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A Paradigm Shift-Mentor Mentee Relationship
                 Alignment




                                              1
A Paradigm Shift
                                                              -Mentor Mentee Relationship Alignment


                                                                                               Executive Summary

                                           Executives and Top Management of the largest and most complex
                                         global organizations are increasing their focus on cultivating talents
          Table of Contents             Across the firm. This emphasis on identifying and cultivating leadership
                                          pipeline is driven both by the need to manage through current economic
Executive Summary                1     turbulence as well as the challenges of promoting long term corporate
                                          growth. Hence, that Mentoring serves as the powerful source of Transfer
                                         of Job Knowledge and aides Succession Planning.
Concept –Mentoring, Mentor       2
and Mentee                                Mentoring defined as developmental assistance offered to a junior
                                          Employee by someone more senior and experienced in the organization.
                                            Although mentoring, in practice, may stray from this definition, its
Various Roles Played by Mentor   2         application and intention remains the same—provide a tangible benefit
                                       in terms of business results to the organization, Development of high
                                        potential employees and Talent pipeline development/succession
                                       planning .Mentoring is a protected relationship, in which learning and
Business Case                    3       experimentation occur through analysis, examination, reexamination and
                                       reflection on practice, situations, problems, mistakes and Successes (of
                                        both the mentors and the mentees) to identify learning opportunities
Analyzing the Problem Areas      4      And gaps.

                                             ….Mentoring is about helping the learner/mentee to grow in self
                                        Confidence and develop independence, autonomy and maturity.
Case Solution                    4      The mentoring relationship is a special relationship where two people
                                         make a real connection with each other. In other words they form a bond.
                                          It is built on mutual trust and respect, openness and honesty where each
Conclusion                       7               party can be itself. It is a powerful and emotional relationship. The
                                             Mentoring relationship enables the mentee to learn and grow in a safe
                                        and protected environment.

                                     …The quality of the relationship is crucial to a successful outcome; If bonding
                                     does not occur and one or both of the two parties are not comfortable within
                                           The Relationship then neither learning nor Mentoring will be sustained.




                                                                                                                    2
Concept-Mentoring, Mentor and Mentee

Mentoring: is defined as developmental assistance offered to a junior employee by someone more senior and
experienced in the organization. Although, mentoring, in practice, may stray from this definition, its application and
intention remains the same—provide a tangible benefit in terms of business results to the organization.

Mentor: The senior leader guiding the junior member on Leadership, Business and Emotional aspect is called
Mentor. Specific Benefits to a Mentor:
   · Develops own Leadership skills
   · Understands Leadership Bench strength

Mentee: The Professional being mentored is called a Mentee.
 Specific Benefits that a Mentor can provide are as follows:
    · Receives Instructions in specific skills and knowledge critical to successful job performance
    · Receives Help in understanding the unwritten rules in the organization
    · Receives Answers to questions and offers important insights
    · Offer Emotional Support
    · Serve as a Role Model
Create an environment in which mistakes can be made without losing self confidence.

                                                                                 Various Roles Played by a Mentor

The Mentor’s role requires wearing hats of a Counselor, Coach and a Mentor. However, it is essential to understand
the key difference between these terms which are often used interchangeable:


Particulars             Coaching                             Counseling            Mentoring
                                                                                   Deals with organizational,
                      Deals with performance problems Deals with emotional         career or personal
Scope and Limitations and specific challenges            problems                  transitions
Central Focus         Task Centered                      Problem Centered          Possibility Centered
                                                                                   Works on the interface
                      Works for developing and selecting                           between the individual's
                      options for behavior in specific   Work's on clients         identity and the big
What is worked on?    Situations                         embodiment of the problem picture
Time Frame            Short to medium term               Past and present          Past present and future
                                                                                   The client's thoughts,
Areas for discussion  How the client acts                How the client feels      feelings and actions
                                                                                   Professional unconnected
                      Line manager or professional                                 to day-to-day life
Who does it?          personal coach                     Professional third party  (off-line)
Areas for potential                                                                Knowledge, skills and
benefit               Knowledge & skills                 Insights                  insights




                                                                                                                     3
Business Case




                   Compulsory Executive Mentoring Program (CEMP) Failed Miserable
Situation: In January 2005, with roughly a major chunk of employees in a XYZ Company nearing Retirements, it is
essential to devise a mechanism to transfer Job Knowledge and build the Talent Bench of *High Potentials in the
Company. In order to address the concern, the Head HR along with the Business Vertical Heads diagnosed the
threats looming on the organization. He devised an Action Plan. The Plan would take 3 years time in order to
provide results and the key elements of the plan are as follows:
    a) To devise the **DNA of the Future leader.
    b) The DNA provides a roadmap on the key characteristics of the future Leaders
    c) The Assessment was administered in the team which is considered from a High Potential Set of
         Employees and currently in a Managerial profile.
    d) Business Vertical Heads were asked to mentor and provide guidance to these Hi Potential set of group
         that would be allocated to them
    e) A Compulsory Executive Mentoring Program (CEMP) was launched as a Process wherein every Business
         Vertical Head was given a Manager to be trained in January 2008.
    f) After giving basic information about Mentoring Concept, follows, the mentor and mentee were asked to
         spent time with each other.
    After completion of first year of the program, the HR Head was anticipating a positive outcome. However,
    survey findings from these mentors and mentees to gauge their feedback on the training revealed major
    mismatch in the expectations of Business Vertical Heads from their Managers and vice versa which is as
    follows:
    · Mismatch of mentor/mentee
    · Mismatch of expectations
    · Reluctant mentor/mentee
    · Overzealous mentee
    · Gender mismatch
    · Cultural mismatch
    · Emotional involvement
    · Broken confidentiality
    · Conflicting Managers and Mentees
    · Obstructions from conflicts of others, e.g. mentees line manager, colleagues, partners
    · Parameters/boundaries not agreed in advance

     The HR Head is in a predicament since a well devised program had reflected poor results. The current issue
     was to find where did they go wrong and accordingly take corrective actions.
                    -------------------x------------x---------------x---------------------------



*A High Potential criteria is different for different organizations, however, in the above case is a professional who is
a Team Manager (Manages self and others i.e. subordinates) and is able to achieve two promotions in four years
time.
**DNA of Future Leader- The knowledge, skill and behavioral attributes that he/she should possess as designed for
a future leader

                                                                                                                      4
Analyzing the Problem Areas

The Program was devised over a period of three years and efforts by various Business Vertical Heads and Human
Resource Team were invested to bring out a structured succession planning Initiative called Compulsory Executive
Mentoring Program (CEMP).However, after going through the case, the following elements were not seen
    · There was no involvement of Head‘s /CXO’s of Company i.e. Steering Committee or Apex Committee (which
        consists of representatives from each business unit) for providing solutions and guidance.
    · There was no assessment conducted to understand the Business Vertical Head’s comfort level towards playing
        a mentor’s role
    · Each Business Vertical Head was allocated a manager; it was a forced decision thrusted on Managers.
    · HR had only provided general information on mentoring to Participants.
    · No Ice Breaker session or initial orientation program between mentor and mentee was conducted.
    · No Agreement to formalize the association or goals was set.
    · No Guidelines was set regarding meetings.
    · A survey needs to be conducted after every twelve months to assess the satisfaction rate wherein 100%
        participation response should be measured. The frequency for gauging the feedback is very low.
This resulted in high pressure regarding results, no sense of direction and ambiguity without setting any goals or
expectations.


                                                                                                          Case Solution

The above diagnosis reflects that the Mentor and Mentee were following the “Ritualistic Relationship” that is
followed in a Corporate rather than participating in the real spirit. Some of solutions like Defining ‘Responsibilities of
Menter and Mentee’ and ‘Mentor Mentee Agreement ‘can be implemented to bring about seriousness in this
association.

                                                                             Responsibilities of Mentor and Mentee

Employee job descriptions are written statements describe the duties, responsibilities, required qualifications, and
reporting relationships of a particular job. Similarly, defining Responsibilities of a Mentor and Mentee would create
awareness of their deliverables; this would further help them align towards their goals or purpose in a smooth and
structured manner. Broad areas of responsibilities are mentioned in the below Figure:




                                                                                                                        5
Mentor                                                                 Mentee


   Responsibilities
      · Clear Objectives of Involvement                                   Responsibilities
                                                                             · Clear Objectives of
       ·   Mentor’s should know his                                              Involvement
           /her Strength and weakness
           should complement mentee’s                                        ·   Should know Self’s strengths
           development needs.                                                    and weakness and the
                                                                                 expectations from Mentor
       ·   Executive Coaching should                                             should be cleared
           be assigned to Mentor                                                 communicated

       ·   Should be a Active Listener                                       ·   Choice to select a mentor
                                                                                 should be a decision of self
       ·   Should exercise a thought
           provoking conversations and help                                  ·   Mentee‘s Expectations with
           arrive at solutions                                                   respect to future career
                                                                                 aspirations should be clear
       ·   Should never go out of his way
           to help a Mentee                                                  ·   Should not develop a
                                                                                 Dependency on mentor or
                                                                                 become indecisive in absence
                                                                                 of Mentor



                                         Figure1. Responsibilities of Mentor & Mentee




                                                                                     Mentor Mentee Agreement

The objective of bringing about an Agreement and getting the same signed by all the parties –Mentor, Mentee and
Organization is to bring about an element of seriousness which would benefit all of them. The Premises stated below
are to bring about a discipline rather than to regulate the relationship. The following are the broad premises:


                                                                                                                 6
Premises in          Mentor                                 Mentee
the Agreement
Criteria             Heading a Business Vertical and        Identified as a High Potential in the organization
                     willing voluntarily to be a Mentor
Kick Off Meeting     The meeting is a one day off site      The meeting is a one day off site meeting wherein
                     meeting wherein all the mentors        all the mentors and mentee meet and know each
                     and mentee meet and know each          other better
                     other better
Selection            It will depend on Mentee’s decision.   They are given free will to select the mentor who is
Parameter                                                   a Participant. The process of selection would be
                                                            following the same is following the First In First Out
                                                            Basis (FIFO) Principle .i.e. Total Number of Mentors
                                                            are from A to D If the mentor A is selected by
                                                            Mentee 1 first ,then for Mentee 2 -three options
                                                            are available viz. B, C and D
Expectations         Should be responsible for imbibe       Should be able to place trust in mentor i.e. able to
                     the confidence in the mentee for       accept that the mentor would be able to provide
                     shouldering responsibilities           direction to his career and groom him in his area’s
                     independently and as per the           improvement.
                     Mentee’s needs.
Frequency and        The meeting should conducted in        The meeting should conducted in informal setting
location of          informal setting and once every        and once every month for 2 hours minimum and
Meetings             month for 2 hours minimum and          maximum time as per choice
                     maximum time as per choice
External Influence   A common Executive Coach would         A common Executive Coach would be assigned to
                     be assigned to both –Mentor and        both –Mentor and Mentee. He can be
                     Mentee. He can be approachable by      approachable by either of the parties-Organization,
                     either of the parties-Organization,    Mentor or Mentee
                     Mentor or Mentee
Responsibility of    The mentee will be responsible for     The mentee will be responsible for calling the
initiating the       calling the mentor and arrange a       mentor and arrange a meeting
meetings             meeting
Duration             The contract would be for 1 year       The contract would be for 1 year.
Goals &              The goal & expectation of mentee       The goal & expectation of mentee should be
Expectations         should be mentioned in the contract    mentioned in the contract
Assessment           Every Quarter, an online survey        Every Quarter, an online survey would be
/Feedback            would be conducted                     conducted
Feedback Review      A common Executive Coach would         A common Executive Coach would be reviewing
by Executive         be reviewing the and discuss ding      the and discuss ding the same with all the parties
Coach                the same with all the parties
Exit                 It should be a mutual decision of      It should be a mutual decision of Mentor and
                     Mentor and Mentee if they would        Mentee if they would wish to continue or would
                     wish to continue or would like to      like to party with this association
                     party with this association




                                                                                                                     7
Conclusion

Mentoring is a voluntary relationship between two individual-the mentor and the mentee which will result in a
positive, facilitative and mutual developmental activity which is not related to nor form part of organizational systems,
of assessment, appraisal or performance review. It is imperative that the end result of the Program should not mar the
objective of the process of building relationship. There are many Mentoring programs that match Mentors and
Mentees through a variety of means that require different level of resources. However, the above process is a
mechanism to find the most appropriate match while still overseeing the process enough to ensure effective
knowledge transfer and Mentor Mentee’s participant development.




                                                                                                                       8
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Paradigm Shift- Mentor Mentee Relationship Alignment

  • 1. Paper on A Paradigm Shift-Mentor Mentee Relationship Alignment 1
  • 2. A Paradigm Shift -Mentor Mentee Relationship Alignment Executive Summary Executives and Top Management of the largest and most complex global organizations are increasing their focus on cultivating talents Table of Contents Across the firm. This emphasis on identifying and cultivating leadership pipeline is driven both by the need to manage through current economic Executive Summary 1 turbulence as well as the challenges of promoting long term corporate growth. Hence, that Mentoring serves as the powerful source of Transfer of Job Knowledge and aides Succession Planning. Concept –Mentoring, Mentor 2 and Mentee Mentoring defined as developmental assistance offered to a junior Employee by someone more senior and experienced in the organization. Although mentoring, in practice, may stray from this definition, its Various Roles Played by Mentor 2 application and intention remains the same—provide a tangible benefit in terms of business results to the organization, Development of high potential employees and Talent pipeline development/succession planning .Mentoring is a protected relationship, in which learning and Business Case 3 experimentation occur through analysis, examination, reexamination and reflection on practice, situations, problems, mistakes and Successes (of both the mentors and the mentees) to identify learning opportunities Analyzing the Problem Areas 4 And gaps. ….Mentoring is about helping the learner/mentee to grow in self Confidence and develop independence, autonomy and maturity. Case Solution 4 The mentoring relationship is a special relationship where two people make a real connection with each other. In other words they form a bond. It is built on mutual trust and respect, openness and honesty where each Conclusion 7 party can be itself. It is a powerful and emotional relationship. The Mentoring relationship enables the mentee to learn and grow in a safe and protected environment. …The quality of the relationship is crucial to a successful outcome; If bonding does not occur and one or both of the two parties are not comfortable within The Relationship then neither learning nor Mentoring will be sustained. 2
  • 3. Concept-Mentoring, Mentor and Mentee Mentoring: is defined as developmental assistance offered to a junior employee by someone more senior and experienced in the organization. Although, mentoring, in practice, may stray from this definition, its application and intention remains the same—provide a tangible benefit in terms of business results to the organization. Mentor: The senior leader guiding the junior member on Leadership, Business and Emotional aspect is called Mentor. Specific Benefits to a Mentor: · Develops own Leadership skills · Understands Leadership Bench strength Mentee: The Professional being mentored is called a Mentee. Specific Benefits that a Mentor can provide are as follows: · Receives Instructions in specific skills and knowledge critical to successful job performance · Receives Help in understanding the unwritten rules in the organization · Receives Answers to questions and offers important insights · Offer Emotional Support · Serve as a Role Model Create an environment in which mistakes can be made without losing self confidence. Various Roles Played by a Mentor The Mentor’s role requires wearing hats of a Counselor, Coach and a Mentor. However, it is essential to understand the key difference between these terms which are often used interchangeable: Particulars Coaching Counseling Mentoring Deals with organizational, Deals with performance problems Deals with emotional career or personal Scope and Limitations and specific challenges problems transitions Central Focus Task Centered Problem Centered Possibility Centered Works on the interface Works for developing and selecting between the individual's options for behavior in specific Work's on clients identity and the big What is worked on? Situations embodiment of the problem picture Time Frame Short to medium term Past and present Past present and future The client's thoughts, Areas for discussion How the client acts How the client feels feelings and actions Professional unconnected Line manager or professional to day-to-day life Who does it? personal coach Professional third party (off-line) Areas for potential Knowledge, skills and benefit Knowledge & skills Insights insights 3
  • 4. Business Case Compulsory Executive Mentoring Program (CEMP) Failed Miserable Situation: In January 2005, with roughly a major chunk of employees in a XYZ Company nearing Retirements, it is essential to devise a mechanism to transfer Job Knowledge and build the Talent Bench of *High Potentials in the Company. In order to address the concern, the Head HR along with the Business Vertical Heads diagnosed the threats looming on the organization. He devised an Action Plan. The Plan would take 3 years time in order to provide results and the key elements of the plan are as follows: a) To devise the **DNA of the Future leader. b) The DNA provides a roadmap on the key characteristics of the future Leaders c) The Assessment was administered in the team which is considered from a High Potential Set of Employees and currently in a Managerial profile. d) Business Vertical Heads were asked to mentor and provide guidance to these Hi Potential set of group that would be allocated to them e) A Compulsory Executive Mentoring Program (CEMP) was launched as a Process wherein every Business Vertical Head was given a Manager to be trained in January 2008. f) After giving basic information about Mentoring Concept, follows, the mentor and mentee were asked to spent time with each other. After completion of first year of the program, the HR Head was anticipating a positive outcome. However, survey findings from these mentors and mentees to gauge their feedback on the training revealed major mismatch in the expectations of Business Vertical Heads from their Managers and vice versa which is as follows: · Mismatch of mentor/mentee · Mismatch of expectations · Reluctant mentor/mentee · Overzealous mentee · Gender mismatch · Cultural mismatch · Emotional involvement · Broken confidentiality · Conflicting Managers and Mentees · Obstructions from conflicts of others, e.g. mentees line manager, colleagues, partners · Parameters/boundaries not agreed in advance The HR Head is in a predicament since a well devised program had reflected poor results. The current issue was to find where did they go wrong and accordingly take corrective actions. -------------------x------------x---------------x--------------------------- *A High Potential criteria is different for different organizations, however, in the above case is a professional who is a Team Manager (Manages self and others i.e. subordinates) and is able to achieve two promotions in four years time. **DNA of Future Leader- The knowledge, skill and behavioral attributes that he/she should possess as designed for a future leader 4
  • 5. Analyzing the Problem Areas The Program was devised over a period of three years and efforts by various Business Vertical Heads and Human Resource Team were invested to bring out a structured succession planning Initiative called Compulsory Executive Mentoring Program (CEMP).However, after going through the case, the following elements were not seen · There was no involvement of Head‘s /CXO’s of Company i.e. Steering Committee or Apex Committee (which consists of representatives from each business unit) for providing solutions and guidance. · There was no assessment conducted to understand the Business Vertical Head’s comfort level towards playing a mentor’s role · Each Business Vertical Head was allocated a manager; it was a forced decision thrusted on Managers. · HR had only provided general information on mentoring to Participants. · No Ice Breaker session or initial orientation program between mentor and mentee was conducted. · No Agreement to formalize the association or goals was set. · No Guidelines was set regarding meetings. · A survey needs to be conducted after every twelve months to assess the satisfaction rate wherein 100% participation response should be measured. The frequency for gauging the feedback is very low. This resulted in high pressure regarding results, no sense of direction and ambiguity without setting any goals or expectations. Case Solution The above diagnosis reflects that the Mentor and Mentee were following the “Ritualistic Relationship” that is followed in a Corporate rather than participating in the real spirit. Some of solutions like Defining ‘Responsibilities of Menter and Mentee’ and ‘Mentor Mentee Agreement ‘can be implemented to bring about seriousness in this association. Responsibilities of Mentor and Mentee Employee job descriptions are written statements describe the duties, responsibilities, required qualifications, and reporting relationships of a particular job. Similarly, defining Responsibilities of a Mentor and Mentee would create awareness of their deliverables; this would further help them align towards their goals or purpose in a smooth and structured manner. Broad areas of responsibilities are mentioned in the below Figure: 5
  • 6. Mentor Mentee Responsibilities · Clear Objectives of Involvement Responsibilities · Clear Objectives of · Mentor’s should know his Involvement /her Strength and weakness should complement mentee’s · Should know Self’s strengths development needs. and weakness and the expectations from Mentor · Executive Coaching should should be cleared be assigned to Mentor communicated · Should be a Active Listener · Choice to select a mentor should be a decision of self · Should exercise a thought provoking conversations and help · Mentee‘s Expectations with arrive at solutions respect to future career aspirations should be clear · Should never go out of his way to help a Mentee · Should not develop a Dependency on mentor or become indecisive in absence of Mentor Figure1. Responsibilities of Mentor & Mentee Mentor Mentee Agreement The objective of bringing about an Agreement and getting the same signed by all the parties –Mentor, Mentee and Organization is to bring about an element of seriousness which would benefit all of them. The Premises stated below are to bring about a discipline rather than to regulate the relationship. The following are the broad premises: 6
  • 7. Premises in Mentor Mentee the Agreement Criteria Heading a Business Vertical and Identified as a High Potential in the organization willing voluntarily to be a Mentor Kick Off Meeting The meeting is a one day off site The meeting is a one day off site meeting wherein meeting wherein all the mentors all the mentors and mentee meet and know each and mentee meet and know each other better other better Selection It will depend on Mentee’s decision. They are given free will to select the mentor who is Parameter a Participant. The process of selection would be following the same is following the First In First Out Basis (FIFO) Principle .i.e. Total Number of Mentors are from A to D If the mentor A is selected by Mentee 1 first ,then for Mentee 2 -three options are available viz. B, C and D Expectations Should be responsible for imbibe Should be able to place trust in mentor i.e. able to the confidence in the mentee for accept that the mentor would be able to provide shouldering responsibilities direction to his career and groom him in his area’s independently and as per the improvement. Mentee’s needs. Frequency and The meeting should conducted in The meeting should conducted in informal setting location of informal setting and once every and once every month for 2 hours minimum and Meetings month for 2 hours minimum and maximum time as per choice maximum time as per choice External Influence A common Executive Coach would A common Executive Coach would be assigned to be assigned to both –Mentor and both –Mentor and Mentee. He can be Mentee. He can be approachable by approachable by either of the parties-Organization, either of the parties-Organization, Mentor or Mentee Mentor or Mentee Responsibility of The mentee will be responsible for The mentee will be responsible for calling the initiating the calling the mentor and arrange a mentor and arrange a meeting meetings meeting Duration The contract would be for 1 year The contract would be for 1 year. Goals & The goal & expectation of mentee The goal & expectation of mentee should be Expectations should be mentioned in the contract mentioned in the contract Assessment Every Quarter, an online survey Every Quarter, an online survey would be /Feedback would be conducted conducted Feedback Review A common Executive Coach would A common Executive Coach would be reviewing by Executive be reviewing the and discuss ding the and discuss ding the same with all the parties Coach the same with all the parties Exit It should be a mutual decision of It should be a mutual decision of Mentor and Mentor and Mentee if they would Mentee if they would wish to continue or would wish to continue or would like to like to party with this association party with this association 7
  • 8. Conclusion Mentoring is a voluntary relationship between two individual-the mentor and the mentee which will result in a positive, facilitative and mutual developmental activity which is not related to nor form part of organizational systems, of assessment, appraisal or performance review. It is imperative that the end result of the Program should not mar the objective of the process of building relationship. There are many Mentoring programs that match Mentors and Mentees through a variety of means that require different level of resources. However, the above process is a mechanism to find the most appropriate match while still overseeing the process enough to ensure effective knowledge transfer and Mentor Mentee’s participant development. 8