MENTORING WHEEL
Thinking Strategically
and Critically
Speaking a Business
Language
Resolving Issues,
Risks and Conflicts
Addressing Market
Opportunities
Building Stakeholder
Commitment
Developing Effective
Messages
Innovate for Impact
Facilitating New
Solutions
Driving Decisions
through Financial
Analysis
Engaging with Lead
Firms
USING THE MENTORING WHEEL:
1. Review the Mentoring Module descriptions (available on the next page)
2. Rate the Mentee’s current level of “comfort” with the module content on a scale of 1-10
into the box within each piece of the wheel
a. Level 1-3: Has basic knowledge and / or minimal experience
b. Level 4-6: Has moderate knowledge and / or moderate experience
c. Level 7-10: Has broad knowledge and /or extensive experience
3. Prioritize modules based on rating and determine the sequence of modules
4. Agree to the sequencing of the modules and document in the Mentoring Agreement
MENTORING MODULE DESCRIPTIONS
Module Title
Addressing Market
Opportunities
Building
Stakeholder
Commitment
Developing
Effective Messages
Driving Decisions
through Financial
Analysis
Engaging with Lead
Firms
Description
The purpose of this module is to identify and walk through
a process that will help you evaluate market trends across
domestic, regional and international landscapes and apply
analysis to original designs and solutions. To do this you
will learn different market research tools, assessment and
analysis techniques that can assist you in understanding
changes in the market and enable you to apply this new
information to your program plans and interventions.
The purpose of this module is to teach the change
management fundamentals used to analyze stakeholders'
current and desired commitment level towards value
chain interventions. Commitment to value chain
interventions is influenced by an individual’s emotional
response to change as well as the governance that exists
within the value chain. By understanding these dynamics
in your role as a market facilitator, you can then create a
stakeholder engagement strategy to ensure the
relationship builds the desired levels of commitment to
enable successful value chain interventions.
The purpose of this module is to learn tools and
techniques in order to focus communication efforts on
specific formats for different audiences and outcomes.
Developing messages is critical to enabling relationship
building, stakeholder engagement, and the successful
implementation of value chain initiatives. For NGOs,
positioning and profile are becoming increasingly
important considerations. Clear and careful thinking in
building relationships through effective communications
will help to create a solid platform for collaboration. Being
able to understand different audience perspectives and
address these through communications which are
appropriate in format and in content will support efforts
to develop and sustain partnerships with a range of key
stakeholders in the value chain.
The purpose of this module is to describe a decision
making approach that utilizes financial analysis during the
decision making process. The ability to incorporate
financial analysis into decision making will ensure
interventions are focused on financially sustainable
actions
The purpose of this module is to identify and walk through
a process that will enable successful partnerships with
Lead Firms. To do this you will discuss how to identify and
select Lead Firms, as well as some practical considerations
in structuring and monitoring partnership agreements and
Step by Step Application
During the step-by-step application, you
will walk through the following process:
1. Determine Scope and Managing
Research
2. Understanding the End-Market Mix
3. Considering the Global Context and
Trends
4. Primary Market Research throughout
the Project Life Cycle - Using, Focus Group
and Stakeholder Meetings during
Implementation
5. Incorporating New Market Information
into Programs
During the step-by-step application, you
will walk through the following process:
1. Recognize an Individual's Personal
Reaction to Change
2. Determine Stakeholder's Commitment
Level
3. Create Stakeholder Engagement
Strategy
4. Monitor and Track Stakeholder
Engagement
During the step-by-step application, you
will walk through the following process:
1. Develop Your Communication Goal and
Key Message for the appropriate audience
2. Understand the needs of your audience
3. Develop and deliver your message
effectively
4. Build a Communications Strategy
During the step-by-step application, you
will walk through the following process:
1. Selecting Financial Analysis Tools
2. Using Financial Analysis Tools
a. Cash Flow Analysis
b. Break Even Analysis
c. Return on Investment
3. Communicating Financial Results
During the step-by-step application, you
will walk through the following process:
1. Identifying and Selecting Lead Firms
2. Facilitate Specific Lead Firm
Interventions
managing a portfolio of Lead Firms.
3. Structure Collaborations and
Agreements
4. Monitor and Manage the Lead Firm
Portfolio
Facilitating New
Solutions
The purpose of this module is to identify and walk through
steps that will focus on the process of getting new
products and service solutions into the market. These will
include: facilitating the feasibility study, mapping a new
product or service into the market, financial and risk
analysis, piloting and scaling up.
During the step-by-step application, you
will walk through the following process:
1. Feasibility study for new product /
service
2. Mapping Product or Service into market
3. Financial Analysis of New Product /
Service
4. Risk Analysis of New Product / Service
5. Launching (Pilot) and Scaling Up
Innovate for Impact
The purpose of this module is to define innovation and
describe how to incorporate the elements of innovation
into value chain programming. Given that being
innovative does not happen sequentially but is instead is
engrained in the culture, environment and personal
mindset we operate in, during the step-by-step
application you will learn techniques to leverage four
different elements of innovation across the value chain
lifecycle.
During the step-by-step application, you
will walk through the following process:
1. People – Create an Innovative Team
Mindset
2. Value - Determine how Innovation Will
Upgrade the Value Chain
3. New Ideas – Use Creative Thinking to
Upgrade the Value Chain
4. Implement – Review Implementation
Plans to Incorporate Innovative Thinking
Resolving Risks,
Issues and Conflicts
The purpose of this module is to learn conflict resolution
and negotiation techniques to resolve issues and risks in a
timely manner that creates a win-win situation for all
stakeholders. Conflict resolution requires a structured
approach to ensure you understand the context of the
situation and plan your negotiation plan accordingly.
Thorough preparation will enable you to successfully
facilitate win-win agreements with value chain actors to
overcome conflict.
During the step-by-step application, you
will walk through the following process:
1. Analyze the conflict
2. Plan for negotiations
3. Execute the negotiation
Speaking a
Business Language
The purpose of this module is to teach the fundamentals
and key considerations of a business case. By
understanding a business case structure, you can better
facilitate the case for change within your own teams and
external partners using a business language that will be
valued and understood by market actors.
During the step by step application, you
will walk through the following process:
1. Setting the Business Case Context
2. Calculate Financial Impact
3. Assess Qualitative (Non-Financial)
Impact
4. Document Issues and Risks
5. Communicate Results
Thinking
Strategically and
Critically
The purpose of this module is to teach the skills in order
to be able to demonstrate how to approach problem
solving in a focused and critical way. First you will focus
on how to identify problems and issues by comparing data
from different sources to draw conclusions. The module
will then describe techniques to use towards choosing a
course of action which will enable progress towards
resolving issues / answering a specific question or
challenge within the program. You will get to the answers
you need faster in a more comprehensive way, and you
will be able to coach other to use these techniques
effectively.
During the step-by-step application, you
will walk through the following process:
1. Define the Issue
2. Validate your issue information
3. Choose your issue tree type
4. Begin to document your issue tree
5. Identify issues that don’t fit on a tree
6. Complete a Research Plan for your
Issues