How to begin mentoring

In last month’s column, I discussed why mentoring is important. In this column, I will share some thoughts on how to get started as a mentor.

The first step is to verbalize what you are trying to accomplish. Setting goals helps determine the scope of relationship.

You also will need to set some ground rules for the mentor relationship – either explicit or implicit.

Additionally, there are a variety of housekeeping items, such as the frequency of contact, time requirement, method of contact, duration, confidentiality and, finally, a formal or informal exit strategy.

What Goes On?

If we could plant a bug in the room of one of Warren Buffet’s mentoring conversations with Bill Gates, or go back in time to when Steve Jobs was mentoring Mark Zuckerberg, what would we have heard? We would have heard what sounds like an everyday conversation between friends. We’d have to listen very closely to the conversation to hear something that would be quite remarkable.

Some of what we would “hear” wouldn’t even be in the words.

These individuals would have worked to create a supportive, safe space for both the mentor and the “student.” This is important for big shots who might be discussing billion-dollar transactions. It is equally important for everyday people as well.

Listen Well

As was pointed out in my previous column, listening is the key to mentoring. So there is a lot of listening going on. Discussions might include growth areas for the mentee and tentative plans for working on them, or they may be about some problematic interpersonal interactions.

A mentor might have insight into some of the players “in the field.” Everyone has both conscious and unconscious bias, and those are easy to see. But, which biases are “running the show” at any given time during a negotiation is one of the hardest things to see.

To Dos

A success like Buffett or Jobs has a strong relationship with reality. To design great products or make wise investments over decades requires that relationship. The mentor’s job is to build the muscle for identifying and dealing with reality. 

The mentor might make some assignments for their mentees, plus suggest books, podcasts, CDs or training classes. They might suggest that their student do volunteer work and/or take on leadership roles.

The other great use of mentors is brainstorming solutions for problems or helping to create plans for some project or program. The mentor also can be an asset for reviewing and providing feedback on reports, presentations, etc.

Just Ask

Every day, there are informal mentoring relationships being started. That is the easiest way to start mentoring. All you have to do is find a mentor and ask them to guide you along in your job and career.

Or, if you’d like to mentor someone, seek out a suitable candidate.

Discuss the idea of mentoring with your leadership team. In a large organization, there may be a mentoring program going on in another area, division or business unit.

Borrow their knowledge, resources, forms, policies and procedures to get your mentoring effort off the ground. This will lead to a more formal and customized program.

There are organizations dedicated to mentoring that can be of help. Just Google “mentoring” and add in any limits or parameters and see what you get.

Two helpful resource are:

- www.mentoring.org.

- www.mentoringtalent.com/corporate-mentoring-programs.asp.

Joel Levitt is director of projects for Reliabilityweb.com’s Reliability Leadership Institute. Reliabilityweb.com provides the latest reliability and uptime maintenance news and educational information. He remains president of Springfield Resources (www.maintenancetraining.com), a management consulting firm.