Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

1. Mentor Resource Guide Those who have torches will pass them on to others-Plato Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

2. Life Cycle of the Mentoring Relationship………………………………………………………3 Mentor Experience……………………………………………………………………….……..4 Personal Qualities…………………………………………………………….…………………5 Mentee’s Needs…………………………………………………………………………………6 Working Together………………………………………………………………………………7 Ground Rules……………………………………………………………………………………8 Supporting Your Mentee.……………………………………………………………………….9 Ideas for Mentoring Session……………………………………………………………….….10 Successful Mentoring……..………………………………………………………………..….11 Types of Development Activities……………………………………………………………..12 What Mentoring Sessions Look Like…………………………………………………………13 Potential Obstacles to Development…………………………………………………………..14 Mentoring Session Worksheet………………………………………………………………...15 Check Progress………………………………………………………………………………. 16 Contents

3. Life Cycle of the Mentoring Relationship  Searching  Getting Together  Getting to know each other  Developing trust  Working together  Ending the Relationship  Parting, or developing another kind of relationship - friendship 3

4. Mentors will draw on their experiences of:  Facing Difficulties  Meeting new challenges  Being helped, being a Mentee  Working with others, contributing to an organization,  Achievement, success, failure  A variety of organizations/working places  Responsibility for yourself, your actions and reactions to others and situations  Trauma and setback  Coping with stress 4

5. Personal Qualities As a Mentor you will draw on your ability to be: • Enthusiastic: genuinely interested in the Mentee and his/her concerns, needs, dreams, aspirations • Motivating and encouraging: to channel the Mentee’s energy into constructive change, new challenges and overcoming difficulties • Open: prepared to share your own experience of similar issues, be honest about yourself, be honest about the Mentee • Empathic: able to appreciate how the Mentee thinks and feels • Positive in your outlook: able to appreciate the mentee’s point of view and see solutions • A good listener: able to focus on what the Mentee is saying without your own thoughts crowding out the Mentee’s words 5

6. Your Mentee Needs… • A sounding board • Encouragement • Friendly and tactful criticism • Support • A confidant • Knowledge 6

7. Working Together The First Meeting (Key Issues) Preparation It is helpful to have an agenda for each meeting. Reflect on the nature of mentoring, the process as well as the outcomes. Think about your commitment to using mentoring well and giving it adequate time. Getting to know each other Give this enough time; it is the basis of trust and working well together. Share experiences from your past. Time Your relationship will change over time. Many Mentors and Mentees notice that discussion topics widen and deepen over time. Difficulties Sometimes things may go wrong. Nothing can replace honest and open discussion. 7

8. Establish Some Ground Rules First • ConfidentialityThis is essential. Agree between yourselves the boundaries of the relationship. • Time Commitment How much and how often? • Location Where are you going to meet? • Recording meetings Will you record your meeting, if so, how (diary? log?) 8

9. It can be useful to think about how you will provide support to your Mentee. • Look over the list below for some suggestions. Add other ideas you think • will work for you and your Mentee. • Schedule/set aside time at least every two weeks • Provide ongoing feedback • Ensure periodic progress checks against Mentee’s action plan • Reinforce the efforts of your Mentee through verbal praise • Challenge Mentee to be innovative and take risks regarding • their action plan. • Provide insight/feedback on opportunities for Mentee to • increase job satisfaction and growth. • Adjust your level of guidance to meet your Mentee’s needs. • Encourage Mentee to take responsibility for completing action • plan and measuring progress. Supporting Your Mentee 9

10. Ideas to Help you During Your Mentoring Sessions Here are some skills that are especially useful in mentoring: listening, supporting,and asking questions. What do you do especially well that can help you to be an effective Mentor? ListeningListening ishard work, yet when people are asked about their greatest coach or mentor they frequently mention listening first. - Try not to interrupt. - Listen for content and feelings. - Use verbal and nonverbal signals to acknowledge your interest (eye contact, affirming nods) - Paraphrase or summarize before you respond. Supporting Being supportive is another key skill for Mentors. When you are enthusiastic, optimistic, and express confidence, you are supportive. - Listen. - Expect success, and express confidence. - Focus on strengths. - Acknowledge worries and concerns, but don’t dwell on them. Questioning Most of us like our own ideas rather than ones others give us. This is especially true when it comes to something about us, such as our personal development. Try to avoid telling the person what to do. Ask questions instead. - Ask broad, open questions, “What do you think?” “What makes you say that?” - Allow time for an answer. Use listening skills. - Don’t evaluate or crush ideas you don’t like. Ask, “What’s another idea?” - Remember that the Mentee’s goal is the focus 10

11. What Makes a Succesful Mentor/Mentee Relationship? Listed below are some factors generally associated with a good Mentor/Mentee relationship. 1. Individuals are responsible for their development. You can provide support, but the energy and effort must come from the person you are mentoring. You should not be the one taking the initiative. 2. Job related development is essential. While books and other educational activities can help, the most powerful development takes place on the job. 3. Mentoring is an ongoing process, not a one-time event. Frequent discussions and feedback are critical, and what you say and do makes a significant difference in the outcome. 4. The most important step is the first one. A good plan makes a huge difference. It has been said that, “What’s well begun is half done.” 5. Development works best in a structured process. It’s like a project, and like all projects, it works best if approached systematically. 6. Progress comes in small steps. If a sense of accomplishment is too far off, interest and enthusiasm quickly drops. Frequent small successes and progress checks help build and sustain momentum. 7. Integrate your mentoring with ongoing activities. Otherwise the press of day to day responsibilities can easily overwhelm even the best intentions. 11

12. Types of Development Activities Learning opportunities for Mentees include on-the-job development activities, reading books, watching videos, and attending conferences or training programs. It is helpful to include all types of learning opportunities. While books, videos, seminars, and outside training are worthwhile, on-the-job development activities tend to have the greatest impact. On-the-job development activitiescan include: - Working with other departments or committees - New projects or special assignments - Presentations - Special roles/assignments during meetings - Switching jobs for a day - Vacation or other temporary replacement - Reduced supervision - Allowing more independence in structuring work - Leading a project or taking on other leadership roles These on-the-job development activities can be helpful in creating positive outcomes. Which of these might be included in the Mentee’s Action Plan? Which books, articles and training, might you recommend to be included in the Mentee’s Action Plan? 12

13. What a Mentoring Session Might Look Like The following guidelines can help you facilitate a mutually productive mentoring session. 1.Open Begin your meeting by agreeing on the purpose of the session. 2. Listen Gather the details about your Mentee’s action plan and ask questions to clarify your understanding. 3.DiscussConfirm areas of agreement and explore alternatives where necessary. Be sure action steps are clear and progress measures have been identified. 4.Conclude End by summarizing agreed-upon actions and express confidence in your Mentee’s ability to achieve their goals. You can use the worksheets on the following pages for both preparation and recording notes during your meetings. 13

14. There are many obstacles which can interfere with the Mentoring relationship. • Here are a few. • Individual development is put off and takes a back burner to day-to-day • responsibilities because we say there is not enough time. • 2. The goals established are not viewed as critical for success with the • supervisor/manager. • 3. Failing to set specific and measurable goals. • 4. Habits, (good and bad) are hard to change. • 5. Good intentions may turn to delays and resistance as time progresses. • 6. Hesitancy to expose what we see as weaknesses to others. • 7. Vulnerability in a coaching relationship. • People think that developmental activities only involve attending • training classes. • Ideas for removing potential obstacles. • ___________________________________________________________________ • ___________________________________________________________________ • ___________________________________________________________________ Potential Obstacles to Development 14

15. Mentoring Session Worksheet This worksheet can be used for preparing and recording meeting notes. 1. Open the Meeting: How will you state the purpose of this meeting and check for agreement? Consider how you will open the meeting with your Mentee. __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 2. Listen: Ask the Mentee to review their action plan. What clarifying questions will you ask? __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 3. Discuss: Confirm areas where you agree about the action plan, including the progress measures and date. If you feel they should be different, explore alternatives. Summarize your discussion below. _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ 4. Conclude: Confirm your agreement. Reaffirm your support. Arrange next session. __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Today’s Date: _______________ Next Meeting: ________________ 15

16. To be used during Mentor/Mentee meetings 1. Check Progress Compare progress toward your objectives. 2. Done Well What have you done well in working toward your objective? 3. Need Improvement What haven’t you done well? Where is improvement needed? 4. Action Plan Revisions List any revisions or adjustments to your goals. 5. Next Steps How will you measure progress between now and the end of the program? Today’s Date ______________ Checking Progress 16