MENTORING

“THE ART AND REWARDS OF MENTORING©"
By Shirley M. Carolan, ATM


When I finished the first draft of this topic, over 4 weeks ago, I was quite satisfied with the results. After all, over the years, I had mentored enough people to know what I was talking about. Yet, something kept nagging at me to go on-line and find more information and tips on mentoring. That has been my undoing. I uncovered a plethora of material on the subject. Next came agonizing decisions on what, and how much, to incorporate in my Mentoring article. Also, I found large inconsistencies between examples of being a mentor and being a coach. It seems that coaches are an entirely different breed and get paid for their coaching. Whereas, for the most part, mentors do not charge fees. As a result of all this research, I now, I have enough material to write a paid article, on the differences and scope between coaches and mentors, should that opportunity arise.

Meanwhile, my article is about mentoring, particularly as it applies to the new members in my Toastmasters club! It may be specific in nature but you can certainly take the tips offered and apply them to your own business needs. So first,

Let's Define What Mentoring Is:

The finest description I ran across was from The Mentoring Group/CCC, Grass Valley, CA. "MENTORING IS: The process in which successful individuals go out of their way to help others establish their goals and develop the skills to reach them." We certainly do this in Toastmasters International. My Toastmaster Club, Tick Talk Toastmasters, Carlsbad, CA has a formal mentoring program. Indeed, mentoring is the new requirement for the "competent leader" designation!

Why Should You Get A Mentor?

Again, The Mentoring Group/CCC goes on to say "MENTORING CAN HELP YOU: acquire skills, open doors, increase confidence, widen your perspective, avoid many errors, otherwise enhance your career and life, and help your organization succeed."

I concur, so we're off to a fine start! Obviously, that's only part of the equation. But, I'm not going to waste precious space, your eyes, and my time dispelling some of the myths about mentoring! That's for another time and article. Instead, I'm going to focus on the actual mentoring role, how to go about it, setting some ground rules, and knowing when to part ways.

Make no mistake about it, mentoring is an art form. It’s a two-way street that many folks miss, or completely overlook, especially if they have never been asked to mentor a newcomer. The person who mentors gets as much satisfaction and pleasure from mentoring as the person being mentored. It’s an educational process for both. Plus, it’s a very rewarding way to give back to your Toastmaster Club. Once you have mentored a newcomer you will want to do it again!

It's been my experience that mentored Toastmasters have a very determined agenda to succeed at their communications skills, complete their manual speeches, and are not afraid to enter contests. Their confidence and commitment are both obvious and contagious.

Incidentally, Webster’s dictionary defines a Mentor as an adviser, counselor, guide, tutor, teacher and/or guru. Before you mentor someone, however, I’d like to expand on that description and offer you some tips:

● You have to care about others in order to be of service/help to them.

● You have to be an expert in your field, somebody who has achieved a level of competence in your craft and recognition by your peers.

● You have to be a good listener!

● You have to be willing and able to mentor someone.

● It takes time and patience to produce effective results. Do you have the necessary time?

● You have to be honest in your feedback. You will be using all your evaluator skills. And, just like you don’t want an evaluator to white wash you, or your efforts, you need to be diplomatic (in your comments). This means leaving your ego at the door and putting yourself in the shoes of your mentee.

Usually, I am asked by a newcomer if I would mentor them after they have heard me speak a few times. This has nothing to do with ego, or my English accent, rather it has to do with years of experience and poise at the podium. Thus, whenever I mentor anyone from Toastmasters I have several rules that I follow:

● First, I ascertain the mentee’s goals, time table (for completing the first manual of speeches), and willingness to step out of their comfort zone. and try new ideas or methods.

● Next, I find out if they have ever used audio-visual equipment and how competent they are. Most folks today are computer literate and designing slides in Powerpoint for a presentation is not a daunting thing. The art of how to show slides in a presentation is for another article.

If for any reason the person is unfamiliar with the technology, I suggest services like Kinko’s, Office Depot, etc. If necessary, I will also offer the use of my overhead projector.

● Usually, I insist that a mentee use a tape recorder to record their presentation, or other recording device, e.g., an iPod, so that they can play it back at different times throughout the day. Not surprisingly, a voice can sound different in the early morning hours to later in the evening. I also suggest that they record their presentation when they give it live before an audience. I find this helpful in pinpointing how, where or why I went off track from my practice sessions.

● Next, I tell them to record the Evaluator’s comments. The golden nuggets that come from this feedback are sometimes priceless! It’s also another educational tool to help give better presentations, which I find a lot of people overlook.

Lastly, before you decide to mentor someone, review the above suggestions and then set some reasonable guidelines for them, as well as yourself. Be up front in what you expect from them and what you are willing to contribute. While nothing is buried in cement, it doesn't hurt to know, in advance, what expectations are at stake.

As mentioned earlier, Mentoring is certainly not unique to Toastmasters. But, as a part of a mentoring group with my Toastmaster Club, I know how well a mentoring program works. If your Toastmaster club does not have a mentoring program I highly recommend that you set about instituting one. The benefits are profound because not only do the mentor and mentee benefit, but the whole club benefits! How? Through better, more polished and articulate speeches, where the mentee can literally showcase his/her growth! I have seen wallflowers blossom into tigers on the platform. I have seen shaky, inept speakers turn into dynamos ready to compete in any one of our annual contests, from Humorous, Tall Tales, Table Topics, to the coveted International Speech Contest. I have seen seasoned pros, including myself, fall by the wayside by a "newbie" who was mentored in the fine art of public speaking, Now that's progress!

Happy Mentoring!


Shirley M. Carolan, ATM
Speaker/Writer/Coach
Phone/Fax: 760-732-0663
carolcom@qwestinternet.net
www.shirleycarolan.com
http://smcarolan.blogspot.com

Copyright © 2006 by Shirley Carolan. All rights reserved. To reprint any portion of this article simply contact Shirey Carolan at carolcom@qwestinternet.net .