four ways mentoring strengthens our profession

Four Ways Mentoring Strengthens

Our Profession

Steven Jong

STC New England InterChange Conference

March 2015

Once upon a time…

March 2015Mentoring | STC NE InterChange

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What is Mentoring?

An informal arrangement where one person directly shares knowledge, skills, and experience to help advance another person’s career

Mentoring can be:• A brief interaction to pass along one piece of

information• A longer-term relationship• A long-term relationship

It’s up to the partners

March 2015

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Mentoring | STC NE InterChange

Mentor Why?

Demographics.• Every day 8,000 Boomers (b.

1943–1964) retire from the US workforce

• Millennials (b. 1981–2000) are already half the US workforce

• They’re “stuck in line”

“I have learned to deeply understand that lessons relayed from baby boomers about their careers and even personal lives are always (always, always) relevant. In fact, they are gold and generally must be married to any ‘New Age’ ideas in order to achieve success.” [emphasis in original]

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“Five Things I Have Learned As a Millennial Working With Baby Boomers,” Colleen Dilen Schneider. Posted 26 Mar 2014, retrieved 5 Mar 2015 from http://tinyurl.com/kulyrxj

Millennials in the Workplace

“Mentoring Millennials,” Meister and Willyerd, Harvard Business Review, May 2010

• Limited or no experience with corporate environment

• Used to constant, individual feedback

• Pursue fulfillment rather than money

• Expect employers to have social goals

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Mentee Persona

• 25 years old

• BA in English, Tech Writing concentration

• 2 years of experience

“I’m looking for an opportunity to learn and build my skills. Sometimes I feel I’m banging my head against a wall. Isn’t there a better way to work? Am I doing meaningful work, or just completing a series of tasks? I’d love to have someone to talk to about that.”

March 2015

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© lightwavemedia - Fotolia.com

Mentor Persona

• 50 years old

• Long-time consultant

• 25 years of experience

“I’m grateful to the people who helped me get started, and I’d like to do the same. I wish I knew then what I know now. I’ve learned to do good work and do it efficiently. And I’m happy to tell people how I do it.”

March 2015

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Reproduced with permission

Mentor When?

“We all need to help interested professionals get better, move forward, and obliterate barriers. We should help experienced professionals stay relevant. If you are young, you have much to share and learn. If you are older, you have much to share and learn… [A]nyonecan coach anyone, if the conditions are right.” [emphasis mine]

—Lisa Haneberg, Coaching Up and Down the Generations (ASTD Press, 2010)

“In general, mentoring opens opportunities for the older generations to impart years of knowledge to the younger generations, while the younger generations mentor the older generations with regard to technology… [This] communication … strengthens all generations.”

—Ahmed Al-Asfour and Larry Lettau, “Strategies for Leadership Styles for Multi-Generational Workforce.” Journal of Leadership Accountability and Ethics, Vol. 11, No. 2, 2014.


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Mentor What?

• Breaking into the field• Working in corporate environment• Working independently• Specific tools• Specific deliverable types• Specific domains• Dealing with SMEs• Breaking into a new domain…

The list is long

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Mentor How?

• Face to face or virtual

• Set small tasks and goals

• Listen and advise—don’t judge or offer solutions

• Provide frequent feedback, not just affirmation

• Talk about professional development and training

• Possible activities:▫ Skype

▫ Phone conversations

▫ Email correspondence

▫ Attend an event together

▫ Meet for coffee


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© Huntstock - Fotolia.com

Mentee How?

• Take the initiative.

• Expect (and suggest) a limited time schedule.

• Interviewing SMEs is an important skill. The mentor is an SME. Work at it!

• Be honest about your needs and goals.


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© WavebreakMediaMicro - Fotolia.com

Mentoring Ground Rules

• The mentee reaches out to the mentor (in agreed-upon times and ways)

• Keep the line of communication open

• The mentor is not a judge, friend, parent, teacher, boss, or coach, but can be a little of all

• Neither mentor nor mentee is a labor source

• The time commitment is up to partners, but is typically only a few hours

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Mentoring Benefits Mentees

• Expand your professional network

• Fill in gaps

• Gain knowledge and perspective on the workplace

• Become (or stay) relevant

• Jump-start (or supercharge) your career

• Proactively direct your futureJessica Hagy, ThisIsIndexed.com, http://tinyurl.com/pgt38gl

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Mentoring Benefits Mentors

• Looks great on your résumé

• Expands your own network

• Boosts your own energy and enthusiasm

• Sharpens your own skills

• Meets expectations as a senior contributor

• Delivers tremendous personal satisfaction

• Pays it back; pays it forward

The professional you develop may be yourself

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Mentoring Benefits Work Groups

• “Onboarding” is a critical activity

• Staff development moves the group forward

• Improves retention (which reduces costs)

• Avoids conflict

• Mentoring vs training vs tutoring


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© .shock - Fotolia.com

Mentoring Benefits the Profession

• Building on base of experience; retention of “tribal knowledge”

• Development of next generation of professionals

• Benefits to both Chapter and Society:

▫ Value to (local) members

▫ Source of new members

▫ Source of volunteers and future leaders

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Three Existing STC Mentoring Programs

1. New England Chapter mentoring program

2. New York Metro Chapter “Talk to a Professional” program

3. STC Mentoring Board

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STC New England Mentoring Program

• No cost

• Two-hour minimum commitment

• Register at stcnewengland.org

• Administrator (Steven Jong) matches mentees and mentors

• Mentors remain anonymous until matched

• LinkedIn recommendation for mentor upon successful engagement

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New York Metro Chapter “Talk to a

Professional” Program• Register at stcnymetro.org

• Administrator matches mentees and mentors

• $20 fee paid by mentee

• Two-hour commitment

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http://www.stcnymetro.org/

STC Mentoring Board

• Register at STC.org

• No cost

• No administrator—mentees pick mentors

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If You Want to Get Involved…

• STC New England Chapter: http://tinyurl.com/STCNEMentoring; [email protected]; (978) 413-2553

• STC Mentor Board: http://tinyurl.com/STCMentoringBoard; [email protected]; +1 (703) 522-4114

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http://tinyurl.com/STCNEMentoring

mailto:[email protected]

http://tinyurl.com/STCMentoringBoard

For More Information• Mentoring 101: Other Duties as Assigned by Manager, Deb Lockwood,

22 May 2012.• Teach What You Know: A Practical Leader’s Guide to Knowledge Transfer

Using Peer Mentoring, Steve Trautman. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc., 2007.

• “Mentoring Millennials,” Jeanne C. Meister and Karie Willyerd, Harvard Business Review, May 2010, pp. 68–72.

• “10 Tips for Mentoring Millennials,” National Association of Colleges and Employers. Posted 26 Sep 2012, retrieved 1 Mar 2015 from http://tinyurl.com/n9gvzqr.

• They Don’t Teach Corporate in College (3rd Edition), Alexandra Levit. Pompton Plain, NJ: Career Press, 2014.

• “How to behave at work—a primer for your first day on the job,” @Jason, Medium.com. Posted 14 Jan 2015, retrieved 1 Mar 2015 from http://tinyurl.com/ngkdqe6.

• “Millennials in the Workplace (Executive Summary),” Bentley University. Retrieved 5 Mar 2015 from http://tinyurl.com/kfooaru.

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http://tinyurl.com/n9gvzqr

http://tinyurl.com/ngkdqe6

four ways mentoring strengthens our profession

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