(Article published in the book “Higher Education: Quality and Management” (Edited by S. M. Paul Khurana & P. K. Singhal), 2010.)
1. Introduction: Leaders Make Things Happen.
As Ralph Nader rightly said, “I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.” According to John Quincy Adams, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, you are a leader.” Leaders make things happen. A visionary leader stands for enhancing and sustaining quality, empowering people and ushering in the required paradigm shift to redefine the vision and mission of the institution and meet the challenges of the times. Institutions flourish or perish depending largely on the leadership qualities of the persons at the helm of affairs, 2Sigma effect of change can be brought about by mentoring and coaching. Words of affirmation and guidance would make the team explore the latent potentials and produce the required synergy to sustain capacity building. Transformational leadership through relationship to achieve the required purpose would be more enduring. Soft skills when compliment hard skills can maximize the effectiveness of leadership. Personal integrity and authenticity would enhance trust and credibility. "You be the change you want to see in others", said Mahatma Gandhi. Management of change - of self and others, in a positive and proactive way would make the leadership effective.
If you just walk into any bookstore you will find hundreds of leadership books purport to answer all questions concerning leadership. Broadly, the research, thinking, and writing about leadership can be divided into two camps. One camp holds that leadership is all about behavior and that if you want to excel, you should learn and replicate the key behaviors of good leaders. Many companies pursue this view by developing competency models and then rigorously assessing and training their leaders accordingly. The other camp holds that leadership is all about character, values, and authenticity and companies that adhere to this view focus on transmitting company values and orienting leaders to the right way to do things. Stephen Covey advocates principle-centred leadership for effective and sustainable impact.
Leaders who do not succeed tend to be people who lack self-awareness. Daniel Goleman has made this basic truth clear by describing the importance of emotional intelligence as an important component of effective leadership. Ineffective leaders don’t understand their own motivations or acknowledge their weaknesses; they don’t engage in reflection, especially when they fail and are unwilling to assume accountability. As smart and skilled as these people may be, they don’t really know themselves, and this lack of self-knowledge derails them, especially when they face new leadership challenges. High-performing leaders, however, are aware of their strengths and their weaknesses; they talk and think about their limitations and failures and try to learn from them.
1.1 Behavioral perspective: A behavioral perspective on leadership focuses not on what a leader is, as the trait approach does, it focuses on what a leader does. Two classic series of leadership studies, done primarily in the 1950's and 1960's at the Universities of Ohio State and Michigan, have led to the fundamental distinction between task-oriented and person-oriented leadership behaviour. It seems clear that successful leadership involves both (1) attention to the task and getting the job done, while also (2) attending to people and social processes. A task focus is necessary if a group is going to stay on track and achieve its goals. One aspect of leadership behaviour, therefore, must concentrate on defining roles, providing structures, directing activities, communicating information, scheduling, etc. It is critical that leaders attend to the content of decisions and tasks at hand. These types of activities, however, are all too frequently the sole focus of the leader and the group. The second factor these studies highlighted, of equal importance, relates to consideration of peoples' feelings and the building of mutual trust and respect for people's ideas and attitudes. It is also concerned with how the group goes about achieving what it needs to achieve.
1.2 Transformational perspective: Another, more recently distinguished idea is between transactional and transformational leadership. Transactional leaders attempt to satisfy the current needs of followers by focusing their attention on tasks and interpersonal exchanges. Transformational leaders, on the other hand, attempt to stimulate followers and promote dramatic changes in individuals, groups and organizations (Burns, 1978).
One critical difference between transactional and transformational leadership is in regards to performance. It has been suggested that transactional leadership provides the basis for expected levels of performance, while transformational leadership builds upon that base resulting in performance beyond expectations (Bass, 1985). According to Yammarino, Spangler and Bass (1993), transformational leaders "motivate subordinates to do more than originally expected. They raise the consciousness of subordinates about the importance and value of designated outcomes and ways of reaching them and, in turn, get subordinates to transcend their own immediate self-interests for the sake of the mission and vision of the organization. Subordinates' confidence levels are raised and their needs are expanded.” This increased motivation is linked to three factors of transformational leadership:
1. Transformational leaders are more charismatic and inspiring in the eyes of their followers. They inspire commitment, instill a vision and excite people. They are well trusted and their followers feel confidence in them. 2. Transformational leaders give individual consideration. They pay attention to individual differences in subordinates' needs for growth and development. They coach, mentor and assign tasks that not only satisfy immediate needs, but stretch peoples’ capabilities in an effort toward improvement. They also link the individual's current needs to the organization’s mission. 3. Transformational leaders provide intellectual stimulation. They raise peoples' awareness of issues and problems. They help people become aware of their own thoughts, imagination, beliefs and values. It is through intellectual stimulation that transformational leaders facilitate the generation of new methods of accomplishing the organizational mission.
2. Visionary Leadership
Vision is what determines what an organization is going to try to accomplish. Without a clear vision the organization will be pulled in many different directions. It is much easier to lead if you have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and your ideas are good. Even if you don't have a tremendous amount of skill as a leader, having a clear vision can help you through your shortcomings. People want to follow someone with a plan. By having a clear vision of what you want to accomplish, you will attract followers and people who want to align themselves with your vision. Individuals realize that one of the cornerstones of success is a clear vision. For this reason they want to align themselves with someone who articulates a vision - they want to join in the success. In fact, a poor leader with a great vision will achieve more than a great leader with an ill-conceived plan. People want to follow someone who will lead them to success. If you appear to be able to do this, people will want to follow you. If you have a track record of success, people will want to follow you. If you are pushing people toward shared success, they will tend to stick with you because they are succeeding. In some cases they may even start mimicking some of your poor leadership habits thinking they are part of the reason for your success. Many people mistake success for good leadership skills. That is because people want to follow people with whom they can be successful. Obviously good leadership skills are very important. It is much better to lead with a solid vision and skillful leadership expertise.
Visionary leaders are the builders of a new dawn, working with imagination, insight, and boldness. They present a challenge that calls forth the best in people and brings them together around a shared sense of purpose. They work with the power of intentionality and alignment with a higher purpose. Their eyes are on the horizon, not just on the near at hand. They are social innovators and change agents, seeing the big picture and thinking strategically. There is a profound interconnectedness between the leader and the whole, and true visionary leaders serve the good of the whole. They recognize that there is some truth on both sides of most polarized issues in our society today. They search for solutions that transcend the usual adversarial approaches and address the causal level of problems. They find a higher synthesis of the best of both sides of an issue and address the systemic root causes of problems to create real breakthroughs.
2.1 What is it that makes a visionary become a visionary leader? : A visionary may dream wonderful visions of the future and articulate them with great inspiration. A visionary is good with words. But a visionary leader is good with actions as well as words, and so can bring his/her vision into being in the world, thus transforming it in some way. More than words are needed for a vision to take form in today’s world. It requires leadership and heartfelt commitment. A visionary leader is effective in manifesting his or her vision because s/he creates specific, achievable goals, initiates action and enlists the participation of others.
What is the mysterious inner process within leaders that enables them to work their magic and radiate the charisma that mobilizes others for a higher purpose? Visionary leadership is based on a balanced expression of the spiritual, mental, emotional and physical dimensions. It requires core values, clear vision, empowering relationships, and innovative action. When one or more of these dimensions are missing, leadership cannot manifest a vision. The best visionary leaders move energy to a higher level by offering a clear vision of what is possible. They inspire people to be better than they already are and help them identify with what Lincoln called “the angels of their better nature.” This was the power of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech. The creative power of lighted, inspired words can sound a certain inner note that people recognize and respond to. This, then, creates dramatic social change. Like King, visionary leaders have the ability to sense the deeper spiritual needs of the followers and link their current demands to this deeper, often unspoken, need for purpose and meaning.
Visionary leaders often have the ability to see higher spiritual forces at work behind the scenes of events, and they align with the vision of these redemptive forces. Both George Washington and Winston Churchill spoke about the help they received from a “guiding hand.” Churchill said, “...we have a guardian because we serve a great cause, and we shall have that guardian as long as we serve that cause faithfully.”
3. Leadership in Practice: Empowerment
There are different types of leaders and you will probably encounter more than one type in your lifetime. Formal leaders are those we elect into positions or offices such as the senators, congressmen, and presidents of the local clubs. Informal leaders are those we look up to by virtue of their wisdom and experience such as in the case of the elders of a tribe, or our grandparents; or by virtue of their expertise and contribution on a given field such as Albert Einstein in the field of Theoretical Physics and Leonardo da Vinci in the field of the Arts. Successful leaders are able to motivate, energize and empower others. When people are excited and empowered in this sense, it affects both their task initiation and task persistence. That is, empowered people get more involved, take on more difficult situations, and act more confidently. Empowered people expend more effort on a given task and are more persistent in their efforts.
The central question for us is how can leaders empower, motivate and activate people? Based on Bandura's (1974) classic work on self-efficacy beliefs and their effects on peoples' sense of personal power, we will discuss several means of empowering others. We know that people gain confidence when they take on a new and complex task, receive training if necessary, and complete a task successfully. Therefore, one important set of leadership skills relates to mentoring, coaching and counseling wherein we are concerned with providing employees with the necessary direction, information, skills and support necessary for task mastery. We also know that when people feel more capable, they are empowered intellectually. There is a wealth of evidence that what we believe we are capable of doing is shaped by what others believe us to be capable of. If we expect people to succeed they will be more likely to do so than if we expect them to fail. Therefore, another critical set of leadership skills is related to oral persuasion and motivation. A third process for activating people is to provide a successful role-model from which to observe and learn. This modeling and role-model effect is not as powerful as actually experiencing mastery; however, it does have positive effects (Bandura, 1986). Therefore, a third set of leadership skills is powerful-people skills, related to how you as an individual can feel and behave more powerfully, and can act as a positive leadership role-model. Each of these will be considered in more detail below.
4. Leadership Styles
Leadership style is the manner and approach of providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating people. There are normally three styles of leadership (U.S. Army Handbook, 1973) : Authoritarian or autocratic, Participative or democratic, Delegative or Free Reign. Although good leaders use all three styles, with one of them normally dominate, bad leaders tend to stick with one style.
4.1. Authoritarian (autocratic): This style is used when the leader tells his/her employees what s/he wants done and how s/he wants it done, without getting the advice of his/her followers. Some of the appropriate conditions to use it are when you have all the information to solve the problem, you are short on time, and your employees are well motivated. Some people tend to think of this style as a vehicle for yelling, using demeaning language, and leading by threats and abusing their power. This is not the authoritarian style...rather it is an abusive, unprofessional style called bossing people around. It has no place in a leader’s repertoire. The authoritarian style should normally be used only on rare occasions. If you have the time and want to gain more commitment and motivation from your employees, then you should use the participative style.
4.2 Participative (democratic): This type of style involves the leader including one or more employees in on the decision making process (determining what to do and how to do it). However, the leader maintains the final decision making authority. Using this style is not a sign of weakness; rather, it is a sign of strength that your employees will respect. This is normally used when you have part of the information, and your employees have other parts. Note that a leader is not expected to know everything - this is why you employ knowledgeable and skillful employees. Using this style is of mutual benefit - it allows them to become part of the team and allows you to make better decisions.
4.3 Delegative (free reign): In this style, the leader allows the employees to make the decision. However, the leader is still responsible for the decisions that are made. This is used when employees are able to analyze the situation and determine what needs to be done and how to do it. You cannot do everything! You must set priorities and delegate certain tasks. This is not a style to use so that you can blame others when things go wrong, rather this is a style to be used when you have the full trust and confidence in the people below you. Do not be afraid to use it, however, use it wisely! A good leader uses all three styles, depending on what forces are involved between the followers, the leader, and the situation. Some examples include:
· Using an authoritarian style on a new employee who is just learning the job.
· The leader is competent and a good coach. The employee is motivated to learn a new skill. The situation is a new environment for the employee.
· Using a participative style with a team of workers who know their job. The leader knows the problem, but does not have all the information.
· The employees know their jobs and want to become part of the team.
· Using a delegative style with a worker who knows more about the job than you. You cannot do everything! The employee needs to take ownership of her job. Also, the situation might call for you to be at other places, doing other things.
5. Leadership Styles Depend on the Situation.
Most of the time, leaders employ a combination of leadership styles, depending on the situation. In emergency situations such as periods of war and calamity, decision-making is a matter of life and death. Thus, a nation's leader cannot afford to consult with all departments to arrive at crucial decisions. The case is of course different in times of peace and order - different sectors and other branches of government can freely interact and participate in governance. Another case in point is in leading organizations. When the staffs are highly motivated and competent, a combination of high delegative and moderate participative styles of leadership is most appropriate. But, if the staffs have low competence and low commitment, a combination of high coaching, high supporting, and high directing behavior from organizational leaders is required. Leadership is not about rulers and subordinates, masters and slaves. It is not about management skills or having the right structure. Leadership is about building a sense of community, ownership, family and accountability. Rank does have privileges, but wise leaders never rely on power to get things done.
6. Mentoring: Awakening the Sleeping Giant
Globalization has ushered in era of competition and impersonal existence with emphasis exclusively on task and results. Persons and their uniqueness have become things of the past. Survival of the fittest has come to stay. Success at any cost seems to have become the maxim. Competencies and talents often remain buried in this world of cut throat competition. And yet when institutions and organizations are ready to embark on a journey of mentoring their protégés and employees, the result would be incomparable. What we do in mentoring is that we awaken the sleeping giant.
Mentoring is not the same as teaching. Very often, people misconstrue mentors to be the same as teachers. Employees can find mentors in professional and personal lives. A mentor is not just a teacher. Nor is he a coach or trainer. The job of a mentor encompasses more than that of a teacher and a coach. A mentor literally takes his mentee under his wing and is morally responsible for the development of the student. A mentor is not just involved in imparting technical knowledge to his students. He is also involved in the emotional and spiritual development of the student. A mentor can have an involved relationship with the mentee than the relationship with a coach.
It is very difficult to nurture and manage a mentor – mentee relationship. Not every senior employee is equipped to play the role of a mentor as the job of a mentor is very demanding. However, organizations that encourage mentorship go a long way in building their human capital. Organizational structures are stronger because of mentors. Corporate mentors can build healthy climates for employees with a positive mentoring program. A mentor participates in the transition of the employee's organizational growth and is actively involved in the establishment of the employee's new organizational roles. A mentor helps the mentee chart out long term career goals with the organization and stimulates the mentee to enhance work competencies.
A mentor is a person who has a vast repertoire of experience in the field that he trains. Mentors have had both experience and professional training in the subject that he has to mentor. For instance, leadership mentors need to have adequate experience as leaders and should have undergone leadership training themselves. What do mentors offer to their students that formal training sessions cannot offer? For one, the mentors can use personal experiences as lessons for students. Moreover, mentors are capable of resolving dynamic issues due to their abundant knowledge and experience in the field. A training program cannot possibly prepare students to face unexpected challenges. Mentors can vary their training depending on the nature of their students and the different levels of complexity faced by the mentee.
A mentor need not be an immediate superior or for that matter belong to the same department. Cross department mentoring is very common and often encouraged. With a mentor from another department, needless office politics don't creep into the relationship. Moreover, the mentee finds a mentor at a similar position of power as that of his boss. The mentor-mentee relationship is often less autocratic, but more compassionate. There could be conflicts of viewpoint between them but it does not hurt their relationship in any way.
A mentor is a person who has a vast repertoire of experience in the field that he trains. Mentors have had both experience and professional training in the subject that he has to mentor. For instance, leadership mentors need to have adequate experience as leaders and should have undergone leadership training themselves. What do mentors offer to their students that formal training sessions cannot offer? For one, the mentors can use personal experiences as lessons for students. Moreover, mentors are capable of resolving dynamic issues due to their abundant knowledge and experience in the field. A training program cannot possibly prepare students to face unexpected challenges. Mentors can vary their training depending on the nature of their students and the different levels of complexity faced by the mentee.
A mentor need not be an immediate superior or for that matter belong to the same department. Cross department mentoring is very common and often encouraged. With a mentor from another department, needless office politics don't creep into the relationship. Moreover, the mentee finds a mentor at a similar position of power as that of his boss. The mentor-mentee relationship is often less autocratic, but more compassionate. There could be conflicts of viewpoint between them but it does not hurt their relationship in any way.
A mentor grooms his students to take on higher responsibilities and face all odds that surface in the journey. Mentors have to prepare their students to tackle organizational roadblocks, power games, bad will, subordinate resistance and other such challenges. The relationship of a mentor and a mentee can extend well beyond the mentoring program. Some mentoring relationships end as per the agreement made by organizations. Some could end even more abruptly if the relationship does not work out amicably. In any case, it is the duty of the mentor to formally close the relationship and ensure that the termination of the relationship does not affect the student's achievements.
Mentoring is a relationship where a mentor, through support, counsel, friendship, reinforcement and constructive example, helps another person (usually a young person) reach his or her work and life goals. Although many people may equate mentoring with friendship, mentoring actually has its roots in the professional world. Mentoring principles and practices have perpetuated the continuity of art, craft and commerce dating back to ancient times where masters taught, coached and guided the skills development of apprentices. Mentoring is a relationship built on trust. It is not expensive, and the return on investment of a successful mentoring relationship can be profound and significant.
Mentoring relationships provide valuable support to young people. Mentors can help guide youth through the sometimes awkward developmental stages that accompany the transition into adulthood. Mentoring can offer not only academic and career guidance, but also role models for leadership, interpersonal and problem-solving skills. Many youth with disabilities, like other disadvantaged youth, have not had the same opportunities as their peers for exposure to career preparation options like mentoring. Even today, some youth with disabilities play at best a passive role in their own career-planning process. This may reflect low expectations that either they or others have, learned dependency, or the perceived need for protection and support.
By and large, youth appreciate mentors who are supportive, caring, and willing to assist them with activities that support academic, career, social or personal goals. One common theme is that the longer the relationship continues, the more positive the outcome. Another is that youth are more likely to benefit from mentoring if their mentor maintains frequent contact with them and knows their families. As a general rule, youth who are disadvantaged or at-risk stand to gain the most from mentoring. Youth with disabilities are among these populations.
When we applied mentoring to teaching and teachers, it can improve teaching performance, increase the retention of new teachers, promote the personal and professional well-being of new teachers, and transmit the culture of the educational system to beginning teachers. A mentoring program should provide opportunities for new and experienced teachers to grow professionally and improve their teaching. It is more than just assigning an experienced teacher with a novice teacher. It has been noticed that 30% of new teachers quit during the first two years; 50% leave teaching during the first four years. It costs an institution time and money to recruit, hire and train new teachers.
A mentor can be to provide a new teacher with insight on: motivating students, providing for individual differences of students’ assessing student work, relating to parents, organizing class work, obtaining materials and supplies, assistance with discipline and so on. A mentor can provide a new teacher:
®Ideas about instruction
®Personal and emotional support
®Advice on resources and materials
®Information about school, district policies and procedures
®Ideas for additional techniques on classroom management
This suggests that new teachers with a mentor can focus on instructional needs rather than concentrating on classroom management.
6.1 Mentoring: definition and explanation
If you touch me soft and gentle, if you look at me and smile at me, if you listen to me talk sometimes, before you talk, I will grow, really grow. - Bradley. “The best mentors are the people in your life who push you just a little bit outside your “comfort zone” -Leigh Curl. “Mentors are guides. They lead us along the journey of our lives. We trust them because they have been there before. They embody our hopes, cast light on the way ahead, interpret arcane signs, warn us of lurking dangers, and point out unexpected delights along the way…” Laurent A Daloz.
Interestingly, the concept of mentoring stems from Greek mythology. Mentor was Odysseus's friend and teacher to his son Telemachus. In Homer's Odyssey, Athena, the goddess, assumed the form of Mentor to proffer advice to Odysseus and Telemachus. Since then, the word Mentor has become synonymous with someone who is a wise advisor. The name is synonymous with a person who guides another toward the path of education, growth, maturity, development, progress and prosperity. An organization can use the art of mentoring as a tool to help bring out the best in their younger employees, leveraging the synergy for individual and organizational growth and success.
Dr Audrey Collin (1979), of the School of Management at Leicester Polytechnic, gathered a number of largely US definitions of mentoring for an article in Personnel Review magazine. Mentors were said, for example, to be ‘influential people who significantly help you reach your major life goals'. Mentoring is ‘a process in which one person [the mentor] is responsible for overseeing the career and development of another person [the mentee] outside the normal manager/subordinate relationship'. Alternatively, mentoring was ‘a protected relationship in which learning and experimentation can occur, potential skills can be developed, and in which results can be measured in terms of competencies gained rather than curricular territory covered'.
The basic model of mentoring is that one person passes his/her greater knowledge and wisdom to another. (Hay, 1995) A mentor is a professional person who is a wise, experienced, knowledgeable individual who ‘either demands or gently coaxes' the most out of the mentee. (Caruso, 1992) “A one-to-one relationship in which a senior manager oversees the development and progression of a more junior manager” (Equal Opportunities Review, 1995). "Mentoring is to support and encourage people to manage their own learning in order that they may maximise their potential, develop their skills, improve their performance and become the person they want to be" (Eric Par sloe, The Oxford School of Coaching & Mentoring). Thus, as said by John C. Crosby, “Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.”
All of these definitions are valid in the specific context which they were intended to describe. None, however, can truly be said to be generic - equally applicable in all situations. As with most definitions of complex phenomena, the more generic they are, the vaguer they tend to be! Mentoring is a partnership between two people built upon trust. It is a process in which the mentor offers ongoing support and development opportunities to the mentee. Addressing issues and blockages identified by the mentee, the mentor offers guidance, counseling and support in the form of pragmatic and objective assistance. Both share a common purpose of developing a strong two-way learning relationship.
6.2 Coaching: Coaching is a relatively directive means of helping someone develop competence. It is relatively directive because the coach is in charge of the process. Although there are, in turn, four basic styles of coaching, which range from the highly directive to more stimulative, learner-driven approaches, it is common for the learning goals to be set either by the coach or by a third party. In the world of work, coaching goals are most frequently established as an outcome of performance appraisal. The issue of learner commitment (is this really what matters to them?) is therefore relevant. Some of the useful behaviours effective coaches may display include challenging the learner's assumptions, being a critical friend and demonstrating how they do something the learner is having difficulties with.
6.3 Counseling: Counseling - in the context of support and learning, as opposed to therapy - is a relatively non-directive means of helping someone cope. By acting as a sounding-board, helping someone structure and analyze career-influencing decisions, and sometimes simply by being there to listen, the mentor supports the mentee in taking responsibility for his or her career and personal development.
6.4 Networking: To function effectively within any organization, people need personal networks. At the very least they need an information network (How do I find out what I need to know?) and an influence network (How do I get people, over whom I have no direct control, to do things for me?). The same is true for the unemployed young adult in the context of community mentoring, for newly recruited researchers at university and for people in many other situations where mentoring can be applied. Effective mentors help their mentees develop self-resourcefulness by making them aware of the plethora of influence and information resources available to them - people, organizations and more formal repositories of knowledge. They may make an introduction to someone they already know, or talk the mentee through how he or she will make his or her own introduction to that person, or help the mentee build entire chunks of virgin network.
6.5 Guiding: Guiding (effectively acting as a guardian) is another relatively hands-on role and is the one most managers find easiest because it is closest to what they do normally. Giving advice comes naturally. It is unfortunate that so many managers who have attended coaching courses or read well-meant books on the developmental role of the supervisor come away feeling guilty, or worse, that they have to constantly restrain themselves from giving straight answers to their direct reports. The reality is that there are many situations where asking ‘What do you think you should do?' is not an appropriate response. Using the tools of reflective analysis at inappropriate times is likely to have a far greater de-motivating effect than simply leaving well alone. Equally, however, always providing the answer is not going to help someone grow. Because, being a guide/guardian tends to carry with it a relatively strong element of being a role model - an example of success in whatever field the learner has chosen to pursue - one's behaviours, good or bad, are likely to be passed on to the learner along with more practical support. The aim is to make the person aware of his unique capabilities and to ensure that he maximizes his potential and minimizes his weaknesses.
Finally, mentoring draws on all four other ‘helping to learn' styles. Indeed, the core skill of a mentor can be described as having sufficient sensitivity to the mentee's needs to respond with the appropriate behaviors. Thus, the effective mentor may use the challenging behaviors of stretch coaching at one point and the empathetic listening of counseling a short while later.
7. Coaching Vs Mentoring:
Given the frequent confusion between these two terms, it is worth drawing out the differences more finely. Although coaching and mentoring share some tools and approaches, coaching are primarily focused on performance within the current job and emphasize the development of skills. Mentoring is primarily focused on longer-term goals and on developing capability.
Coaching
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Mentoring
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Concerned with task
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Concerned with implications beyond the task
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Focuses on skills and performances
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Focuses on capability and potential
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Primarily a line manager role
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Works best off-line
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Agenda set by or with the coach
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Agenda set by the learner
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Emphasizes feedback to the learner
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Emphasizes feedback and reflection by the learner
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Typically addresses a short-term need
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Typically a longer-term relationship, often ‘for life'
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Feedback and discussion primarily explicit
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Feedback and discussion primarily about implicit, intuitive issues and behaviours
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Getting the best from a mentoring scheme, then, involves building in the best aspects of both formal and informal approaches. A formal structure is essential because it provides meaning and direction for relationships and support where necessary. But, individual relationships will flourish best when allowed to operate as informally as possible. Successful formal relationships very frequently go on to become successful informal ones. There is also an increasing body of field evidence that the quality and extent of informal mentoring improves dramatically once a critical mass is achieved of people who have been effective mentors and mentees under formal arrangements. An organization that manages to create a mentoring/coaching culture can increasingly relax the level of formal intervention it imposes. What structures it does provide - in terms of educational materials and training, for example - become regarded as support mechanisms rather than as controls. Meetings between mentors to develop their skills can become informal, self-driven support networks. And the range of people from whom the mentees learn can gradually be extended as they learn to build and manage their own learning nets.
8. Easier recruitment and induction:
Mentoring cultivates in the mentee an increased sense of commitment and loyalty to the organization. The mentor is the mediator between the mentee and the company. Through close interaction with the mentee, the mentor creates a personal atmosphere in what might otherwise seem a faceless bureaucratic organization. The mentee receives through the mentor a positive perception of the company. The mentee can be made to feel that he or she is participating in the inner operations of the company, and this in turn generates a closer identification with the organization’s goals.
8.1 Improved employee motivation: Mentoring can help reduce managerial and professional turnover at other critical stages, too. Young, ambitious people often undergo a period of frustration and impatience when they realize their progress up the company career ladder is slower than they initially expected. If mentees have a mentor who is taking an active interest in their career and who explains the reasons for and ways round current blockages, they are more likely to persevere. The mentor helps them understand and recognize the long-term plans the company has for them, and helps the mentee make the most of the learning experiences inherent in the current job. In this way mentoring lessens the threat that other companies may lure away promising young employees with offers of speedier career advancement.
A mentoring relationship also motivates the middle and senior managers involved and can be a valuable means of delaying ‘plateauing'. A manager is less likely to retire mentally in the job if he or she is constantly faced with fresh challenges arising from a mentoring relationship. Mentors are forced to clarify and articulate their own ideas about the company's organization and goals in order to explain them to their mentees. They may feel they have to improve their own abilities to justify the mentees' respect.
8.2 The management of the corporate culture: Instead of preserving cultures, companies are desperately trying to change them. This poses a number of problems - not least that it makes it even more difficult to identify mentors with the ‘right' values. Mentor and mentee in an effective developmental relationship are able to explore the differences between espoused corporate values and actual behaviour. At the same time, the mentor helps to clarify in the mentee's mind which aspects of the culture are fixed and not open to challenge, and which are open for dialogue.
8.3 Succession planning: An increasingly common benefit reported by larger companies is an improvement in succession planning. Widespread mentoring, especially where the duration of formal relationships is limited to one or two years, ensures that senior managers are familiar with the strengths, weaknesses and ambitions of a relatively large pool of more junior talent.
8.4 Improved communications: In a traditional senior to junior mentoring relationship, the mentee's unique position in the organization can aid informal communications because he or she straddles several levels. For example, through the relationship with the mentor the junior management mentee has access to and is accepted by middle management. At the same time he or she is accepted in the lower managerial levels. Because the mentee is familiar with the language and mannerisms of both, he or she can efficiently communicate each group's ideas and opinions to the other. Rich informal communication networks improve productivity and efficiency in a company since they lead to more action, more innovation, more learning, and swifter adjustment to changing business needs.
9. The 10 Competencies Needed For Effective Mentoring
9.1 Self-awareness (understanding self): Mentors need high self-awareness in order to recognize and manage their own behaviours within the helping relationship and to use empathy appropriately. The activist, task-focused manager often has relatively little insight into these areas - indeed, he or she may actively avoid reflection on such issues, depicting them as ‘soft' and of low priority. Such attitudes and learned behaviours may be difficult to break. Providing managers with psychometric tests and other forms of insight-developing questionnaire can be useful if they are open to insights in those areas. However, it is easy to dismiss such feedback, even when it also comes from external sources, such as working colleagues. SWOT analysis would be an effective means to self understanding. If nothing else, the model helps open up some of the hidden boxes in the Johari Window! An important debate here is whether low self-awareness is the result of low motivation to explore the inner self (disinterest), or high motivation to avoid such exploration, or simply an inability to make complex emotional and rational connections (in which case there may be physiological aspects to consider as well). The approach in helping someone develop self-awareness will be different in each case and is likely to be least effective in bringing.
9.2 Behavioral awareness (understanding others): Like self-awareness, understanding how others behave and why they do so is a classic component of emotional intelligence. To help others manage their relationships, the mentor must have reasonably good insight into patterns of behaviour between individuals and groups of people. Predicting the consequences of specific behaviours or courses of action is one of the many practical applications of this insight. Developing clearer insight into the behaviours of others comes from frequent observation and reflection. Supervision groups can help the mentor recognize common patterns of behavior by creating opportunities for rigorous analysis.
9.3 Business or professional savvy: There is not a great deal to be done here in the short term - there are very few shortcuts to experience and judgment. However, the facilitator can help the potential mentor understand the need for developing judgment and plan how to acquire relevant experience. Again, the art of purposeful reflection is a valuable support in building this competence. By reviewing the learning from a variety of experiences, the manager widens his or her range of templates and develops a sense of patterns in events. The more frequently he or she is able to combine stretching experience with focused reflection - either internally or in a dialogue with others - the more substantial and rapid the acquisition of judgment. A useful method of helping people develop business savvy is to create learning sets, where a skilled facilitator encourages people to share their experience and look for patterns.
9.4 Sense of proportion/good humor: Is good humor a competence? I would argue strongly that it is. Laughter, used appropriately, is invaluable in developing rapport, in helping people to see matters from a different perspective, in releasing emotional tension. It is also important that mentor and mentee should enjoy the sessions they have together. Enthusiasm is far more closely associated with learning than boredom is! In practice, good humor is a vehicle for achieving a sense of proportion - a broader perspective that places the organization’s goals and culture in the wider social and business context. People acquire this kind of perspective by ensuring that they balance their day-to-day involvement with work tasks against a portfolio of other interests. Some of these may be related to work - for example, developing a broader strategic understanding of how the business sector is evolving. Others are unrelated to work and may encompass science, philosophy or any other intellectually stimulating endeavor. In general, the broader the scope of knowledge and experience the mentor can apply the better sense of proportion he or she can bring.
9.5 Communication competence: Communication is not a single skill: it is a combination of a number of skills. Those most important for the mentor include:
· Listening - opening the mind to what the other person is saying, demonstrating interest/attention, encouraging him or her to speak, holding back on filling the silences.
· Observing as receiver - being open to the visual and other non-verbal signals, recognizing what is not said.
· Parallel processing - analyzing what the other person is saying, reflecting on it, preparing responses; effective communicators do all of these in parallel, slowing down the dialogue as needed to ensure that they do not overemphasize preparing responses at the expense of analysis and reflection; equally, they avoid becoming so mired in their internal thoughts that they respond inadequately or too slowly.
· Projecting - crafting words and their emotional ‘wrapping' in a manner appropriate for the situation and the recipient(s).
· Observing as projector - being open to the visual and other non-verbal signals, as clues to what the recipient is hearing/understanding; adapting tone, volume, pace and language appropriately.
· Exiting - concluding a dialogue or segment of dialogue with clarity and alignment of understanding (ensuring that the message has been received in both directions).
9.6 Conceptual modeling: Effective mentors have a portfolio of models they can draw upon to help mentees understand the issues they face. These models can be self-generated (e.g. the result of personal experience), drawn from elsewhere (e.g. models of company structure, interpersonal behaviours, strategic planning, career planning) or - at the highest level of competence - generated on the spot as an immediate response.
According to the situation and the learning styles of the mentee, it may be appropriate to present these models in verbal or visual form. Or the mentor may not present them at all - simply use them as the framework for asking penetrating questions. Developing the skills of conceptual modelling takes time, once again. It requires a lot of reading, often beyond the normal range of materials that cross the individual's desk. Training in presentation skills and how to design simple diagrams can also help. But the most effective way can be for the mentor to seize every opportunity to explain complex ideas in a variety of ways, experimenting to see what works with different audiences. Eventually, there develops an intuitive, instinctive understanding of how best to put across a new idea.
9.7 Commitment to one's own continued learning: Effective mentors become role models for self-managed learning. They seize opportunities to experiment and take part in new experiences. They read widely and are reasonably efficient at setting and following personal development plans. They actively seek and use behavioral feedback from others. These skills can be developed with practice. Again, having a role model to follow for themselves is a good starting-point.
9.8 Strong interest in developing others: Effective mentors have an innate interest in achieving through others and in helping others recognize and achieve their potential. This instinctive response is important in establishing and maintaining rapport and in enthusing the mentee, building confidence in what he or she could become. While it is possible to ‘switch on' someone to the self-advantage of helping others, it is probably not feasible to stimulate an altruistic response.
9.9 Building and maintaining rapport/relationship management: The skills of rapport-building are difficult to define. When asked to describe rapport in their experience, managers' observations can be distilled into five characteristics:
Trust - Will they do what they say? Will they keep confidences?
Focus - Are they concentrating on me? Are they listening without judging?
Empathy - Do they have goodwill towards me? Do they try to understand my feelings, and viewpoints?
Congruence - Do they acknowledge and accept my goals?
Empowerment - Is their help aimed at helping me stand on my own feet as soon as is practical?
To a considerable extent, the skills of building and maintaining rapport are contained in the other competencies already described. However, additional help in developing rapport- building skills may be provided through situational analysis - creating opportunities for the individual to explore with other people how and why he or she feels comfortable and uncomfortable with them in various circumstances. This kind of self-knowledge can be invaluable in developing more sensitive responses to other people's needs and emotions. The mentor can also be encouraged to think about the contextual factors in creating rapport. Avoiding meeting on the mentor's home ground (e.g. in his or her office) may be an obvious matter, but where would the mentee feel most comfortable? Sensitivity to how the meeting environment affects the mentoring dialogue can be developed simply by talking the issues through, both in formal or informal training and with the mentee.
9.10 Goal clarity: The mentor must be able to help the mentee sort out what he or she wants to achieve and why. This is quite hard to do if you do not have the skills to set and pursue clear goals of your own. Goal clarity appears to derive from a mixture of skills including systematic analysis and decisiveness. Like so many of the other mentoring competencies, it may best be developed through opportunities to reflect and to practice.
10. Mentors as Catalysts and Capacity Builders
10.1 The Mentor who encourages and Motivates: The ability to encourage and motivate is another important interpersonal skill that the mentor must have in abundance if the relationship with the mentee is to reach its full potential. The mentor must be able to recognize the ability of the mentee and make it clear to the mentee that he or she believes in the mentee's capacity to progress within the company. The mentor must be willing to let the mentee turn to him or her for as long as needed, as well as be willing to help the mentee eventually become independent.
The mentor encourages the mentee through recognizing the different roles he or she can play. For a certain period the mentor can be a reassuring parental figure to whom the mentee can turn for support and sympathy. The mentor must also at this stage be willing to let the mentee identify with him or her and use him or her as a role model. At other stages of the relationship, the mentor can encourage the mentee to become more independent and make individual decisions.
10.2 The mentor who nurtures: The mentor must be able to create an open, candid atmosphere that will encourage the mentee to confide in and trust him or her. The mentor is there to draw out the mentee and help discover his or her identity within the organization. With the help of the mentor, the mentee undertakes self-assessment and discovers where his or her skills, aspirations and interests lie. Most importantly, the mentor must be able to listen to the mentee and ask open-ended questions that will draw out the less experienced person.
10.3 The mentor who teaches: This is a skill that the mentor may need to be taught, because being a really good teacher does not come naturally to many people. Highly ambitious, self-motivated people (and the description applies to most people who make it to top management) often lack the patience to teach. Yet, the mentor must know how to help the mentee maximize his or her opportunities to learn. The mentor does this by creating a stimulating environment that consistently challenges the mentee to apply theory to the real world of management.
10.4 The mentor who offers mutual respect: An essential ingredient in any mentoring relationship is mutual respect between the two partners. If the mentee does not respect and trust his or her mentor's opinions, advice and influence - and vice versa - the benefits from the relationship will be severely limited. Programme co-ordinators must remember that a mentee's attitude towards the mentor is inevitably influenced by the mentor's general reputation within the company. The emphasis on career outcomes expressed here has now generally been balanced by an equal or greater emphasis on the personal development outcomes, which may or may not have a direct impact on career achievement. Respect within developmental mentoring comes less from an appreciation of what the mentor can do for the mentee than from what he or she can help the mentee do on his or her own.
10.5 Measuring and monitoring the programme
· Relationship processes - what happens in the relationship; for example, how often does the pair meet? Have they developed sufficient trust? Is there a clear sense of direction to the relationship? Does the mentor or the mentee have concerns about his or her own or the other person's contribution to the relationship?
· Programme processes - for example, how many people attended training? How effective was the training? In some cases, programme processes will also include data derived from adding together measurements from individual relationships, to gain a broad picture of what is going well and less well.
· Relationship outcomes - have mentor and mentee met the goals they set? (Some adjustment may be needed for legitimate changes in goals as circumstances evolve.)
· Programme outcomes - for example, have we increased retention of key staff, or raised the competence of the mentees in critical areas?
Measuring all four gives you a balanced view of the mentoring programme and allows the scheme co-ordinator to intervene, with sensitivity, where needed. Mentors can redirect their energies into a stimulating and creative role. Mentoring demands a flexible and individual approach rather than applying habitual, well-used formulae. As a result, the mentor finds new self-respect as he or she recognizes he or she has valuable experiences and knowledge to pass on to the mentee. .
11. The Top 10 Qualities of an Inspiring Mentor Relationship
11.1. Mutual respect: The mentor and the learner share a deep respect for the common pursuit as well as for the underlying values driving the pursuit. It is the shared respect that connects and provides the foundation for the work the mentor and the learner will do together.
11.2. Trust: When a deep level of trust exists between the mentor and the learner, the individual is able to take great risks–-risks one might not have taken without the trust. The mutual trust between mentor and learner provides a safe space for the latter to step out in faith and achieve what might appear difficult, impossible, or overwhelming. The trust the mentor provides as part of the framework is fundamental for the learning experience to occur.
11.3. Mentor as a conduit: A mentor provides access to learning and growth. It is through the mentor relationship that deep learning occurs. The mentor provides a framework for exploration by creating a context that provides support, encouragement, and growth.
11.4. Space, learning and integration: A mentor creates a space for listening and for helping the person to integrate the learning into their lives. A mentor becomes like an "inner voice"– we borrow the mentor for this guiding voice while we search to find and express our own voice.
11.5. Safe space: Unconditional acceptance is a key ingredient for establishing trust and a safe space. When we experience unconditional acceptance and a sense of belonging, we are able to more clearly reveal and be ourselves. Accepting others for who they are, without apology or explanation, is therefore an essential aspect of mentoring. With total acceptance, one feels trusted and known, and is able to take great risks. In a safe space, nothing is taboo.
11.6. Vision: A mentor holds a vision of what's possible, and leads the way to the vision. A mentor believes in the vision as much as the learner does.
11.7. Shared experience: A mentor relationship is rich with learning through shared experiences. The learning's not just academic and has a vibrancy and depth that goes beyond reflective discussion. The mentor has discussions in "real time"- the interaction and the learning aren't just academic. They are deep and real.
11.8. Challenge: The mentor challenges and stretches the person, and provides inspiration for the person to take on even greater challenges. A mentor stretches a person from within.
11.9. Inspiration: A mentor "walks the talk" and provides inspiration through their very being. A mentor is someone who we aspire to become; the mentor has qualities/skills we want for ourselves. The mentor helps us to see possibility by bringing to life the qualities we aspire for ourselves.
11.10. Sage Advice: A mentor will offer sage advice, will show the learner "the ropes" and will invest time and energy in the development of the individual. The more open the learner is to accessing this wisdom, the more profound the discoveries will be!
How true, “Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.”- John C. Crosby
12. Conclusion: Mentoring is an Essential Skill which Enhances Academic Leadership
There is a story of a ship builder, Marcus who was given a rough stone by his friend, Barnabas. Marcus examined the odd-looking red stone in his hand. “It’s a red-looking rock, Master.” Marcus placed the stone on the bench between them.
Barnabas then took out a cut and polished Ruby. He held it up to the light and let the sun sparkle through it, showing off the stone’s beauty. “This is one of the most magnificent stones in Athens.” He tossed it to Marcus who almost dropped the stone as it bounced off his hand and into his lap. Barnabas laughed and asked Marcus to explain both stones again. “What is the difference between the two stones, Marcus?”
“Well, one seems to be a red rock and the other an exceptional gem. One is available, the other is not, I guess.”
Barnabas replied, “On the contrary, son. The rough stone you so casually placed on the bench is soon to become the most valuable Ruby in all Greece. It is Ruby of the finest quality. All it lacks is to be in the hands of a master jeweler. Once he takes the rough edges off and applies some polish, the world will see how beautiful the stone can truly be.”
“People are the same as this rough stone, my friend. Put in the hands of a master, they too can become more than the eye can at first perceive. It takes the vision and the skill of a master leader to bring them to their full potential.”
“Look at the men on your crew. With your guiding hand, they can each become much more than the eye sees. It will take your hand to guide them and clip away the rough edges. Always see them as they will become, not as they are.” Focusing on what one could become, is mentoring.
“The best mentors are the people in your life who push you just a little bit outside your comfort zone” - Leigh Curl. Mentoring is an essential leadership skill. In addition to managing and motivating people, it's also important that you can help others learn, grow and become more effective in their jobs. You can do this through a mentoring partnership, which you can arrange within your organization or through a personal or professional network. Becoming a Mentor can be a rewarding experience for any one, both personally and professionally. You can improve your leadership and communication skills, learn new perspectives and ways of thinking, advance your career, and gain a great sense of personal satisfaction. Soft skills when compliments hard skills, professional competence when compliments personal integrity, management of change compliments management of self, leadership becomes a source of transformation of self, society and institution/Company. Such leadership thus creates, leaders and not followers, which is the prime purpose of visionary leadership. Academic leadership has to focus on mentoring teachers as well as students. If it is done with passion and enthusiasm to awaken the sleeping giant in each one of them, then there would be many more success stories. We need to help each other to discover for themselves their own capabilities and help them to bloom where they are planted. We need to change from looking at everyone as potential threat to potential contributor; from general categorization of people to personal attention to their unique contribution, assessing their talents and willingness to learn. A paradigm shift is needed in capacity building to enhance productivity and personal and professional fulfillment.
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