Mentoring
The modern use of the word mentor (from the Greek) is a trusted friend, counselor or teacher, usually a more experienced person. (Costumes are optional!)
“Two words come to mind when I think of what Ann Hawkins has done for my business – focus and inspire. Ann changed my busy life from a confused and un-effective list of ideas and thought processes to a place of clarity which has for the first time allowed me to move forward at a pace I never thought possible. Take any opportunity you get to spend time with Ann if you are looking for the best way to grow your business and your reputation.” Mark Peters http://www.markpeters.co.uk
I am often asked what the difference is between a coach and a mentor and the big difference is this:
Coaching is the practice of providing positive support and positive feedback while offering occasional advice to an individual or group in order to help them recognize ways in which they can improve the effectiveness of their business. Many coaches have no direct experience of running a business.
A mentor is someone who uses their experience of business to help you develop key business skills, build your confidence and widen your network of business contacts. Personal credibility is as essential to quality mentoring as skill. The purpose of mentoring is to help you develop a stronger and more sustainable business. Mentored companies typically report increases in turnover, productivity and employee numbers as a direct result of the mentoring process.
Everyone who takes part in an Inspired MasterMind Group, whether face to face or on-line can access mentoring as part of that process.
Individual mentoring can also be arranged. Just contact Ann for details.
Ann and I have been working together to build my business for over a year and there is no way I would have been able to have made so much progress, in such a short time without her. One reason for this is the well thought out and structured approach to formulating a workable business plan designed to move your business through carefully planned stages, regularly measuring progress and adjusting the plan accordingly so that objectives are met on schedule and within budgets. Working with Ann has been a real pleasure and each step of progress we’ve made has been a fun and exhilarating journey. One distinct advantage has been the ability to tap into Ann’s huge network of specialists and experts who have all been eager to step forward and help both me and my business. The cost of that luxury alone has more than paid for itself. Before I engaged Ann I was bogged down with running the business rather than building it. If it wasn’t for her “stick” to keep nudging me in the right direction, her close attention to detail and well established business practices to nuture and guide me I would still be stuck doing exactly the same as I was over a year ago. If you’re serious about moving your business up to the next level and beyond then you need Ann and her “nudging stick” to help you get there. Believe me when I say “You won’t regret it!” Ian McKendrick http://ianmckendrick.com
Mentoring Techniques
Since the focus of mentoring is to develop the whole person, the techniques are broad and require wisdom in order to be used appropriately.
A study of mentoring techniques most commonly used in business was published in 1995 under the title Working Wisdom by Bob Aubrey and Paul Cohen. In the study, five major techniques or “wisdom tactics” were found to be used most commonly by mentors. These are:
1. Accompanying: This means making a commitment in a caring way. Accompanying involves taking part in the learning process by taking the path with the learner.
2. Sowing: Mentors are often confronted with the difficulty of preparing the learner before he or she is ready to change. Sowing is necessary when you know that what you say may not be understood or even acceptable to learners at first but will make sense and have value to the protégé when the situation requires it.
3. Catalyzing: When change reaches a critical level of pressure, learning can jump. Here the mentor chooses to plunge the learner right into change, provoking a different way of thinking, a change in identity or a re-ordering of values.
4. Showing: this is making something understandable, or using your own example to demonstrate a skill or activity. You show what you are talking about, you show by your own behavior.
5. Harvesting: Here the mentor focuses on “picking the ripe fruit”: it is usually learned to create awareness of what was learned by experience and to draw conclusions. The key questions here are: “What have you learned?” “How useful is it?”
Different techniques may be used by mentors according to the situation and the psychological mindset of the protégé. The techniques used in modern mentoring can be found in ancient education systems.
Mentors look for “teachable moments” in order to expand or realize the potentialities of the people they mentor.
