1. Sharing Experience: How to Develop A Mentoring
Programme for Women- Lessons Learned and
Best Practise from UK Experience
Inova Consultancy
Sheffield, UK
10th – 11th February 2012

2.  Getting Started: First Steps to Develop a
Mentoring Programme
 UK Experiences 1: Lessons Learned
from Past Mentoring Programmes for
Women
 UK Experiences 2: Sharing Best Practice
in Running Mentoring Programmes for
Women

3. Getting Started: First Steps to
Develop a Mentoring
Programme for Women

4. What is the process?
 Mentors/ Mentees Workshops
 Mentor/ Mentee Application Form
 Matching Process
 Mentor/Mentee „contracting‟
 Circles for mentors
 Evaluation and monitoring
 Forms: Mentoring Agreement
Learning log

5. Why a Mentoring Programme?
 To enable a cultural change/shift
 To develop personal or career related
outcomes
 To develop a learning and development
culture in the organisation
 New approaches /further development to
current mentoring programmes

6. What is Mentoring?
“The process of change and growth brought
about by the interaction of two people”
“ A method of achieving personal goals
faced by different people with unique
concerns”
D. Clutterbuck and D. Megginson

7. Mentoring Business Case
Recent CIPD (Chartered Institute of
In CIPD‟s 2006 survey of HR
Development) surveys have reported Directors and Managers, over
that the use of coaching and mentoring 99% of respondents stated
as development tools are on the that coaching and mentoring
increase within organisations. According delivers tangible benefits to
both individuals and
to those who responded, 72% use formal organisations.
mentoring schemes and 63% undertake
coaching activities as part of their wider (Peter Webb- Impact of Executive Coaching)
Human Resource Strategy.
Workplace Coaching and Mentoring
Exploring the Key Differences To Maximise Personal
Development
© Jo Lamb-White

8. What do Mentors get from a
mentoring relationship?
I am learning from this I enjoyed meeting my mentee and
experience and getting as passing on my knowledge and
much from it as I hope my experience of the university system.
mentee is. She appears to have realistic career
goals and expectations. I would like
to see her succeed.
The most worthwhile aspect of
the meeting for me was the
I felt that we were well realization that although my
matched and the first session mentee is a high achiever and a
was relaxed and enjoyable. very confident and capable
individual she could still benefit
from a mentoring relationship.

9. What do Mentees get from a
mentoring relationship?
I felt quite excited when I left (the No-one has ever
mentoring meeting) and nursed a demonstrated such an
real sense of possibility for future interest or invested so much
change; that maybe I could time in my career progression
progress my career in a direction – thank you!
which felt both appropriate and
worthwhile. For me the single most productive
outcome was the fact that in order to
progress from lecturer to senior
The 2 hours taken out of my lecturer it isn‟t simply a matter of
work load to meet with my ticking enough boxes in terms of
mentor has far ranging teaching/admin etc. It is about quality
influences on the rest of my and innovative teaching, and
working experience. I value therefore how my CV is structured to
her advice and I feel that my „sell‟ those points is really important.
strategic vision has improved. This whole session was excellent.

10. TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE
 Ways of seeing
 Movement
 Progress

11. Ways of seeing….

12. Ways of seeing….

13. Summary of Benefits
Respondents report that they have benefited
from:
 The chance to reflect on their own practice
 Seeing their own situation from another
perspective
 Greater insight and information about the
wider systems in which they work
 Being in a learning partnership – it works both
ways.

14. 3 models of Mentoring
 Skills approach  What skills do
people need? How
 The Business Case are they developed?
(coaching)  To improve
organisational
performance
 Consciousness
 To reflect on own
seeking (reflective
Practice) practice and identify
areas for
development
Megginson 2004

15. UK Experiences 1: Lessons Learned
from Past Mentoring Programmes for
Women

16. 4 Phases of Mentoring Process
 Establishing rapport
 Direction Setting
 Progress making
 Moving on
 Make sure that all Mentors, Mentees and
Mentoring Co-ordinators are aware of
the Mentoring Process Phases

17. Establishing rapport
 Suspend judgement
 Be open to different paradigms, hints and
concerns
 Clarity about what must be open and what
can be left out
 Establish formal contract and agree way of
working
 Set up details of future meetings
 Achieve rapport

18. Direction Setting
 use and interpret diagnostic tools
 encourage thinking through of implications
of diagnosis
 set up gaining information from third parties
 help selection of initial area for work
 give feedback/set objectives/plan
 be clear about next step

19. Progress Making
 monitoring progress
 relationship review and renegotiation
 recognizing achievements/objectives
attained
 timing and managing the evolution of the
relationship
 Enabling self-reflection

20. Moving on
 address feelings of loss
 develop next phase and/or
 orchestrate a good ending
 think through and generalize learning and
establish way forward

21. Mentoring Life Cycle
MENTORING CYCLE RELATIONSHIP CYCLE
 Gaining Commitment  Looking for a partner
 Getting Involved  „going out‟
 Getting Together  „meeting‟
 Getting to know each other  „courting‟
 Working together  „engagement‟
 Learning together  „marriage‟
 Review & Evaluation  „memories‟
 Saying goodbye  „parting through death,
divorce, etc

22.  Flexibility
 Paperwork (not obligatory)
 Mentoring Circles originally only for mentors
but also for mentees now
 Consider time needed to manage a
programme carefully
 Each pair that meets has 2 forms to
complete, arranging Circles, matching etc.
 Highly resource intensive

23.  Consider using outside facilitators for
Mentoring Circles
 Mentors & Mentees have valued external
facilitation for confidentiality reasons
 Perhaps utilising past Mentors/Mentees to
facilitate sessions?
 Consider longer mentoring relationships
 Many mentees want longer mentoring
relationships with mentors- consider
resource implications of this

24.  Be open to matches outside field
 Some Mentors were concerned that they
wouldn‟t have specific knowledge, but
matches outside area have turned out to be
a good thing
 Consider meeting venue carefully
 Sometimes cafes are too distracting
 Can be intimidating for mentee to come into
mentor office
 Confidentiality/anonymity issues

25.  Consider having 4 meetings instead of 3
 First meeting is a „hello‟ & get to know you
 Second meeting starts true mentoring
process
 Be open to using paperwork to help with
structuring sessions
 Whilst initially reticent about paperwork,
some pairs have found it useful for focus

26.  Importance of attending Circles
 Individuals (particularly mentees) have
found these useful for group support &
meeting other women
 Mentors have found these useful to share
ideas about mentoring process

27. Suggestions for Further
Developing a Scheme
 More visibility for the pilot programme would
be appreciated by mentors and could help to
recruit new mentors within the university
 e.g. internal newsletters, bulletin boards, events,
quotes from mentees/mentors etc.
 Managers need to recognise mentors and
include this aspect in appraisals
 Tap into enthusiasm and commitment to
scheme of past Mentees (becoming Mentors)
 Consider using male Mentors

28. Suggestions for Further
Developing a Scheme cont..
 Consider using grassroots management
 e.g. BT example
 Presentation ceremony to give
certificates in recognition of
time/commitment for Mentors & Mentees
 Funding/grants for development of the
scheme?
 Cascade mentoring possibilities?

29. UK Experiences 2: Sharing Best
Practice in Running Mentoring
Programmes for Women

30. Running a Mentoring Scheme:
The Process (1st Stage)
Inform
Raise Training Mentor &
awareness Workshops Completion Mentee of
Matching
and Recruit (Mentors & of Application Match (final
Process
Mentors & Mentees Forms check of
Mentees separately) C.O.I. before
1st meeting)

31. Raising Awareness/Recruitment
 Recruitment Opportunities
 Referrals/recommendations
 Mentees turning into future Mentors
 Tapping into development events/training in
organisation
 Marketing flyers in staff rooms, intranet

32. Mentoring Roles
 Be aware of the multiple
roles a Mentor can have
when recruiting potential
Mentors:
 Coach
 Critical Friend
 Listener
 Counsellor
 Careers advisor
 Sounding board
 Networker

33. Mentoring Life Cycle
The Programme Manager works with Mentors & Mentees
throughout the different stages of the cycle:
MENTORING CYCLE RELATIONSHIP CYCLE
 Gaining Commitment  Looking for a partner
 Getting Involved  „going out‟
 Getting Together  „meeting‟
 Getting to know each other  „courting‟
 Working together  „engagement‟
 Learning together  „marriage‟
 Review & Evaluation  „memories‟
 Saying goodbye  „parting through death,
divorce, etc

34. Matching
 Try and meet all mentors and mentees
prior to matching to gain more in-depth
information
 Consider intra-faculty/department
matching and related issues
 Consider personal interests and hobbies
to help individuals build rapport quickly

35. Running a Mentoring Scheme
(2nd Stage)
Following Mentoring Session:
Mentee contacts Mentor to Paperwork Completed Date for Next Session Arranged
arrange a first meeting date ( 3/4 Mentoring Session (2 hours) (and emailed to Programme
sessions planned) - Agreement (1st session optional) Managers) until Final Session
- Evaluation (by Mentor & Mentee)

36. Evaluating Outcomes
 Email each pair on completion for overall
evaluation comments
 Organise Final Event to celebrate outcomes
and recruit new mentors/mentees
 Put outcomes on marketing materials to
encourage new participants to join
 Decide if measurement of quantitative
indicators is possible e.g. Number of mentees
applying for promotion, making board
applications etc.

37. Mentoring Training Examples
from Past Inova Mentoring
Programmes

38. Testing out the Skills Approach
 What are the skills needed for a
successful mentoring relationship?
 Self-diagnosis of skills
 How are these skills developed?

39. Some further skills(OU study)
 Strong interpersonal skills incl..
 Listening, providing feedback,
interviewing skills, questioning,
motivation and self-awareness
 Organisational skills: time management,
evaluating, maintaining boundaries plus
working with learning contracts

40. Some example of skills:
 Giving and receiving feedback
 Drawing out
 Silence
 Suspending judgement
 Recognising and expressing feelings
 Paraphrasing

41. Mentoring Expectations

42. Mentoring in Practice
1. Divide into groups of 3:
2. Agree roles – Mentor, Mentee Observer and take
turns to play each role for 15 minutes
3. a) As mentee, discuss a situation from
your past or present with your mentor
b) As mentor – respond appropriately to
what you hear The aim of the exercise is to help
the mentee:
c) As observer – Observe!
 To identify where they are
now
 Where they want to go
 How they get there
OR
choose a phase to work on

43. Contact details
Mentoring: Inova Consultancy
Marina Larios – Emma Parry
Tel 44 114 2799091
admin@inovaconsult.com
www.inovaconsult.com