As businesses become more knowledge centric right systems to facilitate transfer of both explicit and implicit knowledge is the focal point. This is making companies invest money, time and effort into mentoring programs since such programs have been found to directly impact productivity and performance of employees, which in turn impacts bottom lines in the long run.
Conventionally mentoring programs have always been directed towards mentees , since organisations want more people to volunteer for such initiatives. However lately focus has also shifted to speaking about how mentoring programs are also changing the lives and career prospects of mentees. This has resulted in businesses looking at tools that can design mentoring initiatives that are beneficial for both the partners – the mentee and the mentor.
It is with this in mind, that the DiSC Assessment Certification has been designed with specific inputs on mentoring.
Here are four top tips for designing a mentoring program.
Provide pre mentorship training.
A lot of businesses launch mentoring programs with great splendour. But they forget that the mentors have not even been briefed on what they are supposed to do, forget being trained for it. It is important to train mentors on the methodology to be followed during the mentoring process, on tools to be used and the way the program is to be delivered. They should be given practice sessions and trial runs on how to undertake result oriented mentoring programs. Only then will such programs be fruitful. The DiSC Assessment Certification will provide meaningful tips on using DiSC for mentoring.
Instill pride and ownership in both mentor and mentee.
Both the mentor and the mentee should walk into the partnered learning process with a lot of pride and ownership. Most businesses try to force their employees into mentoring partnerships with the result that there would be no involvement from either partners or the process turns out to be meaningless. The mentor and mentee should feel honored to be a part of a program and the motivation should be more intrinsic than extrinsic. It is only then that both the partners will be able to fully contribute to this journey of self- discovery.
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Matching the right mentor to the mentee is crucial to the success of the mentoring program.
It is important to map the right pair in mentoring. Both the mentor and the mentee should be matched in such a way that each stand to gain something and learn from the partnership. It will be good to remember that it is not the mentee who stands to benefit from the process but also the mentor. While the mentor teaches the mentee lessons on improvement, the same is being implemented in the mentor’s own life, since most mentoring sessions involve leading by example. Thus by creating partnerships centred on mutual learning, organisations will be able to create self- driven mentoring duos. Be a part of the DiSC Assessment Certification to know more on this.
Attribute mentoring to clear objectives which are linked to immediate results.
Mentoring is an adult learning process and most schools of andragogy agree on the fact that adult learning has to be always linked to objectives which promise performance oriented results linked to immediate future. This is to be incorporated into the design on mentoring programs. Both the mentor and the mentee should be able to link the learning from the program to performance improvements which are visible and can be cashed in immediately. It is only then that they will be able to contribute in heart and soul to the mentoring process.
The DiSC Assessment Certification is designed to give you more ideas on how to design great mentoring programs. Enroll here