University of Alberta School of Business Alumni Association MBA Mentorship Program Mentor Guidelines 2016

Objectives Mentors 1.Create opportunities for MBA Alumni to “give back” to the School in a non-financial way. 2.Allow Mentors the opportunity to meet other MBA Alumni as fellow Mentors. 3.Allow Mentors the opportunity to make a difference in a student’s life as a role model and sounding board for current challenges and future plans. 4.Give Mentors the opportunity practice their active listening and coaching skills, helpful in their own leadership development. 5.Meet students who may be a good fit in their own recruiting strategies without an obligation or expectation of such. 6.In essence, play a smaller, but similar role to a life or executive coach. Students 1.Give students an opportunity to meet someone who’s “been there” and can relate to their life journey. 2.Allow students the opportunity to ask questions about their mentor’s career path, how they got there, and advice on directing their own career path, WITHOUT ASKING FOR A JOB! 3.Give students the chance to work with a life / executive coach (Mentor) so they can experience the relationship and learn how to make the most out of the opportunity. 4.Give students a chance to hone their networking skills, i.e. making a strong impression with Mentors without blatant job search questions. 5.Create a long term student / mentor relationship that lasts well beyond the formal 1 year program. 2

Timing ActivityTiming Register as a mentor with the Director, Alumni and Corporate Relations, MBA Program. Brent CollingwoodBrent Collingwood Anytime Provide a brief profile including: Name, degree and year, company, industry, key experiences and skills, areas of interest and anything else that would be of interest to the students. Please keep it short at approximately words. Prior to December 15, 2015 At the kick-off event, mentors and students will have an opportunity to meet. Students will receive mentor bios prior to the event. January 14, 2016 Matching of mentors and students is completed by Alberta School of Business MBA Alumni and Corporate Relations office and MBA Career Management Centre, based on student’s requests. January 29, 2016 Develop relationship with student over the coming year.February December 2016, and beyond… 3

Commitment 1 year commitment from January to December 2016 Recommended minimum activity: –Attend Mentorship program kick-off event –Organize 2 mentor-student meetings per quarter –Attend Mentorship program Fall Reconnect Mixer (~September) Maximum commitment is unlimited, some mentorship relationships last for years! 4

Responsibilities Mentors are volunteers and students need to be respectful of mentors schedule. Student’s are responsible to initiate contact with mentor. Listen and share ideas. Either party may ask to be re-matched with a new partner if the current partnership is a poor match; however, the students must first discuss this with mentor prior to concluding the relationship. Students are informed that this is not a job placement program and are precluded from directly asking for a job from their mentor. 5

Actions for Success Meet on a regular basis, set regular schedule for meetings Attend mixer events Meet with other mentor-student pairs to share experiences Actively get feedback on the relationship 6

Preparing for Role as Mentor Plan to share with your protégé your: –Experiences –Perspectives –Approaches to developing your career –Gaining skills and qualifications to be successful Exploring critical incidents can be particularly valuable. Consider sharing some of the key challenges you were confronted with and options you identified for resolving, in terms of: –Job search –Acquiring and developing your skills –Important career decisions 7

Assist in Clarifying Interests and Needs Students are asked to carefully identify their personal and professional goals for this mentoring relationship before meeting with the mentor. Students are encouraged to consider questions they may have about such areas as job search strategies, industry knowledge, career paths, time management, or balancing work and family life. Students are encouraged to develop three to five specific goals for their participation in the program. You may wish to review these goals with your protégé. Students may have difficulty anticipating the kinds of questions they could be asking, given an opportunity of this kind. Prepare to assist your protégé by giving some advance thought to what your own lessons of experience have taught you. Think about key learning experiences and important insights you have gained. –What aspects of the job search were particularly challenging for you? –What support were you given that you can now pass on to your protégé? –What discoveries did you make on your own, and how can you ease the path for your protégé? 8

Recognize Value and Limits of Relationship Like any relationship, this match involves an active process in which the uniqueness, individuality and expertise of each member of the pair needs to be respected. Mentors are not expected to respond to all of a protégé’s needs. Be thoughtful in how you spend your time together and clarify the ways in which you will choose to be of support. While sharing your expertise, refrain from telling a protégé what to do. Recognize that one size does not fit all and that your protégé's personality, gender, background, or style may preclude him/her from achieving the results you obtained, using your particular techniques or approach. Assist your protégé in recognizing the options available for action and selecting the one that will work best for him/her. 9

Recognize Value and Limits of Relationship Recognize that some advice you offer may seem irrelevant to your protégé at this time, but may prove to be useful later on. It will ultimately be your protégé's choice as to how he or she will integrate the insights gained into his or her own evolving style, methods or approach. Your guidance and wisdom will nevertheless be invaluable. Look for opportunities for your own enrichment, as mentors often find value in the questions or fresh perspectives of protégés. 10

Setting Goals Your protégé will be prepared to outline his/her professional accomplishments to date (we will send you a copy of his/her application form for your review in advance of your first session). Your protégé also will be encouraged to bring a list of questions or prospective goals to the first meeting. After learning more about your protégé's goals and particular concerns about career development, work together to finalize the list of goals that you feel can be adequately addressed during this experience. 11

Checklist for First Meeting In preparation for your first meeting, it may help to review some of the facts about your protégé: –Set aside an hour for the first meeting with your protégé. –Review his/her application form prior to this meeting so that you already know pertinent professional information. –Use this hour to get to know other aspects of your protégé. Is he/she married? Any children? Any hobbies? –Share similar information about yourself. –You may want to conduct this first meeting away from the office. –Either set up a regular time to meet or set the next meeting at the conclusion of this meeting. (not limited to face-to-face meetings). 12

Your first meeting It can be helpful to structure the first meeting because both partners often begin a mentoring relationship with high expectations and some uncertainty about how to proceed. Give some thought as to how you would like the meeting to go. Your protégé has been provided with an outline for structuring the first meeting You may want to consider the following ways in which you could contribute to the first meeting: –Show genuine interest in your protégé. –Share your professional background along with personal information, as you feel appropriate, and your interest in participating as a mentor in this program. –Review the aspects of your professional role and identify ways in which you feel you could be particularly helpful. –Clarify which of your protégé's goals you believe you can support. –Help your protégé develop a focus and agenda for your next meeting. –Suggest other resources, as appropriate, in preparation for your next meeting. 13

Sample Questions For First Meeting Discussion Topics PersonalProfessionalAcademic  What are your expectations of the mentoring relationship?  How do you think a mentor can help you?  Many surveys suggest employers can’t find graduates with sufficient interpersonal and communications skills. How are you addressing their concern?  What challenges are you currently facing with your professional development?  Networking is important. How will you go about it?  What are some courses that you are taking? How do you want to apply it in your job?  Have you considered taking some professional designation courses? 14

Managing Relationship and Confidentiality Your protégé will be asked to take the responsibility for setting up the first and subsequent meetings. If you do not hear from your protégé by January 30, 2015, please let us know so that we can ensure the relationship gets underway. Your protégé may contact you by , phone, or text messaging – clarify your preferred means of communicating early in relationship. Some protégé and mentor pairs will feel a need for complete confidentiality in their relationship, others will not. It is critical that you and your protégé clarify the limits of confidentiality in your relationship. 15

Bringing Closure to Relationship This program is specifically time-limited to allow you to support your protégé's learning without long-term obligations from either party. At the same time, after the program's conclusion, you may continue your relationship informally, if you wish. Support your protégé in recognizing his or her achievements and encourage your protégé to use resources inside and outside of the University of Alberta to continue to develop his / her career. Encourage your protégé to take reasonable risks and try out new skills. Recognize the value of your role in supporting this Alberta School of Business student. 16

Bringing Closure to Relationship Be aware that as the relationship evolves, and your protégé progresses along his / her career path, his / her needs may change in a direction that leads away from you. Near the end of your mentoring relationship, we ask that you complete the on-line feedback form to help us advance the Alberta School of Business MBA Mentorship Program. Your feedback is confidential and will be used only to improve our program. Thank you for your support! 17

APPENDIX Additional Support for Mentors 18

Appendix 1 – Setting Expectations 1.Encourage your protégé to take the initiative in setting the meetings, agenda and topics of discussion. 2.Be prepared to take on various roles throughout the relationship in support of your protégé: a)Coach – As an experienced and successful business person already, be willing to teach and coach the protégé on your areas of expertise and your experiences in business since graduating. For example, you may have experience transitioning through several different careers, you can take this experience and offer advice on various steps which you took to arrive at your current industry. b) Listener – Remember that the program is here to help the protégé reach their goals and bring them into the U of A Business Alumni family. Being an active listener and getting to know your protégé will greatly help in building trust, strengthening the relationship and experience. c)Facilitator – There may be times when a subject or question comes up in which you are not an expert or have never experienced, it is expected that you may help your protégé through pointing them in the right direction in order to research getting the answers they seek. This does not mean you have to open your network to them but simply guide them in discovering the ways in which to network or find the right people to contact (often the protégés just need to know where to start or even which company to contact). d)Supporter – You will always be expected to be a supporter of the protégé. Everyone needs someone to confide in and bounce ideas off of in a safe environment. You should be there to listen and support your protégé as they figure out their career directions and goals. 19

Appendix 1 – Setting Expectations 3.Be diligent in insisting your protégé is prepared for every meeting. This will help them develop the discipline of being organized and ensure that they take each interaction seriously so that you don’t waste your time at the meetings. 4.Respect the commitments you make with your protégé, just as we impress upon the protégés to respect the Mentors time, we ask the same of you. Try not to cancel or reschedule meetings once they are set (unless absolutely necessary). 5.Encourage your protégé follow-up with all the issues and actions that you two have discussed after each meeting so that you both can see progress throughout the relationship. 6.Recognize that it is not the quantity but the quality of the meetings that matter. If you and your protégé set out clear expectations and follow them, the experience will be more rewarding and productive. 20

Appendix 2 – Goal Setting The students will have already completed a career development plan as part of Course BUS 504 with the MBA Programs Office. These plans will be shared with the Mentors at the start of the relationship in helping goal setting for the relationship. Remember the following rules for effective goal setting: 1.Desirable Goals – ensure that goals are focused correctly on the top priorities of the protégé thus making them more meaningful. If the goals are focused on what the protégé is passionate about, the more natural motivation they will have to reach them. 2.Achievability – ensure that goals are set so that they may be achievable throughout the 1-year relationship set out in the program. 3.Measurable – ensure that goals are measurable and set the benchmarks that you would each like to see for each goal. 4.Written – ensure that you both put the goals and benchmarks down in writing. This will maintain the focus throughout the relationship and provide more tangible expectations. 21

Appendix 3 – Strategies on Strengthening the Relationship 1.Demonstrate your commitment to the protégé – respect the meetings you have arranged with the protégé and try to keep them. If they take the initiative to make contact, try to respond back in a timely manner as well to demonstrate that you take the relationship seriously. 2.Share your experiences openly – it will be more effective if you are willing to share both the positive and negative experiences you have had in business. We all learn more from failure and challenges, it will also demonstrate that success is a long road and being able to overcome challenges are often more important. No one is perfect. 3.Share your thoughts and opinions – in addition to technical advice, it is always good to share your personal feelings or opinions on matters to allow for discussion of different points of view. 4.Be attentive – be an active listener and remember what your protégé has mentioned to you both professionally and personally. Referring back to comments made at the previous meeting will demonstrate that you are interested and invested in the relationship goals. 22

Appendix 3 – Strategies on Strengthening the Relationship 5.Stay positive – refrain from being negative on issues or people. It will be a more positive experience if you remain positive or impartial (for example: refrain from being negative about professors or the Program as this will undermine their position of trying to educate the protégés). 6.Keep your commitments – if you promise to do something or introduce someone, keep those promises to your protégé. No one likes to feel neglected. 7.Be honest – always give honest feedback to your protégé. 8.Be clear in setting guidelines – clear communication of expectations and ground rules will strengthen the relationship; as well ensure compliance to these ground rules. (Example: be clear on what types of communications are acceptable: , phone, acceptable times to call). 23

Appendix 4 – Troubleshooting 1.No Chemistry – sometimes it may seem that we just have nothing in common with our match or are not on the same page. Chemistry and personalities are very difficult to predict but we encourage each match to work through the relationship. The pairings are based on career interests and goals, so fundamentally you should share the passion of the same industry or career. It is also encouraged to take the extra time to set out the goals, expectations and benchmarks of success; so that if there is no personal chemistry – there is a mutual road map that can be followed for success. If it is a matter of communications due to culture or language – we should recognize that everyone has a different communication style and be open to being flexible. Perhaps write down all questions beforehand and provide written advice so that the protégé can go away and re-read the advice and reflect on it. 2.No sign of progress – this will be common if you have not set out clear goals and appropriate benchmarks for success. The use of the of the students career plan from BUS 504 will be a good starting point. Be diligent in insisting your protégé be prepared and follow-up on actions recommended. 3.No commitment seen – if your protégé simply doesn’t put in the effort and you have given them every chance to make a commitment, then please let Jami Drake or the Co-Chairs know about the issue so that we can take action in talking with the student and if necessary pairing you with a new student (as a last resort). Ultimately, we appreciate and respect the time you volunteer in the program and want to ensure you are getting value out of the experience. 24

Appendix 4 – Troubleshooting 4.Our schedules just aren’t working out – we understand that everyone has busy schedules, so we hope that by extending the program length to a 1-year commitment it will increase the opportunity for the mentor and protégé to meet more, perhaps taking advantage of the summer months between 1st and 2nd year to meet. We also encourage both the mentor and protégé to stay committed to planned meetings. If there is a special circumstance that should come up and prevent you from meeting your obligations to the program, we request that you contact Brent Collingwood or the Co-Chairs so we can work to re-pair the protégé. 5.My protégé is too pushy – we remind all our protégés that this is not a job placement program and that trust must be earned in every relationship. Mentors are under no obligation to assist in finding a job or opening their personal network to the protégé if they do not feel comfortable doing so. Simply remind the protégé of the goals of the program and move on. If your protégé continues to be pushy, please contact Brent Collingwood or the Co-Chairs and we will work to resolve the situation immediately. 25