The CYBF mentor role:

Transcription

1 cybf.ca Master mentoring with CYBF Welcome to This module is an introduction to the mentoring role at CYBF. After completing this module, please take the time to fill out a four-question survey. Your thoughts and feedback are extremely important to us! You can go to to complete the survey. 1

2 Objective: To learn about CYBF s mentoring philosophy and how it applies to your role as a CYBF mentor This module will address: 1) CYBF s definition for mentoring 2) CYBF s mentoring philosophy 3) A mentor s default roles 4) Applying our learning to a real mentoring scenario Mentoring is an art - not a science. If you were hoping for a bullet-proof module on Five Fast and Furious Ways to Become an Expert Mentor in 24 Hours or Less sorry to disappoint you, but you ll have to catch that infomercial another time! What I can guarantee is by reviewing this module you ll learn CYBF s mentoring definition and philosophy as well as how you can apply it to your role as a CYBF mentor. We ll address 1. CYBF s definition for mentoring 2. CYBF s mentoring philosophy 3. A mentor s default roles 4. Applying our learning to a real mentoring scenario 2

3 Mentoring according to you Mentoring according to you Let s play a little word association game. When I say mentoring you say What words or phrases come to mind? If you have a pen and paper handy, write those words down. We ll refer to them again later in this module. Take a moment to reflect on your understanding of mentoring and fully define what mentoring means to you. Defining mentoring the rationale Most people have a general understanding of what mentoring is, but because the term mentoring has been used loosely in many forms of helping in a number of different settings, there is inconsistency in its meaning, approach and implementation and this has contributed to a somewhat diluted or confusing understanding of mentoring. For example, generally speaking, the European approach to mentoring is different from the approach commonly used in the US or Canada, and there are many variations on these themes from organization to organization, and individual to individual. Because mentoring isn t clearly defined, let s take the opportunity to outline what mentoring means to CYBF. 3

4 Mentoring according to CYBF The process of offering personalized support to help entrepreneurs develop their abilities and insights as they start and grow their business Mentoring according to CYBF Many forms of mentoring take place at CYBF, so for the purpose of this module, we ll refer to the mentoring that takes place between you and the entrepreneur during your regular face-to-face meetings. In this context, CYBF defines mentoring as the process of offering personalized support to help entrepreneurs develop their abilities and insights as they start and grow their business. Let s look at the key words in this definition: process As with any process, there s also a start, a middle and an end to mentoring personalized support Support comes in many forms as we ll explore later in this module, but what remains consistent between the different types of support is that it is designed to meet entrepreneurs individual needs develop their abilities and insights The focus is on developing entrepreneurs own abilities and insights which requires a mentoring approach that encourages and draws out entrepreneurs leadership skills This part of the definition also aligns with CYBF s vision to help youth help themselves. 4

5 CYBF s mentoring philosophy CYBF s mentoring philosophy Developmental Entrepreneur-focused One of the ingredients to successful mentoring at CYBF is our mentoring philosophy. We believe mentoring should be both developmental and entrepreneur-focused in its approach. 5

6 CYBF s mentoring philosophy Developmental mentoring: Builds self-reliance and leadership skills in entrepreneurs Helps entrepreneurs discover their own insights, options, solutions and decisions Supports entrepreneur s self-directed learning and reflection Facilitates two-way learning between mentor and entrepreneur Aligns with CYBF s vision to help entrepreneurs help themselves CYBF believes in developmental mentoring. This is a form of mentoring that: Builds self-reliance and leadership skills in entrepreneurs As a mentor who takes a developmental approach to mentoring, you play a non-directive role, allowing the relationship to be primarily driven by the entrepreneur. For example, entrepreneurs can show leadership by planning the mentoring meeting dates, times, locations and agenda. Helps entrepreneurs discover their own options, insights, solutions and decisions It may be much easier for you to provide entrepreneurs with all the answers, but doing so robs them of opportunities to learn on their own and exercise their own judgment in a safe, non-threatening environment Supports self-directed learning and reflection This is where your role as an investigator is invaluable. You can help by asking questions that prompt reflection and learning. Facilitates two-way learning between mentor and entrepreneur When you take an investigative approach to mentoring, it often becomes a two-way learning relationship. 6

7 Aligns with CYBF s vision to help entrepreneurs help themselves CYBF s vision reads, Driving Canada s business success by helping youth help themselves. Developmental mentoring encourages mentors to help youth help themselves. 7

8 CYBF s mentoring philosophy Entrepreneur-focused mentoring Business Personal Development Mentoring Relationship What is entrepreneur-focused mentoring? Since our entrepreneurs bring a wide variety of needs, personalities, skills, businesses and goals, there is no one-size-fits-all, add-water-and-watch-it-grow approach to mentoring. Each mentoring relationship is unique and the entrepreneur s needs form a foundation for these one-of-a-kind relationships. This is what we refer to as entrepreneur-focused mentoring. It may be helpful to keep these three areas in mind while navigating your mentoring relationship: the business, entrepreneur s personal development and the mentoring relationship. Entrepreneurs needs will stem from any of these key areas. We recommend checking-in with your entrepreneur and his/her needs in each of these three areas on a regular basis. Entrepreneurs needs trump developmental mentoring If an entrepreneur expresses the need for more mentor leadership, advice and direction - a common request especially at the beginning of a mentoring relationship - these needs override the developmental mentoring approach, which assigns leadership to the entrepreneur. When a situation like this occurs, you can increasingly encourage the entrepreneur to take more leadership in the mentoring relationship. However, if the entrepreneur requests ongoing advice, leadership and direction well into the mentoring relationship, and you find yourself stepping into the advisor role for the majority of the relationship, you can address this observation during one of your mentoring meetings out of concern for the entrepreneur s personal development. 8

9 The roles of a mentor Teacher Friend Mentor Investigator The roles of a mentor As you are well aware, mentors fulfill many different roles throughout a mentoring relationship. Although mastering each role and skillset is a good first step, one of the greatest skills a mentor can have is the skill to assess the entrepreneur s needs and know when and how to step into an appropriate mentoring role seamlessly and effectively. Here we ve identified eight key roles a mentor can play. The Mentor, Investigator and Friend roles are emphasized in this diagram because they make up a mentor s default roles in developmental and entrepreneur-focused mentoring. At the beginning of any meeting, phone conversation or , you would start off in your neutral or default roles as Mentor, Investigator and Friend, allowing the entrepreneur to lead and express his/her needs. As conversation unfolds, the entrepreneur s needs may require you to step into other roles. For example, the entrepreneur may ask for your advice. After trying to help him/her come to his or her own conclusions by exercising your role as Investigator, you may need to step into an Advisor role. However, doing so would be a conscious choice, and you wouldn t automatically default to that role. 9

10 Mentor roles defined Roles Role explained Attributes/Skills Mentor Investigator Friend Teacher Advisor Coach Networker Cheerleader Helps entrepreneur decide what he/she wants in the three areas of focus (business, personal development and the mentoring relationship) and helps him/her create a plan to achieve goals; focuses on the big picture Remains curious; investigates; asks questions; helps identify entrepreneur s issues and challenges; helps stimulate thought process; helps entrepreneur reflect and learn; Empathetic and non-judgmental listener who supports entrepreneur; builds and sustains a positive relationship Instructs entrepreneur in areas in which he/she may not be familiar Gives recommendations and suggestions based on knowledge and experience Challenges entrepreneur to improve performance and shows him/her how by creating a plan for improvement; provides and receives feedback Introduces entrepreneur to people and/or resources to help develop his/her knowledge network and Supports, motivates, encourages and celebrates entrepreneur s successes Planning; goal setting; project management; strategic; Problem solving skills; Questioning skills; Listening skills; Inquisitive; Creative. Emotional intelligence; Empathic; Listening skills; Communication skills: storytelling, Analytical Experienced Coaching skills Networking skills, Communication skills Positive; emotional intelligence 10

11 Mentoring and coaching are they the same? The short answer is no. How are mentoring and coaching different? Mentoring: has a long term focus aimed at broadening the mentee s perspectives and extending his/her horizons; it takes a bird s eye view, encouraging self-reliance, self-confidence and seeks to find untapped potential. Coaching: has a shorter term focus and seeks to improve specific skills, knowledge or behaviour related to the mentee s day-to-day business; performance Youth Business International, 2011 Coaching v Mentoring Short-term focus Skills, knowledge, behaviours Coach Mentor Broadening perspectives/ horizons Long-term focus Clutterbuck Associates, 2007 Clutterbuck Associates,

12 The roles of a mentor Teacher Friend Mentor Investigator It s a good idea to be aware of how often you step out of the Mentor, Investigator, Friend default roles. This awareness can lead to insights about your own mentoring style and philosophy and whether it aligns with developmental and entrepreneur-focused mentoring. Here are clues and hints to help you identify when you have shifted from a neutral role into other roles: Talking most of the time or telling many stories about your experiences and learnings (Teacher) Giving advice (Advisor) Giving unsolicited feedback (Coach) Making many suggestions (Coach/Advisor) Referring entrepreneur to other experts (Networker) When you re celebrating the entrepreneur s successes (Cheerleader) Wrapping up our word association game Back to our word association game: remember the words or phrases that came to mind when I said the word, mentoring. What were they? Were any of those words a mentor default role? It wouldn t be surprising if they weren t because most people associate mentoring with advising or teaching. Although there are times when mentors advise or teach, these roles do not form the basis for developmental mentoring and entrepreneur-focused mentoring where leadership and self-directed learning are the entrepreneur s responsibility. 12

13 Help a mentor out Diane has done everything she can to help her entrepreneur Because she lacks industry-specific knowledge and experience, Diane thinks she is not the right mentor for her entrepreneur She requests a mentor rematch for her entrepreneur Diane, a dedicated CYBF mentor, is deflated when she calls the CYBF national office. Her entrepreneur s business is not doing well, and she has done everything in her power to help including (but not limited to): arranging pitch presentations with potential high profile clients attending trade shows with her entrepreneur sourcing and attending industry-specific networking events introducing her entrepreneur to influential people in the industry sourcing professional development opportunities Diane is disappointed and despite having put forth her greatest efforts, she thinks she is not the right mentor for her entrepreneur. She has not been able to help her entrepreneur get his business off the ground, and attributes this poor outcome to her own lack of industry-specific experience and knowledge. She requests a rematch for her entrepreneur someone who has the industry-specific network, experience and knowledge that she lacks. 13

14 Reflection on a real scenario 1 What assumptions can you make about Diane s understanding of the mentoring role? 2 Does Diane s mentoring style generally align with CYBF s developmental and entrepreneur-focused mentoring philosophy? Why or why not? 3 If you were the mentoring manager who received Diane s call, how would you have responded to her? Take a few minutes to answer the following questions. 14

15 Key learning points Mentoring is not industryspecific Mentor is not the doer Mentoring relationship was not entrepreneur driven Revisiting the three areas of focus for a CYBF mentor Suggestions for next steps Mentoring is not industry specific Because CYBF believes in developmental mentoring where the focus is on helping the entrepreneur develop his/her own insights and abilities, it is not necessary for Diane to have experience in the same industry as her entrepreneur. Mentor is not the doer By doing much of the work for the entrepreneur, Diane may have unknowingly created a situation where the entrepreneur became dependent on her to produce leads and/or sales. Creating dependence does not align with developmental mentoring and its goal to build self-reliance in the entrepreneur. Mentoring relationship was not entrepreneur driven Diane could have encouraged her entrepreneur to take the lead by doing less, asking the entrepreneur more questions for reflection and using the entrepreneurs responses to help formulate a short-term plan to increase sales. Revisiting the three areas of focus for a CYBF mentor Diane primarily focused on her entrepreneur s business. Perhaps there were gaps in her entrepreneur s personal development and skills that could have contributed to the lack of sales. Was 15

16 the mentoring relationship safe enough for the entrepreneur to fully disclose his challenges, fears and feedback on the mentoring relationship? Suggestions for next steps a) Diane can step away from the doer role and reassess her entrepreneur s situation from a big picture, strategic perspective rather than a tactical perspective. She can help her entrepreneur brainstorm and create a plan to course correct taking into consideration all three areas of focus: business, personal development and the mentoring relationship. b) Diane can reflect on how she can contribute to maintaining a strong mentoring relationship with her entrepreneur. She can discuss her mentoring relationship with her entrepreneur to assess its effectiveness. c) Diane can connect with her Mentoring Manager for suggestions on how to support her entrepreneur through a difficult time. Do you have any additional suggestions or learning points? 16

17 Knowledge Checkpoint: Which of the following statements does not describe developmental mentoring? a) A mentoring relationship where mentor relies on his/her authority, influence and contextual knowledge to create a oneway learning relationship for the entrepreneur b) A mentoring relationship which encourages entrepreneur selfreliance, self-learning and leadership c) A mentoring relationship typically defined by a non-directive mentoring style, an entrepreneur-driven mentoring relationship and two-way learning. (Pssst the answer is A; this statement describes a traditional, directive mentoring relationship) As we near the end of this module, here is an opportunity to test your knowledge on CYBF s mentoring philosophy. 17

18 We want to hear from you! Norm Grey National Director, Mentoring Hamilton, Burlington, St. Catharines ON ext.2901 Janice Weir Manager, Mentoring Southwestern ON, Greater Toronto Area, Eastern ON ext.2105 Christine Klar Manager, Mentoring British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon Linda Morana Mentor in Residence ext.2206 Lynn Tremblay Manager, Mentoring Northern Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Maritimes ext.3601 If you have any questions about the CYBF mentoring program, please feel free to contact us. 18

19 cybf.ca Master mentoring with CYBF 19