Services: Foundational. Professional. Strategic.

With years of experience in planning and design, we know how tempting it is for the Steering Committee or Mentoring Task Force to want to jump past the Planning and Design Phase of the mentoring initiative. Doing so will undermine and weaken the project.

So why do some people want to leave out an essential element?
Generally speaking, the Planning and Design Phase is one that happens behind the scenes. However, the training of participants, the public announcements of the initiative, the wrap-up banquets are very high profile. So, this Phase does not receive the appreciation it really deserves.

There's another reason. Much more current is the perception that a great electronic tool like Colaboro will carry out most tasks. The thinking goes: "The Coordinator won't have to do such and such a task or pay attention to the program at this point because the computer will do it." Not so.

Since we first began to plan and design with clients, train participants and Coordinators, create and use our mentoring tools, we have been guided by this dictum: "No matter how great the tools, the first key element is that of a good design and sufficient planning." We compare it to the building of a bridge. If the plan for the structure is not sound, it could (and likely will) collapse.

And who needs failure as a result? Our experience suggests by almost any measure, a well-designed and executed mentoring initiative can achieve a 95%-99% success rate. And who wouldn't want that?

Our professional services: since 1978, these have been developed, field tested, refined, updated and expanded.

Our 4-Phase Mentoring Model: our Model was first described in a journal in the early 1980s as a procedure to help other professionals.

Our public or inhouse offerings: we also offer the following:

(a) half day workshops: When to mentor? When to coach?; Mentoring Trendwatch - what's driving your organization; Mentoring Case Studies; Coaching Improved Person-Job Fit; Mentoring Program Essentials

(b) 60-90 talks: The NEW Mentoring Paradigm; The unauthorized biography of Mentor; The Mentor-Protege Relationship Model; What can you teach me that I don't already know?

Frequently Asked Questions:

Why train partners together?
It’s the natural thing to do. Clearly it saves money and promotes lines of clear communication. Some mentoring consultants require clients to take participants through 3 separate trainings: only mentors, only proteges, both together. We ask: "Why do this? Since partners will work together, why not train them together from the outset?" Based on real life practice, we have always trained partners together. Depending on the goals of the program, participants and the organization, varying levels of specificity and detail are asked of our training sessions – requiring either a half day (approximately 3.5-4 hours) or full day training (6 hours).

When is a Self-Directed Mentoring initiative appropriate?
It may be that an organization hopes to broaden the scope of mentoring and "make it less exclusive." by this means. Or an organization wants to promote diversity and believes that this is the way to promote it.

During the Design and Planning Session (Phase 1) we have onsite with the client, appropriateness is a key factor in making a decision. On the surface, a Self-Directed Mentoring Pool would seem to be less complex and require virtually no monitoring by a Coordinator. Some mentoring consultants suggest that little or no coordination (or monitoring) is needed under these circumstances. We don't want clients to be misled by simplistic notions that can have negative outcomes.

Based on our extensive experience, even for Self-Directed initiatives, a trained, committed Coordinator is integral to success. Clarity of understanding about motives, and the reality of logistics are incorporated into Phase 1 discussions. What is a "self-directed initiative"? What are some of its characteristics? It must be protege-driven. Several hundred participants are needed in the Pool with 2 weeks of a launch and prior the self-matching period – so size is a factor.

Privacy and security are important. Criteria for admittance must be thoroughly considered during the Planning and Design session and, once agreed upon, publicized so that prospective participants understand how such a Pool operates, what the expectations are. As the Pool does not operate like a list-serv, there must be a focused set of competencies or topics for discussion in order for user needs to be met. The data gathering must be user friendly yet as comprehensive as possible such that those underwriting the costs will have feedback on progress, usage, effectiveness and satisfaction.

When to mentor? When to coach?
This is another thread of discussion that typically arises during the Planning and Design Phase. We know it is essential to understand the basic difference between the two and how one can work in tandem with the other depending on protege goals. Mentoring is a comprehensive activity and relationship. A protege (for instance) might wish to develop leadership or improve public speaking skills. Neither of these is something achieved in one step. En route to achieving the goal there will be specific sub-skills that can be coached by the mentor as part of an overall Mentoring Action Plan©. CMSI offers a half-day seminar called: When to mentor? When to coach? Call us if your organization is interested in engaging our services for this presentation in-house or at your next conference.