Finding the "Need" through Mentoring (May 2010)

Our professional and personal experiences often give us a special insight as we identify “problems” that need “solutions.” Based on our experiences we can quickly determine what needs to be done to accomplish a task and then usually proceed to accomplish the task.

As Mentors, it isn’t quite that simple to identify either the problem or the solution. We often are working in environments that are totally different than what we have experienced in the past. It takes a great deal of patience and understanding as we identify the needs and deal with the demands of our partners. Then we need to patiently determine the resources available to meet the need and the motivation, aptitude, support and knowledge that are required in order to achieve long-term success.

Although many of our contracts are seemingly easy to accomplish, when we focus strictly on the deliverables, often it is not what the deliverable is that makes a difference, it is how the deliverables are accomplished, that is the difference between short-term and long-term results.

Sometimes we are placed in situations where time is the most important element of our responsibilities. Contracts by their very nature are time-based. The contract must be accomplished within a certain period of time and the expectation is that it will be!

Based on this element of our contract; our tasks take on an element of urgency that makes it easy to neglect to identify our partners capabilities, capacity for growth and whether this is a primary or secondary task that needs to be performed. How often have we faced situations that require accomplishment at a certain level and only later do we find that had we established the basic ground work, follow-on tasks would have more easily been achieved?

As Mentor’s we have a critical role to assist our partners in their professional development. This is like career counseling as we help them identify critical skills that are the essential building blocks for task accomplishment.

In many cases we are working with partners that have limited experience in the areas that they are working, in other cases it is just the opposite as we may have partners with broad ranging experience. In every case our best effort will center on what kind of support we can provide our partners as they assume greater responsibility in their functional area.

Mentoring involves helping our partners identify, set and meet their professional goals, as well as accomplishing their tasks and daily responsibilities. Then we also accomplish the required deliverables and achieve success in fulfilling the contract.