of the mentoring pairs continued their mentoring relationship beyond the end of the pilot.

If you need help initiating a mentoring program at your company, please feel free to contact me. In my next blog, I’ll talk about establishing affinity group mentoring programs and give you some success tips for mentors and mentees.

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