Career Development and Management for Women:Mentoring

A cooperative RIAM-SNV Rwanda-RAUW project funded by Canadian Cooperation

Dr Shirley Randell AM

SNV Rwanda

Objectives of the Workshop

• To further participants’ understanding of mentoring

• To canvas the benefits of mentoring to both mentors and mentees

• To share experiences of mentoring• To practice key mentoring skills• To gain commitment to participating in

the ‘Rwandan Career Management and Development for Women’ Program

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What is mentoring? (I)

• The original Mentor was the wise and trusted

friend of Odysseus the Greek god. Mentor was

trusted with the care, education and development

of Telemachus, Odysseus’ only son and heir.• Mentoring is a process in which a more

experienced person helps a less experienced

person develop his or her goals and skills. • It is about helping another person learn, rather

than teaching them.

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What is mentoring? (II)

• Mentoring is a two-way professional relationship: both parties benefit

• It is based on mutual trust and respect

• It occurs at all levels of the professional ladder

• It focuses on behaviour not on personality

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What is mentoring? (III)

• Mentoring is a form of career development– It contributes to professional

development and mobility– It maximises skills of experienced

people– It makes institutions more dynamic– It confronts different issues in stages

of career and life– It eases transitions from one stage to

another

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Mentoring leads to …

• Promotion is not necessarily the primary intent of a mentoring programme

• BUT mentoring can also be directly linked to career success (Hudson Report, Breaking the Cultural Mould) because of its emphasis on making a person feel valued and confident, and offering them a unique measure of personal support.– Individuals with mentors receive more promotions, advance at a

faster rate and report more career satisfaction

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Your goals for mentoring

• Why have you been asked and why are you interested in becoming a mentor?

• What can you offer? (personally as well as professionally)

• What do you hope to gain?

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Benefits of mentoring (I) For you – the mentor?

• Enhances your skills in leadership, counselling, listening and modelling

• Learn new perspectives and approaches• Extends professional networks• Demonstrates expertise and share

knowledge• Achieves professional recognition • Makes a positive contribution to othersSource: The Growth Connection

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Benefits of mentoring (II) For you – the mentor?

• Provides opportunities to reflect upon and articulate your role

• Enhances knowledge of other areas of service

• Provides opportunities to test new ideas • Renews enthusiasm for your role as

experienced professionals• Produces satisfaction from contributing to

the mentee’s development

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Benefits of mentoring (I) For the mentee?

– Develops knowledge, skills, potential and confidence

– Encourages self-directed learning– Promotes career mobility and more

opportunities, and eases transitions– Complements ongoing formal study and/or

training and development activities– Provides a supportive environment in

which successes and failures can be evaluated : Source: The Growth Connection and various

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Benefits of mentoring (II) For the mentee?

– Develops new networks – develops visibility inside/outside an organisation

– Challenges to use talents and share expertise

– Provides assistance with ideas, goal setting and career development• “My mentor has helped my to leverage

off my achievements and learn strategies to be successful” Yek-Ling Chong Citigroup

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Key mentoring skills – what makes a good mentor? (I)

• Listening actively: maintain eye contact and give your mentee your full attention

• Building trust • Giving guidance in determining goals; help

your mentee identify life direction(s) – never push

• Encouraging: mentors are supportive. No matter how painful the mentees’ experience, mentors continue to encourage them to learn and improve their situation

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Key mentoring skills – what makes a good mentor? (II)• Practicality; give insight about keeping on

task and setting goals and priorities• Educate for success; by fostering success in

others• Relationship management / constructive

criticism; focus behaviour – never on character or personality. Mentors care about mentees’ personal and professional development

• Learning quickly• Leadership: mentors give specific advice,

from personal experience, and encourage while giving mentee responsibility for self-learning

Courtesy of The Connecticut Mentoring Partnership and the Business and Legal Reports, Inc. — Best Practices in HR, Issue 653, September 30, 1999.

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Responsibilities and expectations (I)

• As a mentor, you are expected to …– Be available for regular face-to-face

meetings– Allocate time and energy– Be a resource / provide feedback– Help the mentee develop a learning plan– Follow-through on commitments or

renegotiate appropriately

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Responsibilities and expectations (II)

• You are not expected to …– Do the work of the mentee– Develop a friendship with the

mentee– Be an expert in every

conceivable management area

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The mentoring agreement (I)

• The mentoring agreement serves as the backbone of the mentoring relationship

• To have one agreed from the outset is a very helpful foundation on which to build your relationship

• Use this during your first discussion with your mentee/protégé to help guide your discussion

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The mentoring agreement (II)

The following points may be helpful:• How will you help your protégé achieve

his/her goals?• How will your ensure he/she remains

accountable for his/her development?• What is your ideal schedule for meeting

(day, time, place, frequency…)?• How will you both measure progress?

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The mentoring agreement (III)

Questions to ask to generate discussion:• How can we define the limits and

boundaries of our relationship?• How can we come to closure and terminate

our relationship?• What should we do if we decide that we are

not compatible

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Stages in a mentoring relationship

• 1. Building a relationship• 2. Setting goals• 3. Working towards goals / deepening

the engagement• 4. Planning for the future

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Different learning styles• People learn and develop very differently, with

their own learning styles.– Reflectors learn by looking at a situation from

different angles– Activists learn best from hands-on

experiences– Pragmatists find practical uses for ideas and

theories– Theorists prefer combining large amounts of

information into models, concepts and theories

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Mentoring and Women (I)• Results in the public sector show

– Development of links and rejection of isolation– Specific responses to women’s needs and

expectations•Work / life balance•Career strategies and means to overcome institutional barriers

– A source of inspiration•Notable successes on the part of the mentor

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Mentoring and Women (II)

• Women have different needs to many men:– Women need more support in terms of

institutional legitimacy, professional development, and more encouragement

– Women place a greater stake on learning – Women’s personal development follows a

different model to that of men and they have a different psychological profile in which qualities of empathy, inclusion, integration and consensus are emphasised.

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Setting ‘smart’ goals

•Specific•Measurable•Attainable•Realistic•Time-bound

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Conflict can arise

• Conflict can arise in any relationship and usually arises from misunderstanding or differing opinions

• Understand the difference between conflict and personal attack: if conflict is the result of a professional challenge it can have positive results

• When conflict becomes personal it ceases to be about the original issue of professional development

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Handling Conflict (II)

In order to successfully manage a conflict situation you need to:

• Remain considerate: develop a supportive rather than aggressive or defensive environment and never speak down to your mentee

• Focus your discussion: understand clearly what you want to happen

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Handling Conflict (III)

• Withhold judgements: listen openly to other opinions: difference does not mean attack

• Speak precisely: stay solution focused and ensure your conversation remains on present issues

• Remain balanced: check the meaning of messages you are giving and receiving

• Seek to identify a common goal through compromise

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Giving constructive feedback

• Defined by a clear purpose• Specific and descriptive• Relevant• Actionable• Timely• Balanced

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Mentoring is …

• A relationship that involves sharing in one another’s development

• A contribution to creating a robust professional community, a culture of change that generates and sustains reform, and promotes national development in Rwanda

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Ongoing support for Mentors

• Access to written and online resources• Access to mentoring coordinators• Opportunities to meet with other

participants to learn and share• Opportunities to develop new skills• Opportunities for feedback and to review

mentoring relationship• Opportunities to celebrate and for

recognition

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