Mentors Who Make a Difference
Author: Lin Grensing-Pophal
Date: August 01, 2006
In Greek legend, Mentor was Odysseus's wise and trusted counselor. During the Middle Ages, mentors were an important resource for trade guilds, allowing apprentices to learn from their experienced "masters." Today, mentors are personal consultants, professional critics and friendly advisers. While many people in business have never had a mentor, most of those who have say they have found the relationship to be rewarding in many ways.
John Schuster, for instance, the author of Answering Your Call: A Guide to Living Your Deepest Purpose (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2003), says: "I have had the honor to be mentored by Frederic Hudson and Peter Block. They both were outstanding at passing on the deep dimensions of human development in work settings and the challenges that leaders face in organizations to deliver both efficient and human solutions. They inspired, provoked and - most importantly - put their ideas into action." Today, Schuster, 58, is a mentor himself, passing on the wisdom he learned from these important people in his life.
Liz Bywater, Ph.D., is an organizational consultant/business consultant currently involved in two mentoring relationships. "They help in numerous ways," says Bywater. "They provide pragmatic information about consulting practices and help me reach the next level of excellence. They give me great ideas and feedback about the 'nitty-gritty' stuff of running a consulting business - everything from networking and marketing, to financing the business, to branding and identity."
The Value of Mentors.
Mentoring, says ArLyne Diamond, Ph.D., a management consultant in Santa Clara, Calif., "is not teaching, parenting, training, coaching or managing." Mentoring is an older and wiser individual helping someone - generally younger and less experienced - learn the ropes of life and the business world, she says.
For HR consultants, a good mentor is someone who provides valuable insights into the "behind the scenes" aspects of consulting - the things that cannot be learned in a book or article or on the Internet. Mentors can help avoid the pitfalls and roadblocks that might otherwise trip up younger colleagues; a mentor helps teach them the practical aspects of succeeding in the
consulting field.
Lois Zachary, Ed.D., is the author of The Mentor's Guide (Jossey Bass, 2000) and Creating a Mentoring Culture (Jossey Bass, 2006) and the president of Leadership Development Services LLC in Phoenix. It is important for consultants to have "multiple mentoring relationships and gather wisdom from multiple sources," Zachary says. Multiple mentors help to broaden the consultant's perspectives, providing insights and wisdom from varying points of view, she says. Making those multiple connections can be the basis for "connections that ultimately will get you jobs," she adds.
When Zachary relocated to Phoenix, she did not waste a lot of time waiting for people to come to her or wondering how to break into the established culture of the Phoenix business climate. Instead, she connected with other consultants and formed Consultants Connection - a networking group designed to "support one another and provide each other continuing education by sharing our own experience with each other, talking about issues and just sharing space and being together." The group engages in peer coaching and peer mentoring, and hosts speakers and outside experts, she says. The group's activities have been "a very, very rich source of information
and inspiration."
Another tool that Zachary recommends for independent consultants is the "personal board of directors." Using this model, "an individual seeks out and recruits multiple mentors to help achieve specific goals," she says. Under the model, mentors meet with the mentee at regular intervals. It is up to the mentee to manage the learning process by making calls and hosting the meetings. That way both mentor and mentee share accountability for the learning process and achieving the desired results.
Today, mentoring relationships do not need to exist in "real time" or even involve face-to-face contact. Connections can take place in "virtual space." However you connect, she stresses, "you owe it to yourself to seek out some mentors." Not all mentoring relationships are created equal, of course. What should HR consultants be looking for - and looking out for - in potential mentors? "
What To Look For . . . and 'Look Out' For.
Bywater suggests that HR consultants look for mentors who have "expertise, great communication skills, a personality style well-matched to your own -
and availability."
Do not weigh personal characteristics too heavily, though, Zachary cautions.
The natural tendency, she says, is for mentors to be selected based on "chemistry." But, she cautions, the "prospecting conversation should be more than a litmus test for chemistry." Instead, she says, consultants
should consider:
- Whether the potential mentor will challenge the junior colleague's thinking and encourage him or her to constantly raise the bar for their own growth and development.
- Whether the potential mentor has the expertise, experience, time and willingness to help achieve the desired learning goals.
- Whether the junior consultant will feel comfortable learning from this individual; is there a "good learning fit?"
Selecting a mentor - or board of mentors - should be "a very strategic decision," Zachary says. "At the heart of this decision is figuring outwhat your goal is." Once both the goals and mentor have been identified, "it's important to take the time to set up the relationship so that there's amutual understanding of your goal, some ground rules in place, someaccountabilities in place and an action plan for how learning is going totake place," she says.
It is also important for HR consultants to recognize that the onus of makingthe relationship work is not solely on the mentor. Successful mentoringrelationships require an equal partnership and a give-and-take that benefitsboth parties.
How To Nurture an Effective Relationship.
Judith Glaser is the author of The DNA of Leadership (Platinum Press Inc., 2006) and an executive coach. A common theme in mentoring relationships,from the mentee's perspective, says Glaser, is: "help me get smart fast."Glaser says she's often approached at business meetings and presentationsshe gives by people who say: "I'm trying to build my business - do you think we could sit down and you could help me so I can be successful?" Basically,what they are saying is "help me get good - fast!"
That is a naive perspective, Glaser says, because there are two peopleinvolved in the mentoring relationship - the mentee and the mentor. For both,"You get what you give." There is a lot of learning that takes place on bothsides of the mentoring relationship, she says. "Every once in a while youneed to stop, take a breath and ask each other 'are we getting what
we need?' "
Zachary says there are some specific things that HR consultants can do toensure that the mentoring relationship is a positive one:
- Be open - ask for feedback and be willing to hear it.
- Take the initiative - be committed to your own growth and development as aprofessional.
- Honor your commitments.
- Get to know your mentor.
Most importantly, take the time to seek out mentors - in "real" or "virtual"situations. Too often, Zachary acknowledges, consultants are "so busyhelping other people grow that we don't take the time to grow ourselves."
Get over it, she says. "There's an old saying that says 'taking time savestime.' You owe it to yourself to seek out some mentors to help you grow as aprofessional and get to the next level. Don't let the time commitment be
a barrier."
Lin Grensing-Pophal, SPHR, is a Wisconsin-based business journalist with HR consulting experience in employee communication, training and managementissues. She is the author of Human Resource Essentials: Your Guide toStarting and Running the HR Function (SHRM, 2002).
Consultants' Focus Area of the
Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) website.
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