In this edition of the Upskill Podcast, Chris Watson from Endor Learn & Develop argues that there are a number of informal indicators that your mentoring relationship is successful: Firstly your meetings are a priority – there are very few cancellations or changes of date. Both parties enjoy the experience and are being stretched by it.The Mentee emerges from each meeting with new insight and is energised to take action. A high degree of positive challenge takes place. Also, that you as the Mentor are more confident and capable in terms of reflective questioning and non-directive management. Ultimately, if the relationship thrives beyond the scope of the formal mentoring arrangement / organisational structure, then this is a strong indicator of success.

The Chinese bamboo doesn’t grow in the usual fashion. While most trees grow steadily over a period of years, the Chinese bamboo tree doesn’t begin to break through the ground for years. You water it and wait. You wait an entire year and nothing appears. No bud, no twig, nothing. So you keep watering and taking care of the plant. You wait another year. Still, nothing happens. Then another year passes, and still no sign of growth. Three years have passed and you are now questioning if this is working? Yet another year passes, but no plant. You keep watering and keep waiting. Finally, after five years, the Bamboo starts growing-and in five weeks, it grows to over 90 feet tall. It develops so quickly in those 5 weeks that you can actually see the tree growing before your very eyes. The big question is – did the bamboo grow 90 feet in 5 weeks or 5 years? and how does all this relate to mentoring??

During this episode, we focus on the nuts and bolts on managing the mentoring process – preparing for your first meeting, managing expectations, building rapport and getting the most from your time together.

In this edition of the Upskill Podcast, Chris Watson from Endor Learn & Develop argues that on the face of it, it makes sense to target high performance employees as potential mentees - after all, the evidence suggests that they can bring you a bigger return than other employees; because they are ambitious, they can be harder to retain, and they are numerically a much smaller group. However, in the longer term, it is also important to recognise that performance levels aren’t fixed – individuals can move into and out of the high performance category throughout the course of their careers, depending on their role and commitment to succeed. Because of this it may be worthwhile extending the scope of your potential mentees beyond just your rising stars, since the mentoring experience itself can elevate an individual’s potential.

Probably the hardest aspect of the Mentoring role to excel at is to practice not knowing. Throughout school and our working lives we are praised and encouraged (even promoted) for knowing things, for getting things right, for being expedient and resolving things. Even builds our sense of esteem and who we are. Great mentors deliberately resist the temptation to parade their knowledge and instead deliberately practice this behaviour.

Lots of behaviours come into play – yes need to develop good listening skills, a sound grasp of the use of different forms of question - open, closed, probing, the ability to suspend judgement - to avoid driving the learner in just one direction, the ability to provide constructive feedback, to help the mentee to define objectives and plan ways of achieving them, the ability to access other learning opportunities on behalf of the mentee - using other people's skills and experiences. Probably the hardest aspect of the role to excel at is to PRACTICING NOT KNOWING. Throughout school and our working lives we are praised and encouraged (even promoted) for knowing things, for getting things right, for being expedient and resolving things. Even builds our sense of esteem and who we are. Great mentors deliberately resist the temptation to parade their knowledge and instead deliberately practice this behaviour.

Acknowledging the appetite for mentoring is one thing, but operationally finding the time to do it can be a challenge. In this episode, we hear how one manager who was dedicated to developing the capability of all his staff, conducted 1 x 45 min mentoring meeting with every one his 500 employees across 40 locations every single year, which sounds impossible, but in terms of hours spent, averaged out at less than 7.5 hours per week.

In this edition of the Upskill Podcast, Chris Watson from Endor Learn & Develop discusses best practice in the mentoring relationship, defining precisely what mentoring is about and how it differs from coaching, teaching and counselling.

In this edition of the Upskill Podcast, Chris Watson from Endor Learn & Develop provides insights and ideas in terms of how mentoring works and the value it provides as a development tool. Recent evidence suggests that companies which that invest in mentoring and personal development programmes have 35% more engaged employees and as a result 21% greater profitability which is why so many organisations are now investing in this area.

In this edition of the Upskill Podcast, Chris Watson from Endor Learn & Develop presents an introductory session on mentoring in the workplace: covering definitions of mentoring, the main benefits for the mentee, the organisation, and the mentor.