Publisher's Synopsis
FOREWORD
Why should you read this ebook when there are over 300 other books already written on mentoring?
Only this ebook is based on over 40 years of experience in the field of mentoring, starting in 1978 when I began to formalize all aspects of carefully planned and structured Mentoring Programs and do research on these essential program components.
Using this Mentoring Program Expertise, I've developed over 150 different Mentoring Programs for different kinds of participants and different purposes.
I trained over 20,000 mentor-protege partners to develop formalized mentoring relationships that work so well they produce intended mutual benefits for the protege, the mentor, and their organization.
I've trained over 300 Mentoring Program Coordinators to oversee everything.
If you are a mentor, you will learn how to improve your effectiveness - by creating a better mentor-protege relationship, by interacting with proteges in new ways to equip and empower them, by helping proteges achieve desired goals. What you learn will produce better results and save you valuable time (lack of time seems to be everyone's main problem these days).
If you are a protege, you will learn how to manage the mentoring process - by requesting the mentor assistance you need, by knowing which mentoring variations will most help you (e.g., Peer Mentoring or Top-down Mentoring), by converting talk into actions that produce results. You will also learn how to provide effective and efficient mentoring for others.
[NOTE: I use the anglicized word "protege" (meaning the "protected one") for four reasons: (1) "Protege" is of French origin, where "le protégé" (male) and "la protégée" (female) indicate gender. (2) It is awkward using the two French versions when writing in English. (3) "Protege" has been used longer than "mentee" or "mentoree" or any other word, to designate the recipient of mentoring. (4) Beginning in 1984, I copyrighted over 20 customized mentoring products that use the word "protege." Even if you use another word for protege, like some of my clients do, you will still learn helpful concepts and skills by reading this ebook.]
If you are the coordinator or champion of a mentoring program, you will learn what I've learned about improving formalized mentor-protege relationships in over 150 very different formalized mentoring programs (none was the same - even within the same organization). You will learn how this produced intended benefits for proteges, mentors, and the sponsoring organization. This will enable you to enhance mentoring relationships and results within your Mentoring Program, and use mentoring to enhance other efforts like Training and Talent Management.
At the end of each Chapter, I summarize how the concepts and skills just described are useful. I do this as:
- Summarized Tips for Mentors
- Summarized Tips for Proteges
- Summarized Tips for Mentoring Coordinators and Champions
In another book - Mentor with the Right Style: Employ Situational Mentoring - I describe how to utilize four Mentoring Styles and associated mentoring behaviors in a flexible manner so proteges (mentees) will accept and utilize various kinds of mentor assistance, and mentors will provide situationally appropriate assistance.
