Mentoring Program Details

Be sure to see our new eMentoring Program

What is mentoring?

Mentoring is a safe and confidential arrangement wherein someone who has knowledge and experience in an area uses that knowledge and experience to aid in the personal growth and development of another individual. Ideally, this person is not in a position of authority over the individual being mentored and is willing and able to enter into the mentoring relationship over a period of several months or longer.

Mentoring is not supervising, managing, counseling or training. Generally, a mentor does not engage in telling, directing or showing, but rather asks and listens, helping the individual being mentored to discover her own answers and solutions.

CONFIDENTIALITY is imperative! To be mentored one must feel secure, confidential and risk-free.

What does a mentor do?

1. Works with mentee to help define and clarify mentee’s goals
   1. Promotes high performance and life balance
   2. Motivates and explores new directions
2. Uses active listening to
   1. Guide mentee to set action steps to reach her goals
   2. Aid mentee in discovering how individual actions and behaviors affect results
   3. Aid mentee in tracking her own performance against goals
   4. Does not advise
   5. Asks questions to lead mentee to discover her own answers

How much time is involved?

Mentoring is a voluntary endorsement and/or sponsorship of another individual over which the mentor has no control or authority. The success of the mentoring relationship will be dependent upon building trust and creating value to the individual being mentored. Building trust and creating value will require some investment of time. Before committing to a mentoring relationship, time and availability should be discussed to appropriately set expectations of both mentor and mentee. One should determine and state in advance any limitations in such time commitment. Mentoring can be formal or informal, but for optimal results the parties should agree in advance to some specific one-on-one time.

Click here for additional information for Mentors and online Mentoring Questionnaire.

Click here for additional information for Mentees (those wanting to be mentored) and online  Mentoring Interest Survey.

Mentoring Terminology