What is mentoring?
“Mentoring is advising, teaching, counseling and role modeling.
Formal mentoring matches a senior or more experienced person—the
mentor—to a junior or less experienced person—the mentee.
Mentors focus on a mentee’s achievements, success in school and
preparation for the workforce through a one-to-one relationship that is
non-threatening and non-judgmental to both parties.
It is a relationship that changes over time as each grows, learns, and gains experiences in the relationship.”
Types of Mentoring
• Peer Mentoring
– Mentor/mentee—similar ages
– Mentor experience > mentee experience
• Group Mentoring
– Multiple mentees
• Professional Mentoring
– Major difference in life experience
Foundations of Mentoring
Attributes —The mentor will demonstrate
- Strong performances and continuous improvement on each performance that they mentor
- Ability to grow the performance abilities of mentees
- Professional behavior and attitudes
- Commitment to improving the enriched learning environment project—both the team and the overall environment
• Clearly defined educational goals
– Measurable elements of engineering performance
• Clearly defined expectations
– For the professors
– For the mentors
– For the mentees
• Mentor Training
– Mentoring is a learned performance (not an innate skill)
HOW TO SELECT PROMISING MENTORS
Effective mentors share a number of characteristics. The profile
sketched below is based on a synthesis of observations described by many
mentors and authors. While any single mentor may not possess all of the
characteristics, effective mentors have many of these qualities:
Knowledge of Their Field
- They are considered by peers to be experts in the field.
- They set high standards for themselves.
- They enjoy and are enthusiastic about their field.
- They continue to update their background in the field.
Demonstrated Skills in Their Field
- Their work demonstrates superior achievement.
- They use a variety of techniques and skills to achieve their goals.
Earned Respect of Colleagues
- They listen to and communicate effectively with others.
- They exhibit a good feeling about their own accomplishments and about the profession.
- They recognize excellence in others and encourage it.
- They are committed to supporting and interacting with their colleagues.
- They are able to role-play others and understand their views.
- They enjoy intellectual engagement and like to help others.
- They are sensitive to the needs of others and generally recognize when others require support, direct assistance or independence.
- They exercise good judgment in decisions concerning themselves and the welfare of others.
Some Characteristics of a Good Mentor
- Approachable and welcoming
- Shares information and experiences openly
- Good communication skills
- Trustworthy
- Provides accurate and appropriate feedback
- Technical expertise
- Motivating, encouraging, positive and empowering
- Allocates appropriate time to mentoring
- Sensitive to the needs of the coach/official
The Mentoring Process
- Goal setting
- Observation
- Analysis
- Providing feedback
- Action planning
- Review
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