Mentor Memo - December 2010 - Mentoring, the Bridge of Expectations

Over the past couple of years, mentoring has become the “operative” word in many organizations as the quick, panacea to success. Some organizations feel that if you change the name of previous practices, that that is enough to make the future different from the past. In most cases, a name change only camouflages the natural results which will be the same as nothing has really changed. Albert Einstein once said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing, the same way, and expecting different results.

Mentoring is more than just changing the name of the current method of “training.” It is changing the process by which we transfer skills and knowledge to create greater individual capability and organizational capacity. At MPRI we recognize that our mentoring effort is an expectation that our contract partners can succeed and progress in their environments by providing added value to them through the Mentoring Process of assessment, planning, execution and evaluation.

Mentoring is our “bridge of expectations”…and it can be crossed through the effective work of our mentors, the effort of our partners and the oversight of our program management teams.

Dr. Barry Sweeny, a member of the Board of Directors, International Mentoring Association (our accrediting organization) has taught on the impact of mentoring and its affect upon those we mentor. In his presentation he uses the terms coaching and training. At MPRI, we can also apply any of the mentoring skills that are required to influence our partners through the directive, cooperative, influencing and validating levels of mentoring.

Research has shown that:

• Learners that will transfer a new skill into their practice as a result of learning a theory = 5%

• Learners that will transfer a new skill into their practice as a result of learning a theory & seeing a demonstration = 10%

• Learners that will transfer a new skill into their practice as a result of theory, demonstration & practice during the training = 20%

• Learners that will transfer a new skill into their practice as a result of theory, demonstration, practice & corrective feed back during the training = 25%

• Learners that will transfer a new skill into their practice as a result of theory, demonstration, practice, feed back during training & in-situation mentoring = 90%

Dr. Sweeny reminds us that any skill, such as "coaching" must be taken within the context of the mentoring relationship, for just providing technical support (coaching, or other mentoring skill) is NOT enough to make sure that those we mentor actually implement in practice what they have learned in training. It has been realized that NO ONE will take the risks of growing in front of another person, or their advice and "coaching" unless they first have a relationship of mutual trust with that person. Mentoring provides that relationship within which effective coaching can lead to risk-taking and growth.

Dr. Sweeny describes the above picture, based on mentoring research by Joyce and Showers (1987), which has been proven accurate time and again over the past 20 years, shows that the “waters” of implementation are “shark-infested” and not fertile areas for risk-taking, growth, or learning.

He states that, “only when mentoring skills are provided is it reasonable to expect that our (mentored partners) will be able to:

o adapt strategies learned in training

o solve the problems of adoption and fitting new strategies to existing settings and other skills, and...

o master the new strategies

so that their day-to-day practice is improved and the desired results (expectations!) are increased.

In conclusion, he advocates that “whether that training is in a classroom and face-to-face, or e-learning on the web, these principles are at work and the results will be the same. Except in the case of increasing awareness when no implementation is expected, the only time we should even provide any training to begin with is when we will also provide the follow up support people deserve to help them implement what the training has taught them. Otherwise, why waste our time and resources to provide training we KNOW will never change practice?! We shouldn't!!”

Mentoring is not a solution to change it is the methodology of change. The solution is found only in the mentored partner. That is why our expectations must be realistic, our efforts consistent, and our support unlimited to our mentored partners.

MPRI advocates that mentoring is the most effective way to change people and organizations.