TOPICS

THE DEATH OF A MENTOR

The holidays and the new year celebration often provide time for thinking ahead with predictions, resolutions, and procrastinations and looking backward with reflections, assessments, and replays. And with January, 2007 being named "National Mentoring Month" in the US and "Thank Your Mentor Day" being established as January 25th, it's relatively easy to consider the myriad of mentoring relationships we've had in our lives.

I can look back on dozens of mentoring connections I've had with a sense of joy, accomplishment, gratitude, and appreciation. Whether I was the mentor or partner, I've had the privilege of being involved with some of the greatest people I've known in my lifetime. My life has been incredibly enriched by my associations, and I have learned life lessons that have enabled me to succeed in work, life and family relations. I don't think I could have discovered and practiced the secrets of life abundance without the assistance of mentoring.

Although I feel great joy when I think about mentoring, I also feel some sadness. Many of my mentors have died. Some perished in war, some were killed, and some died of natural causes. A great tragedy occurred this winter when on December 27th cancer took the life of one of the great people in mentoring, Dr. Linda Phillips-Jones, the principal of The Mentoring Group. Linda was one of the bright spirits of mentoring, not just bringing her wisdom, talent, and devotion to mentoring, but also creating mentoring in new territory. She was an early pioneer of contemporary mentoring, and she led training workshops around the world for leading corporations and wrote dozens of articles and columns about mentoring.

I have known about and respected Linda's contributions for many years, and we only recently met in-person for the first time. And after joking with each other about, "Gee, I thought you'd be taller," or "Well, I thought you'd be older," we quickly realized that we both experienced that magic of mentoring -- authentic and natural rapport. Our connection was easily aided by our spouses. Linda's husband, Brian, also a psychologist, mentoring expert, writer and grandpa helped to make us all feel like we've been friends for years.

In a short period of time we discovered many common elements. Linda had a number of mentors during her teen years that had a dramatic influence on her life. We both went to UCLA, Linda achieving a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, while I earned a bachelor's degree there years earlier. We both attributed our academic progress to mentors. We both had an emotional connection with Vietnam. Linda spent them there mentoring and teaching; although I was never there, my emotional connection was filled with tears and anguish.

The majority of our conversation, however, focused on our vision, our purpose in life, ideas we had about the future of mentoring, and how we might increase our collaboration in the future. We also took time to share with each other what we appreciated about one another and what we had gained from our relationship. In light of what I was about to learn, I am exceptionally grateful that we took the time to talk about our connection.

A few days before Linda died she called to refer one of her clients to me. She told me then that she had cancer, and although she had battled it before, the cancer had returned in a more virulent form. She didn't want to disappoint any of her clients, and even in her last days she showed such grace and courage to seek ways to fulfill her commitments. A note from her family said, "Please know that Linda was peaceful as the end neared and we can all be comforted with the fact that Linda's faith more than adequately prepared her for her move to Heaven."

A celebration of Linda's life was held on January 5th, 2007 at Twin Cities Church in Grass Valley, California where Linda lived with her family, dogs and horses.

We'll miss you. As Clarence said to George in the motion picture, It's a Wonderful Life, "Each man's life touches so many other lives, and when he isn't around, he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?"

Goodbye, Linda. Thanks for leaving your spirit to fill that hole left in our hearts.

Selected Bibliography:

Phillips-Jones, Linda. (2000). Mentor's guide: How to be the kind of mentor you once had or wish you'd had. Grass Valley, CA: Coalition of Counseling Centers.

Phillips-Jones, Linda. (2000). Mentee's guide: How to have a successful relationship with a mentor. Grass Valley, CA: Coalition of Counseling Centers.

Phillips-Jones, Linda. (2001). New mentors and proteges: How to succeed with the new mentoring partnerships. Grass Valley, CA: Coalition of Counseling Centers.

Phillips-Jones, Linda. (2003). The mentoring program coordinator's guide: How to plan and conduct a successful mentoring initiative. Grass Valley, CA: Coalition of Counseling Centers.

Phillips-Jones, Linda. (2004). The mentoring videos package. Grass Valley, CA: The Mentoring Group (13560 Mesa Drive, Grass Valley, California 95949).

Phillips-Jones, Linda (u.d.). A way to thank your mentor. [Online] (Retrieved from http://www.mentoringgroup.com/html/articles/mentee_54.htm)

Phillips-Jones, Linda (u.d.). Mentoring gift-giving etiquette. [Online] (Retrieved from http://www.mentoringgroup.com/html/idea_34.htm)

The Mentoring Group can be contacted at http://www.mentoringgroup.com or call (530) 268-1146.

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Tillie Olsen (writer) mentor to Margaret Atwood, Alice Walker, and Grace Paley (writers) said, "I remember women in my generation saying, 'It wasn't Lincoln who freed the slaves. It was the Bendix.' The Bendix was the first automatic washing machine."

Tillie Olsen, born in 1912, died in a San Francisco hospital on January 1, 2007.

~ 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 January, 2007, 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. In addition we will include the Who Mentored Whom Quiz slide-show, which features dozens of famous mentoring connections. The slide show is in a quiz format, showing the photo of a famous mentor, his or her equally famous partner (mentee) and then reveals the name and the relationship. 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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Richard Carlson (author of Don't Sweat the Small Stuff) mentor to thousands, said, "There will always be problems and challenges to meet, but I no longer use them to postpone my happiness."

Richard Carlson, born in 1961, died on an airplane on December 13, 2006.

~ From Famous Mentor Pairings ~

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MENTORING CONFERENCES and EVENTS

Mentoring Supervisor Certificate Program
January 16, 2007 (Orientation)
January 23 (plus 15 following Tuesday evenings or 15 following Wednesday mornings)
Fordham University Graduate School of Social Services and Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC
245 Fifth Avenue, Suite 702, New York, New York
www.bigsnyc.org/training/
(212) 686-2042
help@bigsnyc.org

Mentoring in the 21st Century (Supporting New Teachers)
January 22-23, 2007
Los Angeles, California
www.askeducation.com
(800) 940-5434
registrations@askeducation.com

Friends for Youth Mentoring Conference
January 25-26, 2007
Oracle Conference Center, Redwood Shores, California
www.homestead.com/prosites-ffy/conference2007.html
(650) 559-0200
sarah@friendsforyouth.org

Setting Up a Mentoring System
February 1, 2007
161 North Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois
www.paamentoring.com
Tel: (800) 648-0543 or (312) 648-0849
info@perrone-ambrose.com

Mentoring Skills for Managers
February 2, 2007
161 North Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois
www.paamentoring.com
Tel: (800) 648-0543 or (312) 648-0849
info@perrone-ambrose.com

Coaching and Mentoring
February 5-6, 2007
Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia
www.sauder.ubc.ca/exec_ed
(604) 822-8455 or (800) 618-3932
exec.ed@sauder.ubc.ca

Christian Association of Youth Mentoring Mentor Training
February 8-10, 2007
Washington, DC
www.caym.org/calendar.html
(877) 336-3686
barbara@caym.org

Setting Up a Mentoring System
March 1, 2007
New York, New York
www.paamentoring.com
Tel: (800) 648-0543 or (312) 648-0849
info@perrone-ambrose.com

Mentoring Skills for Managers
March 2, 2007
New York, New York
www.paamentoring.com
Tel: (800) 648-0543 or (312) 648-0849
info@perrone-ambrose.com

Juvenile Justice Mentoring Forum
March 9-10, 2007
New York City
www.caym.org/calendar.html
(877) 336-3686
barbara@caym.org

The Mentoring Connection Legacy Ministry
March 10-11, 2007
Vancouver, British Columbia
www.arrowleadership.org
(604) 576-5613 or (877) 262-7769
info@arrowleadership.org

Mentors 2100 Train-the-Trainer Program
March 12-14, 2007
161 North Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois
www.paamentoring.com
Tel: (800) 648-0543 or (312) 648-0849
info@perrone-ambrose.com

International Mentoring Association Conference
March 22-24, 2007
Renaissance Atlanta Hotel Downtown, Atlanta, Georgia
www.mentoring-association.org
(269) 387-4174
cedu_ima@wmich.edu

The Skilled Mentee
March 23, 2007
161 North Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois
www.paamentoring.com
Tel: (800) 648-0543 or (312) 648-0849
info@perrone-ambrose.com

Mentoring Ministry: Making a Difference in a Hurting World
March 30-31, 2007
Toronto, Ontario
www.caym.org/calendar.html
(877) 336-3686
barbara@caym.org

European Mentoring and Coaching Council Conference
April 3-4, 2007
Ashbridge Business School, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
www.emccouncil.org/conferences.htm
Call for proposals
p.k.stokes@shu.ac.uk

Coaching and Mentoring
April 10-11, 2007
Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia
www.sauder.ubc.ca/exec_ed
(604) 822-8455 or (800) 618-3932
exec.ed@sauder.ubc.ca

Setting Up a Mentoring System
April 12, 2007
Washington, DC
www.paamentoring.com
Tel: (800) 648-0543 or (312) 648-0849
info@perrone-ambrose.com

Mentoring Skills for Managers
April 13, 2007
Washington, DC
www.paamentoring.com
Tel: (800) 648-0543 or (312) 648-0849
info@perrone-ambrose.com

Mentoring in the 21st Century (Supporting New Teachers)
April 13-14, 2007
Dallas, Texas
www.askeducation.com
(800) 940-5434
registrations@askeducation.com

Setting Up a Mentoring System
May 17, 2007
161 North Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois
www.paamentoring.com
Tel: (800) 648-0543 or (312) 648-0849
info@perrone-ambrose.com

Tutor/Mentor Leadership Conference
May 17-18, 2007
Northwestern University Law School, 375 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Illinois
www.tutormentorconference.bigstep.com
(312) 492-9614

Mentoring Skills for Managers
May 18, 2007
161 North Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois
www.paamentoring.com
Tel: (800) 648-0543 or (312) 648-0849
info@perrone-ambrose.com

Mentoring in the 21st Century (Supporting New Teachers)
May 21-22, 2007
Washington, DC
www.askeducation.com
(800) 940-5434
registrations@askeducation.com

The Skilled Mentee
June 8, 2007
161 North Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois
www.paamentoring.com
Tel: (800) 648-0543 or (312) 648-0849
info@perrone-ambrose.com

3rd National School-Based Mentoring Conference
June 13-14, 2007
Kansas City, Missouri
www.mentormap.org
(816) 842-7082

Mentor Leadership Training & New Teacher Induction
July 3-4, 2007
Club Willow Wells, Waterloo, Ontario
www.peer.ca/trng.html
(800) 567-3700 or (250) 595-3503
rcarr@mentors.ca

European Mentoring and Coaching Council Conference
October 11-13, 2007
DJURÖNÄSET (near Stockholm) Sweden
www.emccouncil.org/conferences.htm
Tel: +44 1992 550246
julie.hay@emccouncil.org

Mentor Michigan 2nd Annual Statewide Mentoring Conference
October 24, 2007
Location in the State of Michigan to be determined
www.michigan.gov
(517) 335-4295

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James Brown (musician) mentor to Al Sharpton (spiritual leader) said, "Say it loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud."

James Brown, born in 1933, The "Godfather of Soul" died in Atlanta, Georgia on December 25th, 2006.

~ 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/articles. Each issue of The Mentor News includes some of the many citations added every week.

Ayalon, A. (February, 2007). A model for teacher mentoring of poor and minority children: A case study of an urban Israeli school mentoring program. Mentoring and Tutoring, 15, 1, 5-23.

The author notes a growing international interest on the part of educators in finding effective ways to mentor poor and minority students toward academic success. As a result of such interest, an urban Israeli school mentoring program in which teachers mentor students as a part of their classroom responsibilities is presented in case study format. Interviews with teachers and school guidance staff describe an innovative and supportive system of mentorship of poor children from North African and Middle Eastern backgrounds in an urban, combined middle/high school. The author highlights and discusses the changes in schools that are needed to establish an effective teacher-based mentorship program for poor and minority children.

Corporation for National & Community Service. (n.d.) Toolkit: National mentoring month. Washington, DC: Author. [Online] (Retrieved from www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/06_1220_nmm_toolkit.pdf).

A resource designed to assist mentors, potential mentors, and mentoring program coordinators to make the most of mentoring. Links are provided to a variety of additional documents and services that can be used to celebrate National Mentoring Month.

Foster-Bey, J., Dietz, N., and Grimm, Jr., R. (2006). Volunteers mentoring youth: Implications for closing the mentoring gap. Washington, DC: Corporation for National & Community Service.

To develop a greater understanding of the characteristics and traits that distinguish volunteers who mentor youth from volunteers who do not serve as mentors, the Corporation for National and Community Service conducted an analysis of population survey data collected in 2005. Corporation researchers examined whether demographic, socioeconomic, or other observable factors could be used to distinguish between volunteers who mentor and the general population of volunteers who do not mentor, as well as to determine which of the above factors are most influential in predicting who is most likely to be engaged in mentoring activities. Some of the findings include: (1) 11.5 million of America's 65.4 million volunteers engage in some youth mentoring; (2) willingness to mentor declines with age; (3) male and female volunteers engage in mentoring at similar rates; (4) substantial mentoring takes place through religious organizations; (5) most mentors are individuals who have already acted as volunteers in other capacities; (6) most volunteers who mentor work full-time. The report includes suggestions about recruitment and mentor program management based on the report findings. (The full report is available to Peer Resources Network members.)

Hampton, G. Rhodes, C., and Stokes, M. (2004). A practical guide to mentoring, coaching and peer-networking. London: Routledge (Taylor and Francis Group).

Written for staff in schools and colleges, this books offers the challenge and support necessary to understand, analyze and adopt coaching, mentoring and peer-networking models as an essential part of the development of professional learning within an organization. This book can be purchased at a discount through Amazon.ca (for Canadian orders), Amazon.com (for US orders), or Amazon.co.uk for international orders.

Keller, T.E. (2005). The stages and development of mentoring relationships. In DuBois, D.L, & Karcher, M. (Eds.) The Handbook of Youth Mentoring (pp. 82-99). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

The key feature of youth mentoring is the relationship that develops between the caring adult and the young person. The course of this relationship is essential to understand if mentoring programs wish to anticipate challenges and provide supportive services. This article examines the features of relationships that are subject to change, the ways in which relationships change, and the reasons mentoring relationships change. The author proposes a five-stage model (contemplation, initiation, growth and maintenance, decline and dissolution, and redefinition) and describes how each stage is put into practice. (The full article is available to Peer Resources Network members.)

Warner, F. (2002). Inside Intel's mentoring movement. Fast Company, 57, 116-120.

Intel reinvented its mentoring program to match its culture after it found that an informal approach was not working. They created a learning-based model where volunteers list what they want to learn and what they have learned on the company intranet. Partnerships are created and the person who wants to learn, the partner, sets up the meeting and decides what they want to work on. Typical relationships last about 6-9 months. The pairs work out a non-binding agreement and when they get together they mutually decide on an agenda. Intel maintains an experimental attitude about mentoring so that the strategy can reflect growing changes and needs of its employees.

Zachary, L. (2005). Creating a mentoring culture: The organization's guide. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

From the author of the best-selling book, The Mentor's Guide, comes this outstanding resource for any organization or group seriously considering the establishment of a sustainable mentoring program and in need of a step-by-step guide from an expert in the field. While written more for the corporate or business sectors, the content can easily be adapted by smaller organizations, education groups and others wishing to promote and establish a mentoring culture. Complete with user-friendly resources, numerous helpful tips and examples, mentoring stories and a CD-Rom of invaluable, reproducible forms and tools, this book is highly recommended by Peer Resources Network member, Robin Cox (RobinCox@penrithchamber.org.au). Purchase this book at a discount from Amazon.ca (for Canadian orders), Amazon.com (for US orders), or Amazon.co.uk (for international orders).

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Gerald R. Ford (former US President) mentor to Richard Cheney (current US Vice-President), Donald Rumsfeld (former US Secretary of Defense), James Baker (former US Secretary of the Treasury), and Alan Greenspan (former Chairman of the US Federal Reserve) said, "A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have."

Gerald R. Ford, born in 1913, died in Rancho Mirage, California on December 26th, 2006.

~ From Famous Mentor Pairings ~

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CHAMPIONS OF MENTORING

JANUARY is National Mentoring Month in the United States, and the month is spearheaded by Mentor: The National Mentoring Partnership. They have identified January 25, 2007 as the fourth annual "Thank Your Mentor Day" in cooperation with the Harvard Mentoring Project. Harvard has named music impresario Quincy Jones, mentored by Ray Charles among others, and a mentor to many well-known performers, including Oprah Winfrey and Will Smith, as well as former gang members in South Central Los Angeles, as the 2007 Mentor of the Year. Their website provides details of many other famous mentorship pairings.

The Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta in Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta provides a mentoring program that uses mentoring software to match partners based on compatibility, skill needs, and communication and thinking styles. Individuals searching for a mentor are provided with anonymous profiles of potential mentors. A 70-page mentoring handbook is available from the coordinator of the project. Partners who have been matched typically return to the program to act as mentors to future partners.

Create Now! provides mentoring services to youth at-risk, including young people in detention facilities, group homes, and runaway shelters. This Los Angeles, California organization specialize in providing mentors to help troubled young people learn about acting, art, computer recycling, dance, fashion design, film production, literacy (script writing), make-up and hair techniques, music, photography, storytelling, and video production. They began this non-profit work in 1996 and for the past ten years have been in contact with more than 8,000 young people.

iMentor-pro in Sydney, Australia was started in 2004 and has developed a three-part process to match a partner with a mentor. They solicit a brief from both the corporate sponsor and the individual to check alignment of purpose. The also require written credential documents for up to three possible mentors whose approach, experiences and achievements would appear to provide the best intellectual and practical connection to the proposed partner. Telephone, then face-to-face selection follows with a required agreement by both the partner and mentor to establish a working relationship. Mentors are selected on the basis of style, strength of character, a drive to contribute, willingness to share, and upon on completion of their two-day mentor training course. The mentors 'buddy' in groups of three and are provided with a research library of some 500 items. iMentor-pro is a virtual business using web-based communications, access to library and connection between mentors. Everything is customized to suit the individual and the business supporting them. For large organizations that are spread geographically and require formal assessment, iMentor offers an on-line monitoring system called SOCRATES which is secure and accessible only to the program director, partner and mentor.

Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina provides three mentoring programs. Faculty mentors work with freshman to enhance retention; peer tutor/mentors support academic progress, and Upward Bound Ambassadors work as mentors to high school students to assist them to successfully complete the curriculum necessary for entrance to the university. The Upward Bound mentors meet monthly for training to help them establish effective relationships with their partners and the parents of the partners. They meet with their partners on a weekly basis.

The Little Owl Mentoring Program is a joint effort between Hope Clark, editor of FundsforWriters.com, and Elisabeth Wilhelm, editor of Absynthe Muse. They connect young adult writers (aged 13-22) with experienced adult writers who mentor their younger counterparts in some aspect of writing for a set period of time in an all-volunteer program that does not charge a fee. Whether the young adult writer's interest is poetry, fiction, nonfiction, or drama, he or she is paired with an approved mentor who will work with him or her on accomplishing an agreed upon goal. This goal can be big ("I want to pitch my poetry collection to a New York literary agency!") to small ("I want to learn how to write authentic-sounding dialogue that fits in a murder mystery novel set in 30s Chicago.").

Mentors, Inc. in Washington, D.C. is a private, nonprofit organization that pairs public high school students with trained adult mentors. It has provided mentors for nearly 4000 young people since 1987 and its primary goal is to promote the academic, career and personal development of public high school students through one-on-one mentoring relationships and enrichment activities. They recruit mentors from businesses and community organizations and local and federal government agencies. Each prospective volunteer must: 1) fill out an application; 2) pass a criminal background check; 3) provide three character references; and 4) participate in four hours of training and orientation. In addition mentors must be 21 years of age, have earned a high school diploma, and be willing to spend at least five hours a month with their partner and contact that student each week by phone or email. Results have shown that while the normal graduation rate in the school district is 65 percent, 95 percent of students graduate and continue to college, military service, or vocational training who work with mentors. Their advisory board is a who's who of mentoring experts.

Mentor Michigan has developed a set of Quality Program Standards for Youth Mentoring. Developed by expert mentoring professionals, the 11 Standards identify the key characteristics that are critical to high-quality mentoring programs. The Standards do not certify or accredit programs, but they do impart a planning and evaluation framework for providing exceptional mentoring experiences. The Standards are accompanied by a checklist that provides youth mentoring programs with a self-assessment tool. As programs work to continually improve their operations and services, the checklist can help identify a program's strengths and areas of improvement as a quality youth mentoring organization. This instrument can also provide benchmarks for progress in meeting the Standards.

Mentor Your Business/Mentor Eget Företag in Stockholm, Sweden is a nation-wide mentoring program for two groups: newly started entrepreneurs and soon to be started entrepreneurs. The program is free of charge and the mentors offer their services at no cost. Mentors and partners (called "adepts" in Sweden) each receive three hours of training. Their goal is to make 5000 mentor-adept connections between 2006 and 2011.

The University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia has a service where professional librarians volunteer as mentors for first year students to increase their awareness of library services and resources and improve their research skills. The librarian stays in touch with the student through his or her first two years at the university, offering tours, instruction, research help and updates on new materials.

Whitelion is an Australian not-for-profit mentoring service co-founded by Glenn Manton a former AFL footballer. The organization provides a number of mentoring programs for at-risk young people involved with the juvenile justice or out-of-home care systems. Mentors attend two training evenings, an interview, undergo a police and reference check, and are then able to participate in group activities with young people before they are matched or form a connection with an individual young person of the same gender.

The Women's Technology Cluster is a business incubator dedicated to women leaders building technology-driven businesses. They have a cadre of 150 mentors that provide advisory services, coaching, and access to business and capital networks. They operate primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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Dame Muriel Spark (British novelist) mentored by novelist Graham Greene said, "I wrote about Miss Brodie...We were given to write about how we spent our summer holidays, but I wrote about how she spent her summer holidays instead. It seemed more fascinating."

Dame Muriel Spark, born in 1918, died in Florence, Italy on April 13, 2006.

~ From Famous Mentor Pairings ~

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THE NEED FOR QUALITY IN YOUTH MENTORING RELATIONSHIPS

On September 15, 2006 the American Youth Policy Forum hosted a symposium entitled "Youth Mentoring: Programs and Practices that Work." At a time when many mentoring programs are feeling pressure to focus on quantity, the presenters at the forum - all notable researchers and practitioners in the field of mentoring - echoed one central message: the quality of mentoring relationships is paramount if young people are to be truly helped by the mentoring experience.

Leading researchers on youth mentoring, Jean Rhodes and David DuBois, presented a summation of their paper, "Understanding and Facilitating the Youth Mentoring Movement." In discussing their findings, Dr. Rhodes and Dr. DuBois cautioned that policy-makers need to focus rigorously on ensuring high quality mentoring relationships and not place emphasis on simply expanding the number of mentoring matches. They stressed the importance of attending to the characteristics that research demonstrates are associated with effective mentoring: regular contact, significant duration, emotional closeness (trust and empathy), role modeling, meaningful conversation, peer-like qualities, self-esteem enhancement, and goal setting.

Also addressing the forum was Dr. Andrea Taylor of Temple University, developer and principal investigator of Across Ages (templecil.org/Acrossageshome.htm), an inter-generational mentoring program that pairs youth ages 9-15 with older adults. Dr. Taylor stressed the need to ensure quality and adherence to standards as model programs are replicated. Since its beginnings in 1991, Across Ages has served more than 1000 middle school and elementary students in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area.

In concert with the recommendations of the new The National Agenda for Action: How to Close America's Mentoring Gap (www.mentoring.org/leaders/agenda_for_action/), MENTOR/The National Mentoring Partnership is taking the lead in safeguarding program quality through a number of initiatives, including the development of MentorPRO, a standardized tracking and evaluation system, and the launch of a Research and Policy Council composed of many of mentoring's leading researchers, practitioners and policy- makers. Dr. Rhodes is serving as chair, and Dr. DuBois and Dr. Taylor are members of the Council.

Gail Manza, executive director of MENTOR, notes: "What benefits young people is a quality mentoring experience. So, at the same time MENTOR energetically strives to close the mentoring gap so that every young person who needs a mentor has one, we are working equally hard to ensure that expansion does not proceed at the expense of quality."

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Lou Rawls (singer) mentored by Sam Cooke (singer) said, "Don't count me out brother; there's many people been diagnosed with this kind of thing and they're still jumpin' and pumpin'."

Lou Rawls, born in 1934, died in hospital in Los Angeles, California on January 6th, 2006.

~ From Famous Mentor Pairings ~

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TRANSITION MENTORING FOR NEW EMPLOYEES

Typical new employee orientation methods focus on exposing new hires to certain amounts of information, and then checking out the degree to which the new employees have absorbed that information. Some organizations attempt to disguise this approach by adding "fun" activities (scavenger hunts, for example) and including "fun" assessments (game shows and such).

I think this approach ought to be called the "missed opportunity model." At this point in the new employee's job with the organization, the emphasis of orientation ought to be on building a bond with the employee and assisting the employee to come to the conclusion that "deciding to work here is one of the best decisions I've ever made." New employee orientation ought to be a time when mentoring and coaching are demonstrated, not just mentioned in a paragraph in the handbook.

Providing information is important, but not at the expense of minimizing factors that we know are crucial to retaining employees. Many organizations have come to recognize the costs associated with employees quitting or job hopping to other companies. Retention strategies have become key components for many businesses hoping to cut costs and retain top talent. But too few companies realize that retention starts not only with recruiting practices, but also with new employee orientation.

An effective alternative is to use a peer-based new employee orientation program that includes mentoring and coaching. This program is highly interpersonal and takes place in different formats: one-on-one, peer-to-peer, or in a large group. When it is one-on-one, there is usually an experienced employee or student who volunteers as a peer mentor and acts as the catalyst for the orientation discussion. In this way the "new" employee/student orientation also becomes an "old" employee orientation as well. In a peer-based orientation model created by Peer Resources and nicknamed "VIKES", the peer mentors are trained to provide interaction that consists of five components:

* Vision ("What do you hope to accomplish by working here?" "What we hope to accomplish by having you working here.")
* Information ("What would you like to know about?" "What we think is essential to your success here.")
* Knowledge ("What have you learned so far?" "What we provide to assist with continuous learning.")
* Experience (What skills, attitudes, and experiences do you bring that will help you do the best job possible?" "What we provide to bring out the best in our employees.")
* Support ("What do you need to help you feel confident and committed?" "What we provide to help you develop and grow.")

Practicing the VIKES strategy for new employees
Classrooms are typically not part of the VIKES model. Even when the peer mentor discussion yields some learning needs on the part of the new person, the new hire or new student is encouraged by his/her mentor to propose a way to gain the learning. If there are some common themes, the peer mentors may create a "classroom" type experience for the group identifying that area. However, in most cases the new hires and students are encouraged to identify alternative ways to meet their learning needs (mostly self-study, and referrals to other resources within the school or organization).

Although not specifically described as an incentive, the VIKES model provides an opportunity for the mentors (all are volunteers) to choose how to structure their time and assignments in order to meet with the new hire or new student. In a way the model can be considered an incentive because it increases control over job responsibilities (which reduces the number one reason for job stress -- high responsibility, but low control).

The VIKES model doesn't require a welcome package of written materials. All welcoming is done personally by the peer mentor, the CEO and others. Any needs that are identified that can be met by written materials, are met by providing the materials AFTER the need is identified. This approach reduces the costs of manuals, updating, and reprinting stuff that just gathers dust on the shelf of an individual employee or is seldom of value to the new student. The peer mentor usually talks on the phone or sends email to their partner before the new hire or student arrives at the institution or organization, and arranges to meet the new person on the first day of work or school.

The VIKES system allows maximum flexibility. Organizations no longer have to have any specific days set aside for group activities. They may engage in some group activities to increase familiarity with personnel, do some cheer leading, have fun, or problem solve a common concern. Again this is another cost saver in terms of setting up and participating in meetings that only meet one person's agenda.

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Katherine Dunham (modern dance pioneer) mentor to Alvin Ailey and dozens of other dancers and choreographers said, "I have never been a person who wanted just to dance. I have always been interested in developing people and developing for other people, so I find that age has nothing to do with this."

Katherine Dunham, born in 1910, died in New York City May 21st, 2006.

~ From Famous Mentor Pairings ~

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