GROW Mentoring Programme

Handbook for Mentors and Mentees

2015/2016

About this handbook

This handbook has been prepared for both mentors and mentees registered on the GROW programme, to help explain what the programme aims to achieve, what it involves, how it is run and to address FAQs compiled from the previous programmes.

The GROW Programme is a cross­faculty mentoring scheme for all professional services staff (technical and administrative) across the 5 Faculties in the University (Arts & Humanities, Engineering, Medicine Dentistry & Health, Science and Social Science) and the Department of Research & Innovation Services. It is a six­month mentoring programme which runs each year commencing in March. The programme aims to help staff to enhance skills, maximise their potential, expand networks and consider career paths by working with others in the University. All grades of staff and levels of experience (including previous participants) are invited to participate.

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Contents

What is GROW?

3

What is mentoring?

4

What are the benefits of mentoring?

5

The role of the mentor

6

The role of the mentee

7

What can mentors and mentees do together?

8

Registration process

9

Confidentiality

10

Mentoring agreement form

11

Schedule of events

13

FAQs

14

GROW Team Contact Details

17

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What is GROW?

GROW is a cross­faculty mentoring scheme for professional services staff from across the Faculties of Arts & Humanities, Engineering, Medicine Dentistry & Health, Science, Social Science and the Department of Research & Innovation Services.

The programme aims to help staff enhance their skills, maximise their potential, expand their networks and consider career paths by working with other professional services staff from across the University.

The programme, which is run on a six monthly basis commencing in March each year includes:

A formal launch in October to outline the benefits and structure of the programme

Induction/skills sessions will then be provided. Attendance at one of these workshop style sessions is compulsory for new recruits as they help staff to with through their own aims for the programme. Previous participants can also attend to refresh their understanding of the programme and to consider what they wish to achieve from participation in the programme, whether that is acting as a mentor for another colleague or receiving help from a mentor etc.

Participants are then asked to complete a GROW Programme Matching Form which is hosted on a SUMAC database. In this we ask participants to indicate which role they would like to undertake (mentor, mentee or both) and to provide as much detail as possible about their role and objectives to help us to identify appropriate partnerships.

Matching takes place after close of registration on 31 December each year. Once matches are confirmed, we ask the mentee to make contact with their

mentor to arrange an initial meeting of approximately 30 minutes to agree the scope and method of discussions, followed by a minimum of three meetings to take place over the following six months.

Part way through the programme, feedback sessions are held for both mentors and mentees and a full evaluation of the programme is carried out at the end (usually July), to formally close that year’s programme. This feedback is really important for us so that we can retain elements of the programme that participants value, whilst addressing any concerns.

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What is mentoring?

There are numerous definitions and descriptions of mentoring. Most of them involve concepts such as guiding, supporting, advising and career planning. For example:

“Mentoring involves listening with empathy, sharing experience (usually mutually), professional friendship, developing insight through reflection, being a sounding board, and encouraging.” David Clutterbuck

“Mentoring is a long term relationship that meets a developmental need, helps develop full potential, and benefits all partners: mentor, mentee and the organisation.” Suzanne Faure

“The purpose of 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 Parsloe

One to one mentoring should be a positive developmental relationship, which is driven primarily by the mentee and through which the mentee can take responsibility for their own development. The mentor should act as a guide, supporter, sounding board and, sometimes, as a role model. This form of mentoring creates a confidential partnership between two people, one normally more senior and experienced than the other, based on understanding and trust. The main aim of one to one mentoring is to build knowledge, capability and self­reliance in the mentee although it is often described as a two­way learning relationship which provides useful feedback and reflection opportunities for both mentee and mentor.

The GROW programme generally involves a one­to­one relationship although both mentors and mentees are offered the opportunity to be involved in a mentoring circle if they so wish.

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What are the benefits of mentoring?

There are many benefits to mentoring but here are just a few:­

For the mentee

Development for career progression and decision making

Strategies for a difficult work relationship or situation

Inter­personal and professional skills

Better understanding of the way things work

Balancing work and career opportunities

Increased self­confidence

Increased reflection on what’s right for you

For the mentor

Staff management skills

Leadership capabilities

Skills to develop others

Personal satisfaction and fulfilment Giving back

New knowledge and ideas

Networking/collaboration/point of contact Negotiation/relationship management skills

Increased self­reflection and understanding.

For the organisation

Improved relationships

Increased staff morale and motivation

Improved succession planning

Effective leadership development A tool to promote culture change

Reduced staff turnover A mechanism for supporting under­represented groups and demonstrating the

organisation’s commitment to diversity

Capturing and transferring skills from one generation to another.

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The role of the mentor The role of the mentor is to help their mentee find their own solutions to issues and challenges which the mentee wishes to address. There should be a commitment from the mentor to meet regularly and the mentor should encourage the mentee to take a leading role in driving the relationship by arranging the meetings and planning the topics to be discussed. It is useful for mentors as well as mentees to have clear objectives for each meeting.

Skilled mentors will play a range of different roles within a mentoring relationship, adjusting their approach to maximise their usefulness to the mentee. We hope to help mentors to develop these skills through the skills sessions we offer as part of this programme and also by providing access to a range of mentoring resources.

A mentor is usually a more senior and experienced person who is willing to share his or her own experiences of successes and failures at work and knowledge of how the organisation functions with a less experienced colleague. A mentor may offer advice, and give guidance based on personal knowledge and experience. They will also ask questions which may challenge the mentee to consider what mentees can do to work towards their goals. The mentor should not tell the mentee how to address issues.

The types of approaches that mentors use may include:

Assisting with clarification and setting of realistic career goals

Suggesting and helping the mentee to explore different career paths

Focussing on particular skills and helping to find opportunities to practice

Sharing experiences and examples from their own career/life Helping the mentee to articulate prior experience (for example, in writing a job

application) Listening with an open mind

Signposting to useful contacts, resources, networks.

An important attribute of a mentor is the ability to identify the most appropriate source of support required by the mentee and be able to refer the mentee on to additional or alternative help if appropriate, if this cannot be provided by this mentoring relationship.

We find that effective mentors are:

Empathetic

Open minded

Flexible about the best way of approaching things

Willing to challenge and be challenged

Willing to listen to what the mentee is saying Willing to talk openly and honestly with their mentee

Interested in people

Approachable.

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The role of the mentee

Mentees can also adopt different roles to maximise their learning and to make the most of the support offered by their mentor. A mentee will get to know their mentor well, and through the course of several discussions, should be able to identify the mentor's. strengths, expert knowledge and high level skills.

Mentees should demonstrate their commitment to the relationship by:

being proactive in the relationship, setting the agenda for meetings, actively following up on any agreed actions afterwards

keeping any commitments made e.g. attending meetings or responding to emails

preparing for the mentoring meetings beforehand in order to make the most of the time available

seeking the mentor’s advice

listening carefully

responding to (and acting on) feedback

respecting confidentiality

remaining open to new ideas and being receptive to the mentor’s opinions.

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What can mentees and mentors do together?

It is recommended that the mentee/mentor commence the partnership with a 30 minute getting­to­know­you session where they can share information about their backgrounds, careers, ambitions, their interests in mentoring and objectives. Ground rules can also be agreed, for example about confidentiality. It may be useful for the “Mentoring Agreement” form to be completed (if both parties agree) to record the scope and method of mentoring agreed.

The mentoring agreement form includes a section to describe the goals/objectives for the duration of the partnership. This is particularly useful for the following reasons:

the process of setting objectives encourages the mentee to reflect about what kind of support they want from the mentor and this, in turn, helps the mentor understand what kind of roles and topics will be most useful

they provide a focus for the meetings

achieving the objectives gives a sense of progress and satisfaction

they are a useful tool in evaluating the success of the relationship and identifying outcomes at the end

mentors and mentees are more likely to build rapport and trust when both parties are clear what they are aiming for.

Objectives need not be set in stone but can be revisited and revised over time.

Three further meetings are suggested following the initial getting­to­know you session which should be arranged intervals to suit both parties.

A list of topics that could be discussed are:­

Career aspirations

Planning the next career move

Different career directions and the options available

Preparing for promotion Preparing for job application How the university operates Managing work relationships or situations Inter­personal and professional skills Work life balance Motivation Self­confidence Team working Staff management.

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Registration process

New mentors and mentees are asked to attend an induction/skills sessions, at which we also welcome previous participants to attend, to outline the programme and to encourage participants to consider what they wish to achieve, whether that is acting as a mentor for another colleague or receiving help from a mentor etc.

All participants (new or returning to the Programme) are then asked to complete a GROW Programme Matching Form which is hosted on a SUMAC database (https://sumac.ac.uk/account/university­of­sheffield/scheme/85). In this we ask participants to indicate which role they would like to undertake (mentor, mentee or both) and to provide as much detail as possible about their role and objectives to help us to identify appropriate partnerships.

Participants should ensure that they complete the on­line registration form in as much detail as possible as this information is the main source of information the co­ordinators have available to make an appropriate match. You will be asked to provide a strong password as part of the registration process and we have found that complicated strings of text, numbers, upper case, lower case and characters are best, or alternatively a memorable sentence tends to work well. Good examples include sentences such as:

‘I catch the 11.34 train to Nottingham’ or ‘My favourite song is about 34 balloons’.

Please ensure that the password strength bar turns green before you submit.

Once an application is submitted, you should receive an email acknowledgement which also contains a copy of your application. You are able to amend this form at a later date, but this is not recommended. Guidance on how to do this can be found here.

It is recommended that your confirmation email (which includes a copy of your application) is saved as it may be useful to forward this to your mentee/mentor when your partnership is confirmed.

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Confidentiality

It is important that in a mentoring partnership, both parties feel able to talk honestly and openly, safe in the knowledge that what is discussed will not be repeated without agreement. Complete trust in your mentoring partnership may take time to emerge but can be helped by having an eye­to­eye conversation at the start where what both parties understand by “confidentiality” is discussed.

For example:

What we discuss stays confidential for the duration of the partnership. What we discuss stays confidential beyond the partnership. Any dialogue that takes place by email is only seen by the partners. It is OK to give general feedback to the scheme coordinators. If either party needs to refer an issue raised back to a third party they will do so

with the other’s permission.

If a difficult topic arises in discussion between the partnership and support is required in addressing this, then either party can talk in confidence to one of the programme co­ordinators whose contact details can be found in this guide.

The Mentoring Agreement The Mentoring Agreement Form is a simple contract between mentee and mentor which sets out any ‘ground rules’ by which the relationship should operate and what each party expects of the other. It helps to establish a firm foundation for the relationship and therefore to build trust between mentor and mentee. It should be completed at the first mentoring meeting, signed by both parties if they both agree to it, and should ideally be revisited over the course of the programme.

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MENTORING AGREEMENT – as discussed in the induction session this is for new pairs to use in order to understand what we expect of you, and to frame a conversation around ways of working together. Experience has shown us that having this open discussion and setting some objectives for the mentoring programme will help you get the most out of the partnership. You do not need to return a copy to the GROW managers, this is a document just for you. Part A: Some expectations for the programme, please talk through each one. 1. Confidentiality

Pairs agree to respect each other’s privacy and understand that all information disclosed during mentoring sessions will be kept strictly confidential. Your participation on the programme is also confidential. Are there any exceptions to the confidentiality rule? 2. Frequency and Location of Meetings

As part of the mentoring programme, you have agreed to meet face to face for a minimum of 3 x 1h sessions. Frequency, and location of these meetings will be influenced by the content of the sessions, and by your other commitments and responsibilities. 3. Communication

It is useful to clarify upfront expectations on what communication (content, frequency, methods) each party is expecting between meetings. What happens if either of you needs to cancel a meeting? What happens if no email response is received? It is the mentee’s responsibility for keeping up momentum and keeping in touch to book meetings. 4. Feedback to Each Other A highly recommended way to get the most out of the programme is is by having an email exchange after each session about what has worked well, and how to go forward productively. Some example questions mentees can answer after each session are below. Mentees: it is your responsibility to send feedback to the mentor. This will help them get it right for you. Mentors: it is your responsibility to take this into account, why not take the time to ask the mentee how it went for them? For example, you could ask: 1. How useful was our meeting for you and please say why this is. 2. What would you like me to do more of in the session? What would you like me to do less of? 3. Did you notice your thoughts changing positively/negatively during the session? What triggered this? 4. Are you doing/do you plan to try out doing anything differently going forward? 5. Re­matching or leaving the programme

If either party is unhappy with the mentoring match, the relationship can be ended. To do this all you need to do is to speak/email the GROW programme co­ordinators as soon as possible: growprogramme@sheffield.ac.uk

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Part B: Some dimensions for you to discuss and agree:

6. Mentoring Dimensions for Agreement It’s fine to spend some time getting to know each other. What do you have in common? It will be useful for you to talk through the following to help your partnership take a tone you are both happy with: What tone will the sessions take? What elements do we want to include? Questioning and exploration of the mentee’s issues? Open listening and empathy? Offering advice if appropriate and sharing experiences? Support through a difficult time? Developing problem solving skills? Or challenging the mentee to achieve? Do we want this partnership to be formal/informal? 7. Focus of the Mentoring Relationship We agree to focus on the following 2 mentee objectives during our mentoring sessions. Please discuss some SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time­bound) objectives: 1. 2. Anything else we want to talk about that will influence/affect the mentoring partnership? 8. Signatures Mentor

Mentee

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Schedule of events

Launch October

Skills sessions November ­ December

On­line Registration Mid­November – December

Matching meetings January­February

Partnerships confirmed and meetings begin (mentee led)

March

Mentee peer feedback sessions May

Mentor peer feedback sessions June

Formal evaluation July

Scheme formally ends July

Planning for next launch September

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FAQs 1. Why do we need a Mentoring Programme? Many employees who have significant potential do not have mentors to help them identify their strengths, improve their performance or set career goals. The mentoring programme is a link to bring together people who want to help others to work towards achieving their goals and those who would value a mentor’s guidance to maximise their potential. 2. Why should I consider taking part in a mentoring programme? There are many benefits to mentees including:

Gaining exposure to different options, perspectives and organisation cultures. Expanding the range of contacts and developing an ability to create networks. Developing a greater sense of career direction and improved job

performance. The programme also helps mentors to develop leadership and coaching skills and help to develop a sense of satisfaction by helping others. 3. What can the programme do for me as a mentee? It is up to you to take the initiative and take action. You must set your own goals for the programme. Your mentor will be there to act as a guide, to help you refine your goals and to support you as you work towards achieving them. However, it is only you that can achieve the goals you have set for yourself. 4. What can my mentor do for me? Your mentor can help you identify realistic goals and to make a plan towards these, as well as monitoring progress, and encouraging you to take action or challenge yourself. Your mentor can help you to consider how others may react in certain circumstances and suggest ways to make positive changes. But your mentor can’t make a decision for you, run your career, make calls for you. You have to take the initiative to do those things for yourself. 5. How do mentors benefit from the programme? Apart from the satisfaction of helping another person reach goals he or she has set, many mentors develop a new perspective, learn about another department/Faculty, gain additional insight into their own paths and values, and go through a reflective process similar to the mentee’s. As they help someone else evaluate their career issues and goals, mentors find themselves doing some worthwhile soul searching about their own careers as well. Given the opportunity to personally witness the positive impact of mentoring on mentees, mentors are often inspired to reach out to their employees in more supportive ways or to seek informal mentors for themselves. 6. What is expected of the mentees? Each mentee is responsible for defining a goal and strategy (with the help of the mentor) and for striving to achieve career goals. At the logistical level, the mentee is responsible for meeting with the mentor at least three occasions for 1 hour (or more) over a six month period, developing a contract with the mentor, evaluating their progress, sharing information with other mentees through informal gatherings, and participating in evaluation sessions.

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7. How many mentees and mentors will be selected? Anyone can be a mentor if he/she is willing to make a commitment. A mentor needs to be able to listen, offer suggestions, and maintain confidentiality. A mentor does not have to intervene for the mentee or tell them what to do. The programme coordinators wish to ensure the best possible match. It may not be possible to match all the applications. A match will not be made unless it is thought suitable from the information provided. 8. What training will be provided? Mandatory training is the foundation of the programme so that both new mentors and new mentees start the GROW Mentoring Programme with an understanding of how the mentoring process works, and the specific goals they can work towards. Upon applying, mentors and mentees agree to attend all training sessions, if selected for the programme; unless they are a past participant and have already undertaken the training. 9. What if I know someone I would like to be matched with? Both people must apply. Please indicate on both of your application forms that you would like to be matched. GROW doesn’t guarantee the match, since it has to consider the needs of the whole group but will attempt to accommodate your request. 10.How will a mentor and mentee work together? The mentor and mentee will agree how to work together and are encouraged to develop and sign an agreement that indicates what each person is responsible for, what the goals of the relationship are, how they assess how they are doing, and any other pertinent information. 11.What if I’m not comfortable with my mentor/mentee? The purpose of your first meeting is to see whether the two of you are compatible. The match is not final until you have both confirmed that you are happy with the match. The GROW co­ordinators will ask you to confirm your partnership is ‘live’ once you have had your introductory meeting. Please let GROW know if things aren’t working the way you had hoped. Often a problem in a relationship is a question of miscommunication that can be cleared up through open discussion. Occasionally re­matching may be necessary. 12.How much time can I spend with mentor/mentee? It is up to you ensure that mentoring does not interfere with your regular duties, but a recommended minimum is three to four meetings of 1 or more hours over a six month period. 13.How long does the programme last? The formal programme lasts six months but the meetings (friendships) may continue on an informal basis. 14.What if I apply and I am not selected?

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If you are not selected as a mentor or mentee, you will receive a notification from the GROW coordinators. 15.Who are the mentors? Mentors are members of professional services staff from across the five faculties and RIS. 16.Will my mentor/mentee be from the same department/Faculty? We generally try to match mentors/mentees to participants from a different Department/Faculty. 17.Where will the mentoring meetings take place? Normally, meetings should take place in a place convenient to both parties e.g. a coffee bar, meeting room, library. 18. Is the mentoring scheme confidential? The scheme is totally confidential, your information is only known by the programme co­ordinators and your mentor/mentee. The mentoring agreement form allows you to discuss the confidentiality of the scheme. 19.When will I know who my mentor/mentee is? We aim to inform both parties of their partnership at the beginning of March.

20.What do I do if I am not happy with the mentor who has been assigned to

me? Contact a member of the GROW Team by emailing growprogramme@sheffield.ac.uk. Specific team members may be contacted individually via the contact list at the end of this document. 21.Who contacts who first? The mentee should make first contact with their allocated mentee. 22.How many mentees can a mentor expect to have? A mentor is generally allocated one mentee. However, in some circumstances a mentor may agree to mentor more than one mentee during a six month period.

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GROW Team Contact Details

Faculty Contact Ext Email

Arts & Humanities Rachel Eustice 21488 r.eustice@sheffield.ac.uk

Engineering Jo Marriott 29734 Jo.marriott@sheffield.ac.uk

Medicine, Dentistry &

Health

Linda Hudson

Caroline Potts

28742

13326

Linda.hudson@sheffield.ac.uk

c.e.potts@sheffield.ac.uk

Research & Innovation

Services

Neil Harris

Helen Jones

27439

20996

Neil.harris@sheffield.ac.uk

h.e.jones@sheffield.ac.uk

Science Tricia Hart

Chris Turgoose

29381

29161

p.hart@sheffield.ac.uk

c.turgoose@sheffield.ac.uk

Social Sciences Katie Bryan 22481 k.bryan@sheffield.ac.uk

Administration Diane Wilson 28750 Diane.wilson@sheffield.ac.uk

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