TOPICS

EXPECTATIONS ARE ESSENTIAL FOR SUCCESSFUL MENTORING

All too often when mentoring relationships fail, it is because of unstated expectations or too little attention to establishing clear expectations for both the mentor and the partner. Heffernan and Joni (2005) in their article, "Proteges and Pitfalls: A Complete Plan for Getting the Mentoring You Need," identified explicit expectations as one of the key "rules" for effective mentoring. A recent article in Training (August, 2005) also noted that "inappropriate expectations" are a major contributor to unsuccessful mentoring connections.

Several studies have shown that when expectations of both the partner and mentor are met during their partnership, the participants are much more likely to rate the mentorship as highly effective and worthwhile. And somewhat surprisingly, expectations that are clearly communicated, agreed upon, and demonstrated contribute more to the success of a mentoring relationship than the factors used to match a mentor and partner.

If expectations play such an important role, why hasn't the mentoring literature, especially works aimed at program leaders and practitioners, provided more guidance for establishing expectations or engaging in expectation conversations? Other than stating that expectations are important and should be discussed, many mentoring works fail to provide any further instruction as to how to go about doing this. It's assumed, we guess, that setting expectations is such a simple and straightforward activity, that it doesn't need any more articulation than just suggesting it be done.

But the failure rate of formal mentoring relationships is so often blamed on unclear or poorly stated expectations, that the conventional wisdom regarding expectations ("just do it") seems woefully inadequate.

To rectify this situation it is helpful to describe what is involved in helping a mentoring partnership initiate a discussion about expectations. Sanjeev Sharma (s070976@yahoo.co.in) has identified three principles that drive expectations: clarity, relevance, and simplicity.

Expectations, according to Sharma, must focus on outcomes, not activities. In other words, mentors and partners achieve clarity when they identify the expected results rather than the method for achieving them. Mentors often make the mistake of attempting to direct the process that a partner will use rather than being clear about results. The advantage of identifying the outcome is that both the mentor and the partner can identify the methods for achieving the desired results.

The principle of relevance helps define the "why" of the mentoring partnership. If both the mentor and partner have a full understanding of the importance of their mentoring connection, they can make adjustments as unanticipated factors crop up within the process. They probably also will be more committed to the result because they can see more easily how it fits into the big picture and how their efforts impact the success of their partnership.

Simplicity creates a sense of grounding for both mentor and partner as they endeavor to work towards their agreed upon outcomes. If the pairing identifies their work together in simple, straightforward terms, both parties will be able to more easily recognize how close they are coming to achieving their agreed upon expectations. To accomplish this, mentors and partners must be able to identify the key message contained in their expectations.

With these principles in hand, a mentor can initiate a conversation with his or her partner by facilitating a discussion about what each participant holds as expectations for him or herself. The mentor can begin by acting as a role model: "Here's what I hope to gain from this mentoring relationship." And then after expressing whatever results the mentor expects, the mentor then asks the partner to share his or her own expectations. Once the list is created the mentor can then in cooperation with the partner review the two lists of expectations using the principles of clarity, relevance and simplicity as a template.

Probably at no other time in the mentoring relationship is it more important to assess the degree to which the expressed expectations mesh. Some adjustments are bound to be necessary, but this is clearly the time to acknowledge that the expectations are in an conflict with each other if, in fact, that is apparent. Such a conflict does not necessarily mean the pairing is inappropriate. A skilled mentor may be able to use such a situation as an opportunity for learning, relationship-building, and facilitating an even deeper reflection upon the stated expectations.

Clear expectations are the foundation for virtually everything that will take place in the progress of the mentoring relationship. However, their anchor weight doesn't mean that the expectations remain static. Over the course of the mentorship, particularly as the relationship deepens, trust increases, and new concerns arise, both the mentor and partner may want to revise their original expectations and create new outcome statements more relevant to their current status. Monitoring of expectations and continuous mutual feedback about meeting such expectations becomes another one of the key principles for putting into practice the importance of expectations in a mentoring relationship.

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Sir John Gielgud

mentor to

Sir Alec Guinness

~ From Famous Mentor Pairings ~

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CD-ROM WITH COMPASS AND THE PEER BULLETIN

Do you know someone who could benefit from becoming a member of the Peer Resources Network? Although you are receiving this free newsletter every 45-60 days, members of the Peer Resources Network receive a monthly newsletter, the Peer Bulletin, with additional information, practical tips, announcements, mentor program descriptions, funding opportunities and job openings in mentoring and mentoring research summaries every month.

Do the quotes placed in this newsletter intrigue you? Would you like to know more about the people quoted or read more of what they have to say? Members of the Peer Resources Network receive links and more details regarding each quote when they receive the monthly Peer Bulletin.

In addition Peer Resources Network members receive toll-free coaching and consultation for all mentor program development issues as an additional benefit of membership. Members also receive print versions of Compass: A Magazine for Peer Assistance, Mentorship and Coaching. This magazine has become the only advertising-free, professional, peer-reviewed publication on mentoring, and is filled with timely articles and practical suggestions from experienced mentor program leaders.

The Peer Resources Network is a non-profit organization and is sustained through memberships. The low fee for a one-year individual membership is $75.00 and the fee for an institutional membership, which allows up to five people to share a full membership, is $140.00 for a year. We even have a student rate of $32.10/year. For more details on the benefits as well as a secure online form to sign-up, go to http://www.mentors.ca/PRN.html.

As a bonus for readers of The Mentor News who become members of the Peer Resources Network in July, 2006, we will send you at no additional cost a CD that contains the three past issues and the current issue of Compass: A Magazine for Peer Assistance, Mentorship and Coaching as well as the past 12 months of the Peer Bulletin. This CD is free to PRN members and will be sent by postal mail at no cost to any individual category member or the group leader of any institutional membership.

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Sir Alec Guinness

mentor to

Timothy Findley (Canadian novelist)

~ From Famous Mentor Pairings ~

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MENTORING CONFERENCES and EVENTS

EMentor Recruitment: A Strength-Based Approach
July 10, 2006
(This is a no-cost event that includes breakfast)
Hyatt Regency, 11999 Harbor Boulevard, Garden Grove, California
www.carsmentoring.org/events/event_registration.php
(916) 983-9506

Premier Mentoring Conference
August 2, 2006
Marriott of West Palm Beach, Florida
wwww.mentoringpbc.org
(561) 655-8887
mentor@mentoringpbc.org

Mentoring: Building Employee Relationships
September 11-12, 2006
Canadian Management Centre, 150 York Street, Toronto, Ontario
www.cmctraining.org
(877) 262-2560
cmcinfo@cmctraining.org

First National Conference on Mentoring for Youth with Disabilities
September 13-15, 2006
Hilton Boston Logan Airport, Boston, Massachusetts
www.pyd.org
(617) 556-4075
mgallagher@pyd.org

New Teacher Induction Mentoring Leadership Training
September 18-19, 2006
Resurrection College, Waterloo, Ontario
www.peer.ca/trng.html
(800) 567-3700 or (250) 595-3503

The Effective Mentor
September 26-27, 2006
The Regency Hotel, South Kensington, London (UK)
www.mast.co.uk
01628 504919
simon.oak@mast.co.uk

New Teacher Induction Mentoring Leadership Training
October 12-13, 2006
Resurrection College, Waterloo, Ontario
www.peer.ca/trng.html
(800) 567-3700 or (250) 595-3503

Michigan's Mentoring Conference
October 25, 2006
Michigan State University, MSU Union, East Lansing, Michigan
mentormichigan@michigan.gov

Mentors Train-the-Trainer Program
October 25-27, 2006
Perrone-Ambrose, Chicago, Illinois
www.perrone-ambrose.com
(800) 648-0543 or (312) 466-2661

13th Annual European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) Conference
November 1-3, 2006
Radisson SAS Hotel, Cologne (Köln), Germany
www.emccouncil.org
Tel: +44 (0)20 8386 5304
lenora.jones@emccouncil.org

20th Annual International Mentoring Association Conference
March 22-24, 2007
Atlanta, Georgia
www.mentoring-association.org

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Timothy Findley

mentor to

Marie Woodrow and Elizabeth Ruth (Canadian writers)

~ From Famous Mentor Pairings ~

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USE MENTORING LITERATURE TO GUIDE PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

Peer Resources continually scans the professional and popular literature for articles, books, videos and other useful reference materials. They provide a brief synopsis of the work as well as citation details and summaries in a searchable format on their site at http://www.peer.ca/SearchB.html. Each issue of The Mentor News includes some of the many citations added every week.

Alter, J. (Ed.) (2006). How to be a great mentor guide. Alexandria, Virginia: MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership.

Originally published by Newsweek, Kaplan and MENTOR in 1999, this guide has been republished and select articles are now available. The guide provides a comprehensive overview of mentoring for new or current youth mentors and information on how to get involved in mentoring. The articles focus on the role of mentoring, the life cycle of a mentoring relationship, information on the various mentoring types and settings, goals and activities, what to do when issues arise, and tips on how to be a great mentor. Online copies are available in PDF format at no cost, but registration is necessary. Download from http://www.mentoring.org/program_staff/mentorguide

Hunt, K.R. (June, 2005). E-mentoring for entrepreneurial development: A review of the largest European e-mentoring programme for SMEs. Paper presented at the meeting of the International Conference for Small Business, Washington, DC.

The author critically reviewed a UK-based e-mentoring program for and by entrepreneurs that has attracted over 500 participants and has created more than 200 e-mentoring relationships. The evidence produced by this review showed, among other things, that e-mentoring provides the same level of benefits for the partner as in face-to-face mentoring relationships, and may even provide additional benefits such as convenience, timeliness, and added value for women. (A copy of this paper is available from the author who is also a Peer Resources Network member at http://www.circle-squared.com).

Lane-Garon, P.S., Ybarra-Merlo, M., Zajac, J.D., and Vierra, T. (September, 2005). Mediators and mentors: partners in conflict resolution and peace education. Journal of Peace Education, 2, 2, 183-193.

The authors believe that children learn to be peace builders in the context of relationships where they experience guided practice in interpersonal skill development around conflict. "Mediator Mentors," the program described in this article, is a school-university partnership in which teacher education candidates, peace and conflict studies interns, and classroom teachers had as their overall objective improvement of the learning climate through peer mediation program implementation. Variables such as empathy and perspective-taking were considered measurable outcomes, and pre-post change scores revealed that mediators demonstrated significantly higher gains on measures of social-cognitive development when compared to non-mediators. Students serving their school in the mediator role also reported more positive perceptions of school safety than did non-mediators. Being a mediator was also significantly associated with higher language arts scores as measured by standardized testing, and mediators described their home lives as more peaceful than did non-mediators.

Morrison, R., Erickson, T., and Dychtwald, K. (March, 2006). Managing middlescence. Harvard Business Review, 84, 3, 79-86.

New research shows that mid-career workers, who make up the bulk of today's work force, are the most disaffected people in organizations. Providing mentoring opportunities is one of six strategies proposed to revitalize their careers and move them from a position of neglect to one of empowerment.

North, D., and Sherk, J. (Not dated). Preparing mentees for success: A program manager's guide (Mentoring Plus workshop series, series 6). Folsom, CA: EMT Group, Inc.

This lengthy training guide focuses on five modules: creating a community of caring; preparing for safety; designing and implementing a partner training; teaching and modeling relationship skills; and role playing and practicing skills. Each module is loaded with dozens of interactive exercises, activities, charts, sample forms, and fill-in materials to help training leaders customize their own partner trainings while attending to principles of effective mentoring program development. (Copies are available to Peer Resources Network members at no cost by emailing Rey Carr.)

Perrone, J., and Ambrose, L. (2006). The mentee's navigator: Making mentoring happen. Chicago, IL: Perrone-Ambrose (Available from Perrone-Ambrose, 20 North Wacker Drive, Suite 1330, Chicago, Illinois 60606; Tel: (312) 466-2661 or http://www.perrone-ambrose.com

The awareness-building exercises, planning tools, self-rating scales, and tips included in this handy spiral-bound booklet are based on the 20 years of innovative mentoring experience of the authors. Mentoring, the authors believe, is about possibilities, not fixing problems. Five principles contribute to mentee success: driving your own mentoring experience, managing how and what you learn, building on your strengths, surpassing your comfort levels, and making your partnership the cornerstone. The authors put these principles into practice throughout the book as a way to maximize the benefits of mentoring for mentees. An appendix provides additional focus exercises that can assist in finding a suitable mentor.

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Serge Koussevitzky and Aaron Copeland

mentors to

Leonard Bernstein

~ From Famous Mentor Pairings ~

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CHAMPIONS OF MENTORING

The National Mentoring Partnership (MENTOR) has formed an alliance with the Corporation for National and Community Service to launch a new US-based Federal Mentoring Council with shared commitments by Fortune 500 companies. The mission of the Council is to find a caring adult mentor for every child that needs one. They set an initial target of three million additional mentoring relationships by the year 2010. MENTOR also unveiled the National Agenda for Action: How to Close America's Mentoring Gap, a detailed road map for closing the mentoring gap that resulted from an 18-month national conversation. The National Agenda for Action identifies 21 action items focused around five interconnected strategic areas related to mentoring: Generate Adequate and Sustainable Funding; Foster a Culture of Mentoring; Safeguard Program Quality, Elevate the Role of Research, and Build Necessary Infrastructure.

MENTOR and the Corporation also released new studies that shed additional light on the dimensions of the mentoring gap and the characteristics of volunteers who mentor. According to MENTOR's new study Mentoring in America 2005: A Snapshot of the Current State of Mentoring, the number of young people involved in structured one-to-one mentoring relationships has increased nearly 20 percent in just three years, from 2.5 to to 3 million. Given that there are 17.6 million young people in need of a caring adult to help them succeed in life, that leaves a mentoring gap of nearly 15 million youth in need of mentors. Their study found that 44 million adults in the United States are willing to serve as mentors.

The Corporation's new report, Volunteers Mentoring Youth: Implications for Closing the Mentoring Gap, analyzes the 2005 Current Population Survey data on volunteering in order to develop a greater understanding of the characteristics that distinguish volunteers who mentor from those who do not. Among the key findings: 43 percent of volunteers engaged in mentoring serve in or through a religious organization; and 59 percent of volunteers who mentor also work full-time. Copies of the report and a fact sheet are available at http://www.nationalservice.gov

To showcase the effect that mentors can have on individuals' lives, MENTOR also announced the recipients of the first annual Spotlight Award, which recognizes outstanding mentoring pairs. The six pairs of recipients, all honored at a celebration dinner May 3, 2006 at the Willard Hotel in Washington, DC, included: Evonne Burkink and Catherine Leick, TeamMates of Norfolk, Norfolk, Nebraska; John Garnica and Mario Rodriguez Cortez, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Ventura County, Fillmore, California; Senator Tom Harkin and Amii Young, Everybody Wins DC!, Washington, D.C.; Dwight Kelly and Terrence Taylor, 100 Black Men of North Metro, Alpharetta, Georgia; Charmaine Robin and Chris John Garcia, Baldwin School District, Baldwin, New York; and Donald Wilford and Adam Hutchinson, State Attorney's Office, Fourth Judicial Circuit, Jacksonville, Florida. Thanks to generous support from Freddie Mac, each of the young people honored by MENTOR's Spotlight Award will receive a $5,000 scholarship. (Source: MENTOR [www.mentoring.org] and The Corporation for National and Community Service [www.nationalservice.gov])

The Best Workplaces in Canada were featured in the April 10-23, 2006 issue of Canadian Business Magazine. Nearly 10,000 employee surveys collected in 2005 revealed that respect, fairness, camaraderie and, above all, trust, were the four most important ingredients of the best workplace cultures. The study, which identified thirty organizations as best places to work, showed that compensation packages, human-resource practices or employee perks have little to do with forming a workplace culture that employees rate as great. Instead employee based mentoring, coaching and peer interaction play a more important role in creating a best place to work culture.

From the Ground Up is a Canadian reality-TV show featuring design guru, Debbie Travis, acting as a mentor to 12 young people learning a variety of trades while they work together for five weeks to build a mansion from the ground up. While 5000 young people applied to be amongst the 12 mentored by Debbie, the show producers made sure that the chosen youth represented a wide variety of characteristics associated with youth in contemporary society. Debbie Travis created the show because she believes that many young people today lack a work ethic. She believes that "these lost young men and women need mentors to wake up their work ethic, skills and passion." The ten one-hour shows will appear weekly on the Global TV Network (http://www.canada.com/globaltv/globalshows/fromthegroundup).

The National Network of Youth Ministries, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice, announces the release of the MentorYouth.com Mentor Recruitment Kit. Printed promotional products, online recruitment tools, the Mentor Recruitment Ambassador strategy and services, e-cards and radio public service announcements are all available through MentorYouth.com. Visit http://www.mentoryouth.com/promo

Dr. John Hurst, a University of California at Berkeley School of Education professor, was honored with a 2006 Faculty Award for Outstanding Mentorship of Graduate Students. Dr. Hurst was also a mentor to Rey Carr while he was a graduate student at Berkeley in the late 1960's.

The Women's Dermatologic Society (WDS) in San Francisco, California has named Dr. Amy Paller, MD the winner of the 2006 Mentor of the Year Award. Dr. Palmer is the Chair of the Department of Dermatology at Northwestern University and has served as a mentor for dozens of dermatologists, pediatricians, and students from around the world. The WDS Award recognizes one mentor each year who has influenced the lives of women in dermatology through her commitment to mentoring. For more information about the additional 2006 Mentorship Award winners, go to http://www.womensderm.org/grant/mentorship.html

Pace Productivity (Toronto) completed a study that asked corporate managers, "What are the most important things you need to do?" By almost three to one, most managers identified coaching, mentoring, and training as their most important activity. The managers were also asked how much time they want to spend each week in coaching, mentoring, and training as compared to how much time they actually spend engaging in these activities each week. Only a small percentage of managers were satisfied with their current status in these areas; most fell short of their desired target time by 60 percent. (Source: Globe and Mail, November 28, 2005)

The Mentor Foundation (www.mentorfoundation.org) in Loughborough, United Kingdom focuses on the global prevention of drug misuse in its efforts to promote the health and well-being of children and young people and to reduce damage to their lives. Mentor aims to support the effective use of resources (human, financial and intellectual) to achieve its goals. Mentor's focus is to "help the helpers", by identifying the most promising and excellent practices for drug misuse prevention and by disseminating this experience and knowledge internationally. They now publish a quarterly newsletter for the public and professionals.

The Center for Applied Research Solutions (CARS) has announced a number of full-day training workshops in various locations in California that will focus on mentor recruitment. The seminars will include information on strategies, tools, and market research that programs can use to recruit males and other specific populations. Locations include: Redondo Beach, July 24, 2006 at the Portofino Hotel and Yacht Club; Garden Grove, July 10, 2006 at the Hyatt Regency; Monterey, August 16, 2006 at the Portola Plaza Hotel; and Sacramento, September 6, 2006 at the Sierra Health Foundation. There is no cost for the trainings and each session will take place from 9am- 4pm on the dates scheduled. For further information, contact Erika Urbani, Mentoring Project Director, at (916) 983-9506, or by email at Eurbani@cars-rp.org Registration is available online at http://www.carsmentoring.org/events/event_registration.php

Cy Charney, a long-time Peer Resources Network member and a leading authority on peer mentoring has announced an expansion of his proven peer mentoring system. Based on field-tested work with a number of well-known organizations, "Peer Mentoring for High Potentials" builds on Cy's Peer Mentoring model which focuses on team learning with small groups of volunteers where leadership rotates around the group and the team controls the process and content. Cy created this expansion of his already successful model to account for demographic trends that show: (1) the talent pool is narrowing, (2) baby boomers are retiring, (3) knowledge transfer is inconsistent, (4) employees receive too little preparation to take on leadership roles, and (5) learning how to learn is essential for future competence and skill-building.

Cy's attention to these trends matches the results of a corporate issues survey as reported in the April 24, 2006 (Volume 3, Issue 17) edition of the Chief Learning Officer. More than 800 training and development professionals stated that skill gaps in dealing with the top management challenges have increased. The top challenges were identified as developing potential leaders, selecting and retaining key talent, and creating an engaged workforce. To contact Cy Charney, go to http://www.askcharney.com or call (905) 886-5605.

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Leonard Bernstein and Herbert von Karajan

mentors to

Seiji Ozawa

~ From Famous Mentor Pairings ~

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FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR MENTORING

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Community Services (OCS), has announced the Compassion Capital Fund Communities Empowering Youth Program in the US. ACF will award funds to build the organizational capacity of experienced organizations and their partnering faith-based and community organizations to better meet the needs of America's disadvantaged youth. The lead faith-based or community organization (lead organization) will assist its faith-based and community partners through technical assistance and training in four areas: 1) leadership development, 2) organizational development, 3) program development, and 4) community engagement. Capacity building activities are designed to increase an organization's sustainability and effectiveness, enhance its ability to provide social services, develop and/or diversify its funding sources, and create effective collaborations to better serve those most in need. Applications are due by July 10, 2006, and up to 100 awards totaling $30,000,000 will be distributed. Contact: Rafael Elizalde at 800-281-9519 or ocs@lgcnet.com. The full announcement is available online.

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Oscar Hammerstein II

mentor to

Stephen Sondheim

~ From Famous Mentor Pairings ~

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EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY IN MENTORING

The Instituto Familiar de la Raza, Inc. is seeking a full-time program coordinator to work with families who have children and youth between the ages of 7-17 with severe emotional problems and who are at risk for out-of home-placement. This individual will be responsible for planning, organization and direction of the IFR Clinical Mentoring Program, implementation of quality assurance standards, development of strategies to achieve contractual goals and objectives and oversight of the hiring orientation, and training of program staff and mentors. The salary is $40-45K with an excellent benefits package. For more information contact: IFR, Clinical Mentoring Program, Attn: Program Coordinator position, 2919 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94110; email: aflint@ifrsf.org or FAX: (415) 647-4296. The deadline for applications will be open until filled.

The position of Recruiter for Mentor & Foster Family Programs is available through the The Boys & Girls Aid Society of Oregon. The position is full-time or .75 time with benefits, and is responsible for volunteer recruitment for their youth mentor program and foster family program. Responsibilities include marketing, community education, volunteer retention, and networking with community organizations. The qualified candidate must have a Bachelor's degree and three years of related experience preferably with marketing and recruitment for non profit service programs. Equivalent relevant experience may be considered, and demonstrated experience recruiting from culturally diverse groups, and familiarity with non-profits mentoring programs, and foster care preferred. The position is open until filled. The anticipated salary is $15.98/hour. Candidates can submit a resume and cover letter or completed application to The Boys & Girls Aid Society of Oregon, 018 SW Boundary Ct., Portland, Oregon 97239. The full announcement is available online.

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Stephen Sondheim

mentor to

Jonathan Larson

~ From Famous Mentor Pairings ~

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JOIN THE PEER RESOURCES NETWORK

Do you know someone who could benefit from becoming a member of the Peer Resources Network? Although you are receiving this free newsletter every 45-60 days, members of the Peer Resources Network receive a monthly newsletter with additional information, practical tips, announcements, mentor program descriptions, funding opportunities and job openings in mentoring and mentoring research summaries every month.

In addition Peer Resources Network members receive toll-free coaching and consultation for all mentor program development issues as an additional benefit of membership. Members also receive print versions of Compass: A Magazine for Peer Assistance, Mentorship and Coaching. This magazine has become the only advertising-free, professional, peer-reviewed publication on mentoring, and is filled with timely articles and practical suggestions from experienced mentor program leaders.

The Peer Resources Network is a non-profit organization and is sustained through memberships. The low fee for a one-year individual membership is $75.00 and the fee for an institutional membership, which allows up to five people to share a full membership, is $140.00 for a year. We even have a student rate of $32.10/year. For more details on the benefits as well as a secure online form to sign-up, go to http://www.mentors.ca/PRN.html.

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John Ftizgerald Kennedy

mentor to

Rey Alexander Carr

~ From Famous Mentor Pairings ~