Positive Leadership: Mentors

Mentors: 

Elevate your game.

Believe in your potential and talent.

Challenge limitations.

Protect from danger.

Build character.

Enhance opportunities.

Share their life with candour and transparency.

Solve “with” not “for.”

Exemplify qualities you want to develop.

Connect you with others.

Positive Leadership: Mentors

Positive Leadership: Great Mentors

A few truths about great mentors:

* a mentor will help me to be self-dependent

* a mentor can have tremendous coaching skills and not impose answers.

* my mentor should bring clarity of distance

* a great mentor is a great communicator: succinct, simple and specific

* a great mentor can learn from me

* a great mentor can share stories of his/her own failures and weaknesses

* a great mentor can also ask me for advice

* a great mentor can be a sponsor (ie. open doors and speak highly of me).

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/05/17/how-to-become-a-great-mentor/

The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. - William Arthur Ward

Positive Leadership: Great Mentors

Positive Leadership: Great Mentors

Most of us can identify at least one person, sometimes more, who has served us as a valued mentor.  This is or was an individual whose fundamental function was to help us–the newcomer–into an organisation, a profession or the world.  Mentors are traditionally accomplished individuals with extensive knowledge and experience in their field who play a supportive role in overseeing and encouraging the development of less experienced, knowledgeable individuals with the expressed purpose of facilitating a mentee’s personal and professional development.

There are several mentor characteristics that form the foundation for establishing and exercising an effective mentoring relationship.  Rather than behaviours displayed, these qualities are personal traits and intentions possessed and displayed by the mentor.  Because a mentor becomes much more that a ‘career coach’–something more akin to a trusted friend and confidant–the quality of the mentor’s character becomes a primary issue as does their purposes for choosing to mentor.

Before one can enter the role of a mentor, this person must be someone with a very high degree of credibility. A mentee is not likely going to pay much heed to someone who lacks credibility in the areas for which they seek mentoring.  Credibility may come from a significant amount of experience, a reputation for achieving outstanding results, having extensive and current knowledge of the field, and being known as an active learner as demonstrated by reading, attendance at seminars, continued coursework, professional memberships, and the like.

A second critical characteristic is integrity.  For a mentee to form a bond of trust and respect, a mentor must adhere to codes of both personal and professional ethics.  Honesty and accuracy of information are hallmarks of a relationship that serves a mentee well.  A mentor is often required to inform a mentee of things the mentee may not want to hear.  But if the mentee believes the mentor has their best interest at heart and is a person of integrity, the information will be received as it was intended.

A third quality shared by effective mentors is the perspectives they hold of their roles as mentors.  Effective mentors see the primary purpose of a mentoring relationship as assisting mentees in becoming competent, contributing members of a society or profession.  Therefore, effective mentors interact with mentees in ways intended to inspire mentees to want to become better–both as people and professionals.To this end, effective mentors offer support and guidance to their mentees’ attempts to set stretch goals.   This may require the mentor to make the mentee feel secure enough to take appropriate risks in order to achieve goals, gain needed experience, or develop important professional skills.  In many cases, this means giving mentees the confidence to rise above their inner doubts and fears.

Finally, effect mentors will often present opportunities and challenges for mentees that they may not have had on their own.  In doing so, mentors provide the means for mentees to take action toward achieving their goals, gain necessary experience to understand the significance of the role demands of a professional, and begin to build a resume of skills and accomplishments that will serve the mentee as they build their professional career.

Research provides strong evidence that there are a myriad of benefits accrued, not only by the mentee, but the mentor as well. Potential benefits derived by a mentor from an effective mentoring relationship include: a) increased social status in the organisation, b) improved job performance c) significant personal learning, and d) quality social interaction and satisfaction.  But to achieve the benefits of an effective mentoring relationship, one must first possess the requisite traits and qualities that will serve as the foundation for good mentoring. 

Do you have what it takes?

Positive Leadership: Great Mentors

Positive Leadership: Mentoring Women in the Tech Sector

Women make up half of the U.S. workforce but represent only 25% of the technology industry. They lead only 8% of technology start-ups. So why aren't there more female leaders in the tech sector? One of the answers lies in the lack of mentorship - in the lack of both mentors and mentees.

If you look at the entrepreneurship landscape, you still see that it is dominated by men. But without women in high places, younger women lack the role models and mentors to help them succeed. Younger generations of women need to have someone to look up to, someone to show them the ropes and limitless possibilities, to help them believe. That is why it is increasingly crucial that women who have made it to the top of the organisation commit to guiding other women towards similar success, take a larger role and responsibility in 'raising' the next generation of female leaders. 

However, it is also the responsibility of women to ask for mentorship. Women need to actively seek mentorship, male or female. More often than not women in power cite their male mentors being crucial to their success.

A mentor is someone who:

•             Has faith in you, pushes you to be better, encourages you to keep moving forward when going gets tough

•             Is honest with you, even if truth hurts, and tells you to stop whining if necessary ("tough love")

•             Contributes to your knowledge base through sharing experiences and best-known practices

•             Opens up his/her rolodex to you and utilises his/her network to help you succeed

•             Helps you towards your own vision by helping align your actions with your goals

•             Is consistent and disciplined: puts in the time, gives you homework, sets benchmarks, holds you accountable every step of the way.

These are some other observations around mentoring:

•             Mentoring doesn't have to be an altruistic act; it is totally acceptable to have a mutual benefit in this relationship that would help motivate both parties. You can trade your services or help each other in different ways, but it is always best to ensure alignment of incentives.

•             Mentees have to know what they want -- that's half the battle.

•             It is impossible to meet with everyone who wants your time as a mentor. If you are in that position, create a barrier to entry to ensure your mentees are as dedicated as they expect you to be.

•             Don't make gender an issue, don't take it personally. People hang out in familiar circles because of the common interests; that's just how networks work. As a woman, you need to become a part of solution, not a part of the problem.

•             Ageism is often an issue professionally. So if you are a young woman, you can overcome it by sounding confident, being firm, looking others straight in the eye, and firmly shaking hands.

•             As a mentor you have to make a commitment and stick to it no matter what. Your role as a mentor is to push yourself out of the job by your mentee doing it well.

Positive Leadership: Mentoring Women in the Tech Sector

Positive Leadership: Making Informal Mentoring Work

Here are eight steps to follow in making an informal leadership mentoring programme work:

Step #1: Identify one or two specific leadership skills you feel that you could improve through mentoring. Is it your ability to make strategic decisions in a quick and decisive manner? Is it your ability to recognise and develop talent to improve the success of your department and yourself? Something else?

Step #2: Now assess what style of leadership is best suited to you. (As you know, not everyone leads in the same way.) Are you more collaborative as a leader, working through consensus? Or are you a decisive type of leader who makes the decisions and motivates others to follow those decisions?

Step #3: Determine whether you want a mentor who mirrors your leadership style so that you can improve upon how you lead…or decide if finding a mentor with a different leadership style might challenge you more and help you grow as a leader by adding new dimensions to your own personal style.

Step #4: Consider the type of person you want as a mentor. For informal mentoring to work, you have to have focus. The first three steps have provided you with this focus. But the other important component needed is the relationship aspect. Think about the personal qualities and/or communication styles that you respond to. Do you want a mentor who is more sociable than business-like? Or one who is more of a thinker than a doer? Perhaps you respond better to warmth and friendliness rather than someone who is more aloof, despite his or her success.

Step #5: Now make a list of potential leaders who you may want to approach as mentors. These people could be in your company, but they could also be elsewhere, such as an alumni organisation or networking group. Don’t forget to ask colleagues for recommendations as well. An important point: this may be obvious, but it's worth saying: only put leaders with proven track records on your list.

Step #6: Approach and interview the candidates. Have a conversation with at least three of the leaders on your list to evaluate if the person would be the right fit for you. Approaching potential mentors and eventually asking "the winner" to be your mentor are the hardest steps in the process. Remember, it's how you approach the person that makes all the difference.

Here's one strategy for doing just that:

• Make contact via phone or email introducing yourself and indicating that you are working on self-improvement in the area of leadership and that you would welcome input from an experienced leader who has been successful in this area. Would this person have 30 minutes or so to have a discussion with you on your goals and how best to approach these? Maybe you could do this over lunch, as you would also like to thank that person for his or her time.

• If you feel the person might indeed be a good fit, ask him or her (at the end of the meeting) if you could stay in touch with any follow-up questions. The person's response – and HOW he or she responds – will be a good indicator as to whether your assessment is on target. Does the person sound welcoming and enthusiastic about staying in touch? Or does the person sound noncommittal?

• Send a handwritten thank you note. In a pinch, an email will do, but nothing beats a personal note of thanks. (Note: you should still send a thank you, even if you've ruled the person out as mentor.)

Step #7: Decide and ask. After interviewing several candidates, you are now ready to ask the person you think is best if he or she will be your informal mentor. Before you do this, it’s important for you to be prepared to specifically state what you're looking for and how you want the relationship to work. Since you’ve already had one or more conversations, your prospect has an idea of what you're seeking, but now be clear and as specific as possible. In addition, you should be prepared to discuss setting some guidelines for your mentoring relationship.

Here are some to consider:

• How often will you meet? Weekly is ideal, and once a month is the recommended minimum.

• Will your meetings take place face-to-face, over the phone, through Skype, or combination of these?

• How will you approach confidential issues?

• How will you communicate to one another if something isn’t working in the relationship?

• How long do you want to meet before you re-assess the need to continue or end the relationship? Note: in formal mentoring programs, the relationship typically lasts nine months to one year. We suggest a minimum of four to six months for an informal relationship.

• Discuss concerns you both have about engaging in this type of relationship.

Step #8: When your chosen mentor has agreed to the informal mentoring relationship, then congratulate yourself for finding someone who will be strategically important to your career and to your growth as a leader. To succeed, make sure you keep to the guidelines you’ve agreed to in Step # 7.

Here's to your leadership success!

Positive Leadership: Making Informal Mentoring Work

Positive Leadership: Finding a Great Mentor

Here are four tips for finding (and keeping) a great mentor:

1. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE. The search for a mentor should begin right away. Don't put it on your future to-do list for a year or two from now. Especially when starting a new job, strike while the iron is hot.

2. SECURE BOTH A MENTOR AND A SPONSOR. Look for support at varying levels of your company's hierarchy. Seek out a mentor to help navigate daily concerns and a sponsor willing to sing your praises when it comes time for a raise or promotion.

3. DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK. If you wait for a mentor to seek you out, you could wait a long time. Remember, the worst your prospective mentor can say is no. When you ask, be clear and up front with what's required in terms of time and commitment. 

4. BE ASSERTIVE. If you want a strong and assertive mentor, start acting that way yourself. Stride into a room. Make eye contact. Use a firm handshake. Choose the best available seat. Stop apologising. And then, when the time comes, say thank you.

Positive Leadership: Finding a Great Mentor

Mentor Leadership

Former Super Bowl winning coach Tony Dungy, author of The Mentor Leader: Secrets to Building People and Teams That Win Consistently, talks about how a mentor changed his life.

Mentor Leadership

Helping Women Climb the Corporate Ladder

Most company employees will be familiar with the colleague who talks a lot at meetings, frequently in the first person: 'I have done this' or 'I will do that'. More often than not, that colleague will be male.

"Men are typically better than women at impression management – or the art of managing one's reputation and image," says Halla Tomasdottir, an Icelandic businesswoman who founded Audur Capital, an investment company that survived the country's financial meltdown. "Women, or men, who say 'We did this deal' rather than 'I did this deal' often make better leaders – but the world of business and finance frequently values a more masculine approach – where you blow your horn more."

Mentoring – the process of guiding and supporting a less senior colleague – has come to be seen as central to helping more women break into male-dominated boardrooms. 

For more, see: http://womenatthetop.ft.com/articles/women-top/17b86390-d60c-11df-94dc-00144feabdc0

Helping Women Climb the Corporate Ladder

Women and the Transition to Senior Management

Here is some advice from Positive Leadership on how women can best make the transition to senior management:

Anticipate transitions. At a certain point in your career, you will be expected to move beyond managing and will need to demonstrate leadership capability to move into the senior ranks. Instead of simply ensuring efficiency, planning and organising staff, you will need to create a vision for change and then inspire your team to bring it to fruition. These role shifts can be difficult to see. Watch out for them.

Development isn’t just about your skills. You won’t succeed in senior management if you rely solely on what got you this far. Two common hurdles for high-potential women include adopting a strategic perspective and managing stakeholders. Big-picture thinking and learning how to create influence through coalitions and networks are key to leadership success. Get on assignments that are key to the success of your company, as well as cross-functional projects that bring together diverse stakeholders from across the company.

Watch out for identity traps. Another common trap for women during the transition to senior management is that they fall victim to their natural leadership style. You’ll need to knock off the micromanaging, learn how to delegate and cultivate the ability to influence without authority.

Authenticity is also about your future self. It takes 15 seconds for a person to form an opinion about you. Think about how you want to be perceived and manage your image accordingly. Keep in mind that it is particularly difficult for women to be perceived as both competent and warm. Networking can also be a challenge for women, but growing your strategic network is essential. Cultivating mentors is also key to future success in senior management. 

Women and the Transition to Senior Management

The Mentor Leader

Tony Dungy retired as coach of the Indianapolis Colts just two seasons after winning the Super Bowl. Since then, he's worked as an NFL analyst, a motivational speaker — and now, as a writer. His new book, The Mentor Leader: Secrets to Building People & Teams That Win Consistently is about the importance of mentoring.

In his book, Dungy cites former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Chuck Noll as someone who taught him a lot. Dungy played briefly for the Steelers, and then coached under him until Noll's retirement.

"He knew how he could help people," Dungy says. "He was a teacher, he was a guy that was very good at selecting people, getting them to fit in — he wasn't the guy that was going to sit there and motivate you intrinsically. That wasn't what he was best at. So he hired people that were good at that."

Noll even hired other, more motivational speakers to come in and address his team before games.

"That's part of being a good leader as well," Dungy says. "Recognising your strengths and making sure you utilise them, but also recognising your weaknesses and coming up with ways to overcome that."

When he retired from football, Dungy cited the all-consuming nature of being a head coach as one of the reasons for his departure.

For excerpts from the book, please go to: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129000617

The Mentor Leader

Mentors

What is a mentor? What is that mentors do? Can having a mentor help you succeed? 

These days, there are many sophisticated tools available to help those who want to be successful. But one of the most valuable assets anyone can have is also one of the oldest - a mentor - someone who can help you learn the ropes, find your way around obstacles, and chart a course that will get you where you want to go.

Just about every successful person, whether they are in business or one of the professions, sports, the arts, or any other field of endeavour, has had the benefit of at least one mentor. Very often, they've had many more than that.

Mentors are people who have achieved success themselves and want to pass along what they've learned to others. They don't usually tell you what to do - that's not their role - but they do help you weigh your options and think through decisions. 

Who are you mentoring and who is mentoring you? 

Mentors

Find a Good Mentor

This interview with Meridee A. Moore, founder of Watershed Asset Management, was conducted by The New York Times. Watershed is a $2 billion hedge fund based in San Francisco.

‘Q. How do you hire?

A. We look at grades and scores, of course. We want the person to be competitive. Also, if the person has had a rough patch in his or her past, that’s usually good.

Q. Why?

A. Well, if you’ve ever had a setback and come back from it, I think it helps you make better decisions. There’s nothing better for sharpening your ability to predict outcomes than living through some period when things went wrong. You learn that events aren’t in your control and no matter how smart you are and how hard you work you have to anticipate things that can go against you.

It’s also important to be a good communicator. Our strategy involves negotiation, and you have to understand management’s perspective, the judge’s idiosyncrasies, the different professionals and principals involved, and what they might do in a bankruptcy. When I screen for people, if they have a good sense of humour and are engaging communicators, they tend to be good negotiators and seem to be better at reading the qualitative side of human decision-making.

Q. What’s your best career advice to somebody just graduating from undergrad or B-school?

A. Find a mentor. And it doesn’t have to be a mentor who looks like you. They can be older, a different gender, younger, in a different business, but someone you admire and respect, and just attach yourself to that person and learn everything you can. I’ve done this my whole career. It is so valuable, especially if you choose a good one and they end up teaching you everything and then rejoicing in your success.’

For more, see - http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/business/07corners.html?ref=business 

Find a Good Mentor

4 Leadership Lessons From Carolina Coach Roy Williams

Here are four powerful Leadership Lessons from Coach Williams book Hard Work: My Life on and Off the Courtthat can be used by all leaders to build and maintain an elite programme - in sport or in business:

1. Character Counts

Coach Williams: When I decide that a kid has the talent I am looking for, then I try to find out about his character. I once had an elementary school principal in Wichita, Kansas tell me, "Coach, I wish you'd say academics is the second priority."

"No ma'am," I said. "because if he's a great player and a 4.0 student but he's going to be a pain in the rear end, I want it to be somebody else's rear end."

Too many coaches (and athletic directors) lower their programme's standards and take talented players (and coaches) with questionable or poor character. They knowingly accept talented people who have a history of not doing the right thing. It's a big gamble that sometimes pays off in the short-term, but usually has negative consequences in the long-term.

Just as Coach Williams heavily weighs character in the recruiting process, so too should you consider character when selecting your team. Having people of character makes it much easier to build and maintain a team that is focused on a common goal, not their own selfish desires. Coach Williams writes, "If you have one guy looking out for himself, you're in big trouble. If you have more than one, you have no chance."

2. Choose to work hard every day.

Coach Williams: I tell every prospect I recruit that I'm going to try to outwork every other coach... I like to ask prospects, "Who is recruiting you the hardest?" If they don't say me, I'm mad and I'll go back to my staff and tell them we've got to do more.

The more I learn from highly successful coaches and athletes, the more I am convinced that having a compelled work ethic is one of the biggest keys to success. Look at most anyone who is consistently at the top of their profession and you will see an individual and a team that is absolutely committed to being the best. They are highly passionate about what they do, invest themselves fully, and willingly put in the necessary hard work.

The great thing about hard work and commitment is that it is a choice. You get to choose at what level you bring it every day. The tough thing about hard work and commitment is that it is also a choice - you must consistently choose to bring it at a high level each and every day - despite distractions, disappointments, and human nature telling you to give up and give in.

3. Be a Fierce Competitor

Coach Williams: I love playing road games. I love that atmosphere. I encourage my players to treat games away from home as a wonderful challenge. I like to tell my team, "Let's go into their living room and steal their brownies." It's all about having the confidence and attitude that I can beat your butt anytime, anywhere, anyplace, anyhow... The bottom line is that I want my players to understand that at some point in every game, somebody's going to give in, and I don't ever want it to be us. We want to be the last team standing.

Underneath Coach Williams folksy and cordial outward demeanour beats the heart of a fierce competitor. He is driven to be the best and enjoys the continual challenge of taking every opponent's best shot - whether at home or on the road. He relates several stories in the book about how his competitiveness has been an edge throughout his career.

If you want to compete with the big boys and girls, you too are going to need to become a fierce competitor. More importantly, you will need to instill your own competitive will in your team as you develop them into competitors. Highly successful programmes look to dictate the tempo of the competition and impose their will on their opponents. They force opponents to react to them rather than the other way around. You too can get to this level. But you must remember that having a competitive team is a big key - and it begins with you modeling it, developing it, demanding it, and rewarding it as leader.

4. Win on and off the court.

Coach Williams: Winning still drives me. But I also enjoy putting a team together. Every year presents a different challenge for me. What I will miss the most is building relationships with players. Those bonds are always going to be there and they are personal. They are not based on wins and losses but on something you gave them, something you tried to do for them, something you tried to establish in those kids that would affect their lives.

Even though Coach Williams is highly committed to winning on the court, he also cares about his players' futures off the court. He is just as demanding of his guys when it comes to their performance in the classroom and in the community. He sees himself as a mentor who is privileged to prepare young men for the game of life - whether they are future NBA Superstars or productive members of society.

4 Leadership Lessons From Carolina Coach Roy Williams

Mentoring Programmes for Professional Service Firms

It seems almost everyone can use a little something extra to help them increase their effectiveness or give them a competitive edge. Those in professional service firms are no exception; however, they do face unique challenges. With so much emphasis on billable hours for accountants and lawyers, how can they find the time to devote to personal development? Could asking for help demonstrate needed initiative or threaten credibility? Despite these challenges, more professionals are seeking mentors.

Contrary to popular belief, mentoring programs are not solely for the young and new in their careers. Even more seasoned professionals find benefit by addressing issues related to personal development, business development, and life/work balance. Mentoring conversations are less about learning the ropes, and more about thinking strategically about goals.

Before you start your search for a mentor, decide what it is you would most want to accomplish through the process. It will help you make the best decision.

Where do you find good mentors? Here are a few places to look:

- Inside your firm. Fortunately, more organisations are identifying ways to help employees create and develop mutually rewarding mentoring relationships. Some offer formal mentoring programmes. Formal mentoring programmes should not be a simple matching game. While it might seem logical to pair a more experienced professional with an individual newer in his career, other issues should be considered first:

• The needs and goals of individuals.
• An individual’s commitment level to personal growth.
• The potential mentor’s commitment level to the process.
• The organisation’s top priorities.

If there’s no formal mentoring programme, simply ask someone whose work you admire if they would be willing to spend some time with you over the next few months to help you focus on some goals. You don’t even have to use the word “mentor” which can seem too daunting of a role for some.
- Outside your firm. There are some mentor programmes that exist apart from the organisation. They attract individuals from a variety of organisations. Participants in these programmes are assigned a mentor from outside the organisation. These programmes help you foster relations beyond your own internal network and across industries.

Not everyone should be in a mentoring programme. These programmes work best for those who are self-motivated and open to change. Mentoring programmes can be structured a variety of ways. Some include peer coaching or group coaching. Ideally a mentoring programme should be integrated with the strategic objectives of the firm. Determine the specific desired outcomes of the programme and measures of success.

You may also consider working with an external coach. An external coach provides a personalised approach to help you achieve specific goals. Explore the possibility of your organisation sponsoring a coaching engagement; otherwise, consider the process an investment in your own development.

Whether you’re working with a coach or a mentor, here are some tips on how to make the process most successful.

- Determine the outcomes both of you want to achieve first. For example, some may want to learn or hone a skill like presenting or strategic planning. Some may want to gain more knowledge about a particular career path. Some may want support dealing with a particular challenge or opportunity.

- Establish best ways to communicate. Will you meet in person, by phone or both? How frequently will you meet? Meetings need not be time consuming when you’re highly focused.

- Set a goal. Set a specific concrete goal to accomplish during a given time frame. Make sure it’s not too general such as, “I want to be a better leader.” Instead it might be something like, “I want to meet with each person in the practice group within 30 days to get feedback.” Initiate a particular meeting or project that helps you exercise the specific skill you want to develop. Being goal focused helps establish greater accountability for results.

- Debrief. Establish checkpoints along the way to assess how things are going for both of you. Determine what would make the relationship or process even better.

While mentoring relationships can be interesting and enjoyable, they should also be productive. These relationships should provide opportunities for both learning and action. The best relationships have the potential to create value for the employee, the mentor and the firm as a whole.

Mentoring Programmes for Professional Service Firms

The Benefits of Being a Mentor

To be successful in any field, aspiring leaders require role models and guidance. At some point during your career, you may have considered becoming a mentor but dismissed the idea, thinking it would not be worth the time and energy you put into it. It is time to rethink your decision. Being a mentor is more important than ever-and you will get more out of the relationship than you think.

What is a mentor?

A mentor affects the professional life of a protege by fostering insight, identifying needed knowledge, and expanding growth opportunities. This assistance supplements the coaching an individual already receives from his or her supervisor. Traditionally, the mentoring relationship consists of an experienced executive providing guidance and advice to an associate with less experience. The associate is looking to move up the career ladder, usually by learning from someone who is successful and well respected.

Why become a mentor?

Mentoring gives you the extraordinary opportunity to facilitate a protege's personal and professional growth by sharing knowledge you learned through years of experience. While the primary intent of your mentoring role is to challenge the protege to think in new and different ways, the protege is not the only one who gains from the arrangement. As a mentor, there are various ways you can benefit as well:

• Enhance your skills. The experience you gain by mentoring someone can facilitate your own professional growth, making you more of an asset to your organisation. Mentoring allows you to strengthen your coaching and leadership skills by working with individuals from different backgrounds and with different personality types. Your ability to manage people different from you is a valuable skill, especially as the workplace continues to grow more diverse.

• Develop and retain talent in your organisation. Your role as a mentor can contribute to the success of your entire organisation. By priming promising employees to become top-performing executives and by providing them with the challenges, support, and commitment needed to keep them in your organisation, your mentoring efforts effectively address issues of succession planning and retention.

• Create a legacy. By becoming a mentor, you create a legacy that has a lasting impact on your protege. Not only will you gain the satisfaction of helping to develop future management talent, the knowledge you foster in your protege can inspire new ideas for generations to come. Furthermore, through mentoring, you can help carry on your organisation's legacy by passing on its values and mission to your protege.

Although mentoring can be a truly rewarding experience, becoming a mentor is a big decision and one that should not to be taken lightly. The benefits to you and your organisation, however, are well worth your effort.

The Benefits of Being a Mentor

The Importance of Mentors

It is interesting to see the importance which the US Government places on mentoring young people - see, http://www.nationalmentoringmonth.org/  and this video:

The Importance of Mentors

General Colin Powell Receives American Patriot of Character Award

General Colin Powell, former US Secretary of State, received the American Patriot of Character Award presented by The Character Education Partnership during their 16th annual National Forum on Character Education, in Alexandria, VA, last week.

The American Patriot of Character Award honours one American citizen whose leadership exemplifies the very best of the nation's founding principles. The award recognises individuals not only for great success in their chosen field, but also for upholding the highest ethical standards in service of the common good.

"General Powell is a remarkable public servant who has truly made a positive difference in our nation," CEP's executive director Joe Mazzola said. "He is a shining example of integrity for young people, and all American citizens, to emulate. We are honoured to have him as the first recipient of this award."

In his acceptance remarks Powell talked about his family's emphasis on good character and achievement. He said a turning point in his life came about when he entered the ROTC program in college, and it emphasised West Point's code of ethics.

General Powell also congratulated the National Schools of Character award winners who were in attendance to receive their awards. He commended the educators for their efforts to develop students of good character.

The purpose of the National Schools of Character awards programme is to identify, honour, and showcase exemplars in character education and facilitate their leadership in mentoring others. The goal of the national program is to provide a variety of models of comprehensive, quality character education, representing America's diverse educational system.

Here are General Powell's 13 Rules of Leadership:

General Colin Powell Receives American Patriot of Character Award

Mentoring contributes to Success

Here is a revealing story about the importance of mentoring. It centres on Roy Williams, the coach of the University of North Carolina men's college basketball team (and formerly the Kansas University coach).

Williams mentors his players with his urging and example. An instance of this happened in late 2002 with Jeff Graves, one of his tall, inside players at Kansas. Graves showed up for the 2002-2003 season more than a few pounds overweight. Williams had told him that 250 to 260 pounds was a proper playing weight. Graves agreed. Then he arrived at practice at the beginning of the season weighing about 290 pounds.

Williams gave him a requirement before he could fully participate as a player on the team: he must run a mile in 6:30. To help him do that Williams ran with him periodically until Graves was able to get his time down to 6:30, losing his weight in the process. The fact that Williams did more than tell Graves what to do... that he, at over 50 years old actually got out and ran with him, meant a great deal to Graves. And Graves went on to be a key player later in the season when star forward Wayne Simien got injured. Graves ended up starting and helped the team get to and nearly win the championship game.

We will never know how many little things Williams did for his players over the years to help make them successful in basketball, in school and in life. However, the high graduate rate his players enjoy (over 85%), an 81% win percentage during his career and his two National Championship successes are support for the idea that Williams is a mentor as well as a basketball coach.

Mentoring contributes to Success

The Benefits of Having a Mentor

Everyone can benefit from the expertise of a mentor. Whether your career is sidetracked, trying to get ahead, or you're looking for a new start in another direction, you might need help from a helpful coach. Specialised support guiding you in the right direction might come from a mentor. Mentors have a desire and willingness to help develop others and to serve in this capacity. How do you find the right role model?

Finding the right mentor takes time, creativity, and a strategic plan. Viable confidantes might include one person or several. You might enlist support from someone familiar in your industry or someone in a completely different field.

Here are some considerations to help you find the right mentor:

• List desired traits in your potential mentor. Some qualities include solid communication skills, professional accomplishments, or position to which you aspire.
• Set specific expectations for mentor support such as specific competency, professional insight, or experiences from which you would like to learn.
• Confirm availability and potential for time commitment to provide support. Can this person be consistently available to provide perspective and respond to correspondence?
• Does this person show patience, sensitivity, and respect?
• Does this individual have a track record of helping others?
• Is this person a good listener with whom you can easily communicate and receive constructive feedback?
• Is this person knowledgeable? For instance, does he or she maintain professional and external relationships? Is this individual willing and able to provide you with referral contacts?

Once you have completed the above, set up a brief in-person "information interview" to discuss your interests. Share with him or her about your desire for support in this capacity and get feedback. Evaluate the exchange and select a mentor who meets your goals and stated criteria.

Positive Leadership Limited delivers leadership consulting in the areas of coaching, mentoring, executive education and training.

The Benefits of Having a Mentor

The Power of Mentoring

John Wooden is the most successful coach in NCAA history, having led the UCLA Bruins to 665 victories and ten championships in the years leading up to 1975.

Coach Wooden, who has served as a mentor to so many through his timeless teaching, turns 99 years young on October 14th. Coach Wooden, selected by his peers as the Greatest Coach of All Time in a recent survey by The Sporting News, encourages all of us to never stop learning and to teach others with that same passion.

After eight books, many of them bestsellers, A Game Plan for Life: The Power of Mentoring is the one closest to John Wooden’s heart: a moving and inspirational guide to the power of mentorship. The first half focuses on the people who helped foster the values that carried Wooden through an incredibly successful and famously principled career, including his college coach, his wife, Abraham Lincoln, and Mother Teresa. The second half is built around interviews with some of the many people he mentored over the years, including Kareem Abdul- Jabbar, Bill Walton, fellow coaches, family members, and even a middle school coach in Canada. Their testimony takes readers inside the lessons Wooden taught to generations of players, bringing out the very best in them not just as athletes but as human beings. In all, it’s an inspiring primer on how to achieve success without sacrificing principles, and on how to build one of the most productive and rewarding relationships available to any athlete, businessperson, teacher, or parent: that of mentor and protégé.

The Power of Mentoring