I recently played a role in developing our mentor program and will be glad to add my two cents. We have done this long enough now that we are realizing some of the benefits and drawbacks of our design. I understand where Tim is going when he suggests the mentees have a say in the selection of the mentor. I would caution you though - the idea is to match the mentee with a metor who is strong in the areas identified as development areas for the mentee. Allowing the mentee too much say in the pairing may result in a pairing that is comfortable but provides little else. Sometimes people who are quite comfortable with each other hesitate to call each other out when accountability slips. The mentee might also select a mentor who is much like themselves. Again, this can result in the manifestation of blind spots and derailers, and may prove to show little growth. We have had better results when we paired mentors and mentees based on development needs. This often results in a stretch for the mentee and the willingness to see new perspectives and frame things differently.
Be careful of the mentor pool. Some recommend using senior, even executive level leaders. While they have good intentions, they often cannot live up to the time commitment needed or promised. It can also result in the unwillingness of the mentee to share vital information - for fear it could negatively impact their career growth.
Set reasonable expectations. Don't expect too much too soon. There will be bumps. What works in our culture, or Tim's culture, may not work for you. Be flexible, make adjustments, and pay attention to the lessons learned.
Good luck!

We have a wonderful mentoring program. You can read about it at:
www.premiertrainingsolutions.com/mentoring.html

Best of luck, Catherine

Learning Agent,
What does the CEO mean by"learning option to professional development". Cheaper Training, read a book on it, it works for so and so???

Nero Wolfe

Hi

There is some wonderful advice in previous posts.

I'm not sure if your mentoring includes internal or external mentors or a combination of both. However my experience has shown that if the person needing the mentoring isn't fully involved in the choosing of their mentor - they will miss sessions, have excuses and pretty much not get a lot of value from the process.

Similarly if the person doing the mentoring (particularly an internal person) feels it is just another job they 'have' to do, then you can guess the outcomes of that. Find people who are already passionate about growing and developing others - they are the gems that will make this program work.

Setting up contracts almost suggests that people are being 'forced' to do this and don't see the value of participating.

Maybe spend more time in helping people see the advantages and then you will have people who feel inspired to be a part of the program rather than trying to 'motivate' them with carrots and sticks.

The other question I'd ask is does your organization have a culture that supports this and who is your CEO being mentored by. People will follow the lead of the people at the top

Best of luck
Shelley

Lois Zachary's "Creating a Mentoring Culture" provides excellent advice and recommendations for creating a mentor program. A great resource!