"'When you teach one, you reach one.' Continue to care and teach one, because you have reached one, and that one is me. Plant and sow seeds, and God will give the increase." -Participant Mentoring Program Design and Implementation * What is mentoring? * Why a formal program? * How do mentoring programs help? * What are keys to program success? * What training do participants need? * What are the first steps to a mentoring program? * Mentoring clients * Where can I learn more? An alternative to formal programs About my work Mary Dingee Fillmore, Director Clients Projects	What training do mentors and mentees need? Experience across programs shows that training is an absolute key to setting the participants up for success. It clarifies roles and expectations and teaches needed skills -- but beyond that, it begins the process of creating a network among them. Training instills the mentoring philosophy, that everyone has something to offer and something to gain. Some of the objectives are the same for both mentors and mentees -- clarifying what the program can and can't do for them, stating the groundrules, establishing the roles of both parties, thinking through the first meeting and how to evaluate whether the match is workable. But each group has its own additional needs; mentors need guidance about coaching and counselling skills, and some of the dilemmas which often arise. Mentees need to develop an initial portfolio for the proposed mentor, and to begin the process with a goal. Both groups do best if a strong network is built among them. Mentoring 101 is a half-day workshop for mentors, and Getting Your Career on Track is a full day for mentees. The size limits are essential to high quality results, which means up to 20 mentors and up to15 mentees. Mentoring 101 A Half-Day Training for Mentors Background Although volunteer mentors are clearly motivated to help other employees, they may not have some of the necessary skills and perspective. They may feel skeptical about the program, or unsure that they will be able to offer what someone else needs. Objectives To expand participants' concepts of what mentors are and can offer To encourage them to reach out to mentees and others To expose them to the skills they will need, and practice. Format and Methodology This three hour session for up to 20 employees per session is conducted in a highly participatory style with varied methodology, ranging from large and small group discussions to pair exercises and mini-lectures. Content The content of the workshop is tailored in accordance with telephone interviews with the mentoring coordinator, the particular program purposes and guidelines, information about the organization and its reasons for initiating the program, and all application forms from participants. Overall, however, the content includes: what a mentor is and what s/he can and cannot do; the many ways people can help others in either long or short term relationships assessment of the mentees' needs, which may vary tremendously from one person to another the context of the program, including why it was created and what the parameters are what role the mentors play, especially in establishing the relationship, including "do's and don't's" basic coaching and counselling skills which will be most useful, and strategies to deal with any problems participants anticipate. The Consultant Mary Dingee Fillmore has more than twenty-five years' experience in working with people and organizations. As Federal Women's Program Manager at EPA, she worked to introduce the concept of mentoring there in the late seventies. She helped the Department of Labor create its pilot mentoring program in 1986, and has helped to set up similar programs at over fifteen other organizations, including the Forest Products Laboratory (USDA), Beltsville Agricultural Research Service (USDA), and the Environmental Protection Agency Region VII. The author of Women MBAs: A Foot in the Door (G.K. Hall & Co., 1987), Ms. Fillmore has consulted in Europe and England as well as in the U.S. Getting Your Career on Track One Day Training for Mentees Background While many employees know that they can use help from a mentor, they may well be unclear about exactly how they can benefit. Because the program attracts people with a wide range of needs and expectations, it is important to set a realistic tone immediately. Unfortunately, some may feel that the mentor is a rescuer rather than a supporter. If they begin a mentoring relationship unsure of their goals, they will almost certainly be dissatisfied. Many mentees need help in clarifying goals before they can work effectively within the mentor/mentee team. Objectives To clarify the help they are seeking, and the goal they want to reach (which may mean establishing an overall career goal) To prepare them to search for resources to assist them, of which the mentor is only one, and To brief them on the program and give them an accurate definition of mentoring. Format and Methodology This all day session for up to 15 employees per session is conducted in a highly participatory style with varied methodology, ranging from large and small group discussions to pair exercises and mini-lectures. Content The content of the workshop is tailored through telephone interviews with the mentoring coordinator, the particular program purposes and guidelines, information about the organization and its reasons for initiating the program, and all application forms from participants. Overall, however, the content includes: participants' career paths to date and what has influenced them so far, both positively and negatively skills they have acquired and options for using them in different directions, stressing a wide range of possibilities what mentors can and cannot do the mentees' rights and responsibilities within the program ways to prepare for the initial interview with the mentor, including questions for them to ask the mentor and points they may want to clarify definition of their personal goals within the program, with specific objectives which are consistent with the overall program purposes, and assessment of where they want to be at the end of their participation. While not everyone will identify a defined career goal through this process, their sense of direction and ability to use the program to best advantage will have grown considerably. The Consultant Mary Dingee Fillmore has more than twenty-five years' experience in working with people and organizations. As Federal Women's Program Manager at EPA, she worked to introduce the concept of mentoring there in the late seventies. She helped the Department of Labor create its pilot mentoring program in 1986, and has helped to set up similar programs at over fifteen other organizations, including the Forest Products Laboratory (USDA), Beltsville Agricultural Research Service (USDA), and the Environmental Protection Agency Region VII. The author of Women MBAs: A Foot in the Door (G.K. Hall & Co., 1987), Ms. Fillmore has consulted in Europe and England as well as in the U.S.
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