# Presentation: 154767

## Welcome to the USGS Mentoring Program’s One Year Guided MentoringNational Rollout November 6-7, 2007Kimberly Miller, Program Manager Stacey Clarke, Deputy Program Manager

**U.S. Geological Survey ****Mentoring Program**
**“****Facilitating Powerful Partnerships”**
- Mentoring Partner TrainingNational RolloutNovember 6-7,2007
***	******	******Audio:  ***712-580-0100
- 		access code:  1064096#

## Welcome 

## Session Objectives

- Understand purpose and goals of USGS mentoring program
- Get to know your mentoring
- 	partner better
- Understand mentoring outcomes, processes, components, success factors and barriers
- Strengthen communication skills
- Frame your partnership agreement

## Agenda

- Definitions
- Requirements
- Benefits
- Challenging Situations
- BREAK (10 minutes)
- Mentor and Mentoree Roles and Responsibilities
- 5 Essentials for Mentoring
- BREAK (10 minutes)
- Necessary Skills for Mentoring
- Partnership Agreement for Mentoring Pairs

## Roles

- Mentoring Program Staff
- Kimberly Miller--Program Manager
- Stacey Clarke—Deputy Program Manager
- Participants:
- Mentoree
- Mentor

## Ground Rules

- Participate fully
- Keep an open mind
- Listen to learn
- Question to clarify
- Stay focused
- Enjoy yourself at this Cyber Training!

## Participants Demographics

- Mentors
***Gender***
-  13Females
-  8 Males (1 mentoring circle)
***Bureau***
- 3-BRD	1-Geog	 6-WRD
- 6-DO	1-GIO
- 2-GD	2-ORS
***Region***
- 7 CR	5-WR
- 6-ER	3-HQ

- Mentorees
***Gender***
- 15 Females
- 5 Males
***Bureau***
- 5-BRD	3- GEOG
- 2-DO	1-ORS
- 3-GD	6-WRD
***Region***
- 5 CR	9-WR
- 3 ER	3-HQ

- Outlined in the Strategic HR Plan (Oct.98)
- Initiated by Human Resource Council (Jul.99)
- Continuously supported by the Bureau Executive Leadership Team
- Regularly guided by the Steering Team (Aug.99)
- Constantly improved based on feedback from the 6 and 12 months surveys

- Background of the USGS Mentoring Program

## DEFINITIONS

## What is Mentoring at USGS?

*Definitions:*

- A developmental partnership where two people  invest time, know-how and effort to enhance growth, knowledge and skills.  This partnership transcends duty and obligation and often involves coaching, networking, sponsoring and career counseling.

## What is Mentoring at USGS?

*VISION:*

- The vision of the USGS Mentoring Program is to build and sustain a culture that fosters meaningful partnerships and connections among interested employees in order to increase skills, knowledge and satisfaction.
- Mentoring facilitates:
-   	Excellence in Science
-   	Leadership

## What is Mentoring at USGS?

*GOAL:*

- The goal of the USGS Mentoring Program is to make mentoring available to every USGS employee as a training and development tool.

## REQUIREMENTS

## Requirements of the One-Year Guided Mentoring Program

**Cyber Partnership Training**
**Shadowing Experience**
**Summary of Shadowing Experience **
**2-4 hours mentoring per month**
**Three Mentoring Exchanges**
**Supervisors well informed**
**One year commitment**
**Evaluations (1****st**** Quarter, midway and 12 month)**
**Mentoring Agreement and Learning (Action) Plan**
**Partnership Completion Interview**

## BENEFITS

## Who Benefits?

**The ***Mentor *
**The ***Mentoree *
**The *****Agency**** *

## Why are we doing this?Mentoring Benefits

- Why are we doing this?Mentoring Benefits

**Provides access to critical information and perspectives**
**Reduces isolation and can boost self-confidence by developing networks**
**Improves interdisciplinary understanding and awareness**
**Career guidance and solid role models maximize employees contribution**
**Fresh ideas and renewed energy**

## Benefits & Obstacles

- Identify two potential benefits you foresee for those involved in this program (for Mentors and Mentorees)
- Identify one potential obstacle you foresee?

## CHALLENGING SITUATIONS

## Dealing With “Speed Bumps”

Working with your partner, come to consensus on possible solutions to the mentoring obstacle you discussed.
You have 5 minutes to discuss
Present your thoughts

- Dealing With “Speed Bumps”
- Working with your partner, come to consensus on possible solutions to the mentoring obstacle you discussed.
- You have 5 minutes to discuss
- Present your thoughts

## Geographically Dispersed Pairs

- Pairs who are not co-located have extra challenges:
- Limited opportunities for meeting face-to-face
- Non-verbal communication minimal
- Can’t share “live” activities like walking or attending an event
- More planning might be needed to connect personally and informally

## Geographically Dispersed Pairs - Solutions

- Traveling? Meet if you’re in the “neighborhood”
- Try different technologies:
- Phone, E-mail, video conferencing, “snail mail”
- Keep scheduled teleconferences. Find a private time/place to talk. Minimize interruptions
- Set up specific activities to build relationship
- Read same article or book and discuss
- Arrange informational interviews with your mentoree and invited guests via teleconference

## THE PLAYERS

*Roles and Responsibilities*

## One-Year Guided Mentoring Program - Who’s Involved?

- Mentorees & Mentors
- Supervisors
- Program Coordinators

## Characteristics of a Mentor

- Encourages mentorees to take risks
- Is a dramatic listener
- Models his or her own values
- Celebrates, celebrates, celebrates
- Serves as a formal mentor

## Responsibilities of a Mentor

**Raise questions**
**Suggest directions to explore**
**Offer support**

## Responsibilities of a Mentoree

- Establish your expectations with your mentor (complete a mentoring plan)
- Take the initiative to schedule your meetings
- Grab the responsibility for your learning and development in the relationship
- Self Assess your progress
- Seek and stay receptive to feedback
- Keep your supervisor in the “loop”
- Maintain confidentiality

- Formal Program: Roles and Responsibilities

- _Mentoree_
- Share goals with manager/ supervisor
- Keep commitments
- Accept feedback
- Take initiative
- Self-assess progress

- _Mentor_
- Feedback on goals
- Identify opportunities
- Feedback to partner
- Coach, guide, advise
- Confidentiality

- _Supervisor_
- Support employee/ mentoree with goal attainment
- Ask questions
- Respect confidential relationship with mentor
- Give feedback to mentoree

## Partners Assignment

- Working in your partner teams, derive the skills and attitudes you think it will take to be a successful Mentor or Mentoree at USGS.
- Are you well prepared to apply those skills?  Where would additional training/knowledge help?
- Each partner team will report out to the other teams.
- You have 5 minutes!

## Mentoring Styles

- The best mentoring style is the style which best meets the needs of the *Mentoree*

## Mentoring Stages

- Prescriptive
- Influencing/Persuasive
- Collaborative
- Confirmative

## A Coaching Model

- Establish rapport
- Mutually explore the problem or situation thoroughly
- Consider other factors (internal and external)
- Collaboratively define the underlying or real problem, then....

## A Coaching Model (continued)

- Establish what needs to happen
- Discuss alternatives and impacts
- Jointly select best alternative
- Develop a mutual plan of action
- Affirm the potential for improvement

## Five Essentials

- Respect
- Trust
- Partnership Building
- Realistic Expectations
- Time

## Necessary Skills for Mentoring

- Strengthen your communication skills
- Exhibit Attitudes and Characteristics of good mentor/mentoree pairs

## Strengthen Communication

- The Process of Communication
- The Sender’s Job
- The Receiver’s Job
- Feedback, feedback, feedback

## Communication is the Key

- Listening
- Confidentiality
- Feedback
- Coaching
- Situational Mentoring
- Open Climate
- Trust

## Communication Process

- Communication is unavoidable
- Operates on 2 levels
- Content: the words
- Relational: feelings towards each other
- Communication is irreversible
- You can’t take it back!
- Communication is a process

## Sender’s Job

- Be clear
- Use unequivocal terms to avoid misunderstandings
- Be very specific when clarity is essential
- Use jargon sparingly
- Be concise

## Receiver’s Job

- To hear and make sense of the message(s) being sent
- To listen and ask questions

## It is the recipient who communicates.  The so-called communicator, the sender, does not communicate.  He (she) utters.  Unless there is someone who hears – someone who listens... there is only noise.

## Listening

- Active Listening is hard work
- Communication is as much your responsibility as it is the speaker’s.

## Approaches to listening

- Listen for information
- Listen to evaluate information
- Can be an active or a passive listener
- The choice is yours...

## Listen for Information

- Stop talking
- Withhold judgment
- Be opportunistic
- Listen for something that you can use
- Look for main/supporting points
- Take notes
- Repeat what you heard

## Listen to Evaluate

- Seek information first
- Consider the speaker’s motives
- Examine supporting data
- Consider speaker’s credentials
- Examine emotional appeals

## Active Listening

- Good Active Listeners:
- Are aware of biases
- Avoid getting emotional/defensive
- Listen for ideas, facts, and feelings
- Consciously notice non-verbals
- Demonstrate interest
- Let them speak
- See opportunity to gather new and interesting data

## Active Listening

- Techniques
- Mirror or repeat
- Paraphrase
- Summarize
- Ask clarifying questions
- Establish eye contact (when possible)
- Display positive non-verbals
- “Stand in their shoes”

## And Remember...

- Use a variety of the Active Listening response styles as they are appropriate
- Avoid being judgmental
- Take the time to really listen
- It may seem like a lot of work now, but it won’t be nearly as much work as having to back up to correct misunderstandings

## Barriers to Listening

- Physiological Barriers
- Hearing Problems
- Rapid thought
- We can process 500 words per minute
- We speak at a rate of 125 words per minute
- The difference gives us “mental spare time”
- We often let our minds wander to other matters, like unfinished business, and forget to listen

## Barriers to Listening

- Environmental Barriers
- Physical Noises/Distractions
- Problems in the Channel
- Bad phone connection, email server crashes
- Message Overload
- Too many people asking or telling you too much at the same time.

## Barriers to Listening

- Attitudinal Barriers
- Preoccupation
- Egocentrism
- The (usually) false assumption that your ideas are more important or valuable than those of others
- Fear of appearing ignorant
- Afraid that asking questions is a sign of weakness or that you will be seen as dumb

## Know How To Give Feedback

- Be immediate
- Be direct
- Be specific
- Be sincere
- Explain impact of behavior

## Guidelines for Constructive Feedback

- Don’t wait too long. Needs to occur in real time
- Be direct
- Use specific
-     behavioral examples
- Be sincere
- Explain impact of behavior

## Guidelines for Constructive Feedback

- Focus on the behavior, not the person
- Provide factual data
- Encourage two-way dialogue
- Discuss perceptions
- Distinguish between intent and behavior
- Respect confidences
- Provide suggestions for alternate behavior
- Follow-up and reinforce small improvements

## Guidelines for Constructive Feedback

- Use descriptive “I” language
- Limit criticism to one topic at a time
- Make sure your criticism is accurate
- Define problem clearly
- Show how your words can benefit them
- Offer suggestions on how they can improve next time

## Guidelines for Positive Feedback

- Catch people doing something right and let them know *immediately*
- Do it regularly and consistently
- Relay positive feedback from others
- Encourage continuation of behavior

## Mediums for Feedback 

| Method | Positive | Constructive |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Face-to-face |  |  |
| Memorandum |  |  |
| Phone |  |  |
| Voice Mail |  |  |
| E-mail |  |  |
| Rewards |  |  |

## Know How to Receive Feedback

- Listen to feedback objectively
- Clarify for understanding
- Ask for specific examples
- Decide whether to own the feedback
- Ask for suggestions for improvement
- Make a plan for improvement
- Implement
- Ask for more feedback

## Active Listening/Feedback Exercise with your partner

- Mentoree discusses some issue/problem at work that is currently affecting them; mentor listens using active listening skills for 3 minutes
- Mentor gives feedback using guidelines discussed
- After interaction is completed, the mentoree provides mentor with feedback on the interaction
- Reverse roles and repeat the process.

## EXPLORING THE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT

## SHADOWING OBJECTIVES

- "Hopes and Fears"
- Learning Agreement
- Expectations
- Meeting times
- Number of meetings per month
- Location/ Methods
- Parameters for confidentiality
- Learning Plan (Mentoree’s specific  developmental objectives)

## The “No Harm, No Foul” Clause

-  	If you get to a place where you feel you’ve done your best to make your mentoring partnership work and things are just not “clicking,” you are free to step away with no negative consequences.

## 
“One of the joys of life is that
you cannot help another person
without helping yourself at the same time.”

			                Ralph Waldo Emerson

**“****One of the joys of life is that**
**you cannot help another person**
**without helping yourself at the same time.”**
- 			                Ralph Waldo Emerson