Mentoring
Marie Connolly
Why Mentoring in UL
• Set up initially as a sub group of the
Women’s Forum
• Demand across all genders and all areas
• Fully integrated system
• 2010 – 23 matched pairs across all
groupings.
• 30 trained Mentors
Mentoring Committee
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Maebh Barry Nursing & Midwifery
Carmel Bradshaw Nursing & Midwifery
Clare McCracken ITD
Una McInerney Clinical Therapies
Maria Noonan Nursing & Midwifery
Marie Connolly
Mentoring
• Mentoring is a Career Management Tool used by
organisations to nurture and develop their staff.
• It is a relationship between two people in a work setting
the purpose of which is passing on knowledge and
information, sharing wisdom and experience and
offering advice and help in a confidential manner.
• It is a relationship where - help by one person to
another in making significant transitions in knowledge,
work and or thinking.
• It builds on the formal Mentoring scheme where new
employees are allocated a mentor.
Mentoring
• “Offline help by one person to another in making
significant transitions in knowledge, work or
thinking” (Megginson & Clutterbuck 1995)
• “A relationship, not just a procedure or activity,
where one person professionally assists the
development of another outside of the normal
manager/subordinate relationship” (Abbey)
• “A relationship between equals in which one or
more of those involved is enabled to: increase
awareness, identify alternatives and initiate action
to develop themselves.”
(Julie Hay, Transformational Mentoring)
Mentoring Definitions
Creating possibilities and providing
guidance and support to others in a
relationship of trust; it includes facilitating,
bringing visions to life and enabling people
to achieve (Henley Management College
2000)
Mentoring versus Coaching
• Coaching can be the responsibility of a line
manager who has an immediate and day to
day accountability for the learner’s
performance while a mentor is rarely a
learner’s line manager.
The aim of the Mentoring
• The aim of the mentoring initiative to
provide a platform through which
experiences can be shared on a one-to-one
informal basis thus providing support to
people at various stages in their careers.
The aims of the UL Mentoring
Scheme are:
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Helping Mentees to build self confidence
Sharing knowledge, skills and experience
Increase cross departmental networking
Help with career planning
Encouraging inclusivity across the
University.
The Matching Process
• Pairs will not be matched within the same
Department./Division unless specifically requested.
• Job Title and grade – the mentor will generally be
employed at a higher grade (2 grades higher in
administrative post – 1 above in academic posts) that the
mentee.
• The type of help the mentee is looking for
• Preferences in terms of what the mentee is looking for
• Activities and interests of both
Support provided by the Mentoring
Scheme
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On going training events
Lunch time talks
Training for both the Mentors & Mentees
Support will be provided to any mentoring
pair that requests support
• Special Events
The Mentor-Mentee Connection
• The Mentor-Mentee connection focuses on
building trusting relationships. Mentees are
supported and encouraged by Mentors who
voluntarily give of their time.
Purpose of the Training
• All Mentors & Mentees must undertake training.
• Be clear on what mentoring is and how it is
different that other development interventions
• Understand the role and responsibilities of the
mentor and mentees.
• Know what needs to happen to make a mentoring
relationship work.
Purpose of the Training
• Understand the areas that mentoring is
suitable to deal with and what issue are
outside the boundaries of the mentoring
relationship.
• Know what can go wrong in mentoring
relationships and the action you can take
• Explore the skills necessary in any
mentoring interaction.
Benefits of Mentoring
• To the Mentee
– A smoother adjustment to a new role or position
– Help in acquiring more quickly and comprehensively
the skills and knowledge they need
– Help with the necessary choices in the development of
their careers
– Access to someone more senior than themselves, other
than their line manager
– A greater understanding of both the formal and
informal workings of the organisation
Benefits of Mentoring
• To the Mentor
– Increased motivation and self-esteem brought about by
the mentoring role
– Greater respect and recognition from staff in the
organisation
– An opportunity to hone and improve their own
management skills, particularly advisory and
supporting skills in a safe environment
– An opportunity to learn about the perspectives and
views of others less senior than themselves and in other
parts of the organisation
– A chance to influence and improve communications
with others in the organisation
Benefits of Mentoring
• To the organisation
– An opportunity for staff to be encouraged, supported
and motivated to reach their potential
– Greater job satisfaction, morale and commitment by
mentors and mentees to their work
– Improved work performance of mentees
– Leading to a more stable culture
– Improved communication through linking different
departments and levels within the organisation
– Established routes for effective career development that
can aid the recruitment of high calibre staff
Who should Mentor?
• A mentor is usually
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A more experienced and senior person than the mentee
May have technical or professional expertise
Not the Mentee's manager
Those who are interested in the development of others
and who enjoy sharing their knowledge and experiences
– Have considered the time commitment, emotional
resources and sustained effort that may be involved.
The Role of the Mentor
• To provide guidance on how to acquire the necessary
knowledge and skills to do a new job
• Advice on dealing with any administrative, technical or
people problems.
• Information on ‘the way things are done around here’
• Help in obtaining access to information and people within
the University and outside
• Mentoring in specific skills e.g. managerial skills,
leadership, communication skills etc.
• A parental figure with whom mentees can discuss their
aspirations and concerns and who will lend a sympathetic
ear to their problems.
UL Mentoring Scheme
• The UL Mentoring Scheme is a Mentee led
scheme.
Roles & Responsibilities
• For the mentoring relationship to be effective the
mentor and mentee need to be clear about their
respective roles and responsibilities.
• They also need to consider the role of the mentor
in relation to the Mentee's line manager.
• Without clarification misunderstandings may
occur that could impact on the effectiveness of the
relationship.
The relationship
• Mentors will:
– Meet with mentees for confidential discussions
– Prompt mentees to draw up their own plans
– Prompt mentees to make contact with others
who might be able to provide useful
information or advise
– Prompt mentees to approach their line
managers to seek specific support for
development activities
The Relationship
• Mentors will not:
– Take action on behalf of mentees
– Intervene on behalf of mentees
– Take part in any succession planning
discussions that relate to their own mentee
– Discuss the mentee with the line manager
The Relationship
• Mentees will:
– Meet with mentors for confidential discussions
– Access other sources of information and advise as may
seem appropriate
– Share information about their strengths, weaknesses,
ambitions and so on openly with their mentor
– Take responsibility for drawing up their own
development plans
– Take responsibility for appropriate contact with their
line managers about development issues
– Initiate their own development plans
The Relationship
• Mentees will NOT
– Expect their mentor to take any directions on
their behalf
– Attempt to force their line manager into
account by quoting their mentor.
Line Managers
• Will allow mentees time to attend
mentoring sessions
• Will provide whatever support is feasible to
the development of the mentee
• Will not attempt to talk to the mentor about
the mentee.
Mentor Qualities
A Mentor is someone who:
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Listens
Is an opposite (at times)
Uses non-judgemental questioning
Offers different perspectives
Has specific knowledge
Cares; is warm; wants to help
Can relate to issues of the mentee
Sees patterns
Has experience
Is trustworthy/ensure confidentiality
Mentee Qualities
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Motivated
Articulate expectations and own objectives
Meets commitments
Accepts feedback and acts on it
Listens
Self-aware
Open Trustworthy
Understands scheme objectives/process
Roles for Mentors
• Clutterbuck & Megginson (1999) identified
7 roles for Mentors:
– Sounding Board – give feedback by drawing
one experience.
– Critical Friend - The mentor fulfilling this role
is able to challenge the mentee to question his
or her own motivation and behaviour and give
honest feedback that would be more difficult
for colleagues to give.
Roles for Mentors
– Listener – Listen and give encouragement
– Counsellor – An emphatic listener able to use
reflective and questioning skills to help the
mentee to analyse problems in a dispassionate
manner but knowing when expertise in this area
may need to be called in.
– Career Advisor – Helps the mentee think
through career options, plan personal
development towards defined careers goals and
lessons learnt from previous careers.
Key Role of Mentors
• To provide:
– 1. Support
– 2. Challenge
– 3. Guidance
Support Role
• Give the right level of encouragement and
recognition to the mentee.
• Listen actively and work to understand the mentee
• Question to help clarification of key issues
• Identify and build on strengths
• Disclose facts, feelings and opinions to help to
build rapport and trust
• Encourage the mentee to set his or her own
challenges
• Offer help and guidance.
Challenge
• Ask challenging questions and help the mentee to
have stretching targets.
• Embrace the critical friend role identified by
Clutterbuck & Megginson. To provide effective
challenge, the mentor must:
– Question level or risk others are taking – too little or
too much?:
– Highlight possible avoidance or negative behaviour or
thinking
– Set challenging targets for the mentee
– Offer alternatives – different opinions and approaches
Guidance
• Offer guidance drawing on the experience
they have to offer the mentee
• Offer examples drawn from their own
experience
• Give guidance on possible options
• Offer access to their network where
possible to extend understanding of new
areas and provide networking opportunities.
Establishing Trust & Respect
• Careful preparation at the start of the relationship
will help build rapport
• Trust is reciprocal, if the mentor trusts the mentee
and vice versa the relationship is more likely to
build on trust.
• Once trust is lost it is very difficult to rebuild
• The importance of valuing and respecting
difference
Preparing for your mentoring
partnership
• What do you want (from the mentoring
relationship, what learning outcomes are you
aiming for etc.)
• How will you know when you have got there?
• What strengths do I have in what I do now, that
will help me get this outcome?
• How much time can I expect from my Mentor?
• But a Mentoring Agreement in place
Preparing for your mentoring
partnership
• Agree a Mentoring Contract Below are some clauses that
you might wish to include in your contract.
• Expectations (of each other, of the relationship, of what
both parties will learn)
• Confidentiality (should any third parties be informed, and
if so, what can be discussed with third parties about the
relationship and about the discussions?)
• Duration of relationship
• Meetings (frequency, duration, location – in office or
outside the workplace?)
Preparing for your mentoring
partnership
• Broad purpose and goals
• Review and evaluation (of relationship, of mentor/client,
and of client’s progress)
• Roles and responsibilities (preparing for meetings, setting
the agenda, ensuring the meetings take place, setting goals)
• How feedback will be handled (trust and openness)
• How you will end the relationship (celebration,
disengaging)
• What actions we will take if things go wrong in our
partnership.
Information/Contact Details
www.ul.ie/hr - Learning Development &
Equal Opportunities – Mentoring (FAQ’s)
Members of the Mentoring Committee