1. Mentorship For Performance Improvement in Education
Mentoring
Mentorship For Performance Improvement in Education
Module Code EDU901
Mr. Shaun Mc Laughlin
2nd May 2012

2. Overview What do we mean by ‘Mentoring’ Rationale
Principles underpinning the process
Mentor Role vs Manager Role
Know your mentee; where is the mentee now and where does he/she hope to be in the future?
The Mentoring Cycle
The Skills of a Mentor
How I prepared for my Mentoring Meetings

3. Mentoring Definition
1. ‘Off-line help by one person to another in making significant transitions in knowledge work or thinking…’ (Clutterbuck 1990)
2. ‘To help and support people to manage their own learning in order to maximise their potential, develop their skills, improve their performance and become the person they want to be…’ (Parsloe, 1992)
3. ‘Mentoring relates primarily to the identification and nurturing of potential for the whole person; it can be a long term relationship, where the goals may change but are always set by the learner. The learner owns both the goals and the process…’ (Megginson and Clutterbuck, 2004)

4. Rationale
The rationale for Academic Mentoring is to support the professional growth of the individual who is in the early stage of their career and to promote excellence in teaching & learning, research and academic leadership

5. What is mentoring?
Mentoring is a positive developmental partnership, which is driven primarily by the mentee. It offers a reflective space where the mentee can take responsibility for and discuss their development
Its primary aim is to build capability and self-reliance in the Mentee
Mentors can help highlight issues and to assist the Mentee in planning ways through them
They can help clarify the Mentee's perspective while bringing an additional impartial view to bear on the issues
Sometimes, when the issues are straightforward and urgent, a Mentor might offer advice or give some direction
Confidentiality, trust, understanding and positive expectation are key to a successful partnership 5

6. Mentoring Is Not… A means of dealing with underperforming individuals
Taking on the problems or work of the Mentee – a Mentor should not find themselves doing things outside the mentoring sessions for a mentee
Promoting/sponsoring/protecting the mentee (You can show empathy without actually agreeing with who/what you are empathising with)
Intended to deal with personal issues
Therapy
An opportunity to moan or complain either for the Mentee or indeed the Mentor 6

7. What can Mentoring do? Mentoring can help Mentees to:
Address the issues and concerns of their daily working life and find solutions that work for them
Improve their level of performance and satisfaction levels
Understand key institutional and decision-making structures in their place of work
Build relationships with colleagues and feel part of the work community
Manage the integration of job, career and personal goals 7

8. Mentoring Principles The Mentee drives the Mentoring agenda
Engagement is on a voluntary basis for both the Mentor and the Mentee
The Mentoring relationship is confidential
Mentoring is non-directive in its approach
It is a relationship built upon trust and mutual respect
The Mentor empowers the Mentee to take responsibility for their own learning and career development
The relationship places no obligation on either party beyond its developmental intent
Targets set are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timebound (SMART)

9. Manager vs Mentor
It is not the role of the Mentor to interfere with Mentee’s day to day activities or objectives
The Mentee may however, wish to discuss how they can improve daily activities with the Mentor
The relationship between Mentee and Mentor is confidential

10. Where is the mentee now and where does he/she hope to be?
DEAD
ZONE
COMFORT
ZONE
STRETCH
ZONE
PANIC
ZONE
The above slide is a light-hearted representation of the various ‘work zones’ in which we may find ourselves. There is movement back and forth between the zones but most people stabilize in one place – at least for a period. The following are short descriptions of what it feels like to be in each of these zones.
Mentoring is one activity that can assist in moving a person out of a less productive zone into the zone where he/she feels in control of their work and is operating at a high level and with high levels of satisfaction. Through supporting self-reflection and offering a sounding board, a Mentor can assist the Mentee uncover behaviours that are not useful and open doors to more constructive patterns and move them into the ‘Stretch Zone’.
Dead Zone
People who live here are not actively interested in improving. They take little initiative to improve their situation. They do not seek out the things that make them change. Typically they are people to whom things happen. They are resigned to things as they are and more importantly as they were. They are disengaged.
Comfort Zone
People in this zone want to be effective. They have been successful in the past and want to continue to be so – so they do the same things that worked before. Unfortunately they have failed to see that everything in their world continues to change – everything but them. They may think that they are open – but really are not. These people have blinkers on.
Panic Zone
This is the zone of reactive adjustment. People here care very much or they wouldn’t panic. But because they feel panicked, they can’t learn well or perform well when in this zone. Burn out can happen here and quality may suffer. People are pushed into indecision and don’t feel competent to handle what is before them. Panic creates exhaustion diminishing and draining everyone. People in this zone do not feel in control.
Stretch Zone
People in the stretch zone are actively involved in their work and are committed to developing themselves. They are looking to change in a major way. They actively seek to do things differently. These people do not feel threatened by change. They see it as an opportunity. They believe that they can control their destiny by their actions and approach. People in this zone understand that they have blind spots and that they must be open to feedback to compensate for them. Individuals learn best in the Stretch Zone. In the stretch zone, incremental, planned development offers the best opportunity for growth – a step at a time, continuously moving forward, stretching without breaking.

11. Mentoring Cycle Phase 3 Phase 1 Maturation & Clarifying Closure
1. Building Rapport
2. Contracting
3. Direction Setting
4. Progress Making
5. Maturation
6. Closure
Phase 3
Maturation &
Closure
Phase 1
Clarifying
Expectations
The above diagram indicates that a mentoring relationship has a natural cycle which starts with clarity around expectations – i.e. what does the mentee expect out of the mentoring partnership, what do he/she expect from the mentor and vice versa
Phase 1: Establishing rapport and building trust is key to the development of a successful mentoring relationship. Contracting or agreeing some ground rules can help support this process and means prevents misunderstandings allowing candour and openness to develop.
Phase 2: Ultimately mentoring is a developmental relationship and the Mentee will have goals in terms of current work or future career plans. Setting out what these goals are, with the support of the Mentor, will help when reviewing what progress has been made
Phase 3: Mentoring relationships change over time as the work and/or career circumstances of either the Mentor or the Mentee change and evolve over time. Inevitably a time will come when either the Mentor or the Mentee will want to move on. Closing off the relationship is important for both the Mentor and Mentee and an opportunity to review what progress and what benefits both have got from the relationship.
Phase 2
Productive
Phase

12. The Mentoring Cycle
1. Rapport-building: Developing mutual trust and comfort
2. Contracting/Ground Rules: Exploring each other’s expectations of mentoring
3. Direction-setting: Agreeing initial goals for the relationship
4. Progress making: Experimentation and learning proceed rapidly
5. Maturation: Relationship becomes mutual in terms of learning
and mentee becomes increasingly self-reliant.
6. Closure: Formal relationship ends, an informal one may continue

13. Skills Required By Mentors
Ability to build rapport with the mentee
Communication skills
Feedback skills
Questioning skills
Listening skills
Interpersonal skills
Also check out the ‘Mentoring Skills Checklist’ for other useful skills and see where you strengths as a Mentor might lie.

14. Questioning Styles For Mentors
Assertive
Opening horizons
Creating insight
Unfreezing
assumptions,
values and beliefs
Challenging
Probing
Building values and beliefs
Drawing together
Setting boundaries
Creating confidence
Confirming
Testing
As Mentoring is largely a non-directive development activity, using a range of questioning styles helps draw out the Mentee and assists them with their self-reflection. The styles outlined above indicate when it is useful to use different styles.

15. How Mentors Help Others Learn
‘The Guide’
Hands on guidance, explaining how and why; creating opportunities to learn
‘The Challenger’
‘Making Waves’; challenging, probing stimulating, questioning
‘The Role Model’
Unseen, largely unfelt. The Mentee unconsciously adopts aspects of the mentor’s thinking behaviours and/or style
Outlined above are a number of roles that the Mentor might adopt when working with a Mentee. A Mentor may have a preferred role however it might be useful to experiment with other less familiar roles and assess impact.

16. Summary – Key Points
‘Contracting’ at the beginning of the partnership e.g.
Discuss and clarify each other’s expectations
Be clear about roles
Agree logistics such as meeting arrangements (location, frequency etc.)
Ensure targets agreed are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time- bound (SMART)
Maintain a structure i.e. clear goals, actions between meetings
Review relationship regularly – is it still of value?
Continue only as long as there are goals to achieve
Mentor style is guiding and facilitative
Keep it confidential