Mentee Guide

Table of Contents

Section Contents Pages

1

Introduction:

Mentoring Overview

Roles and Responsibilities

Program Guidelines

2

3

4

2

Templates to Guide Mentoring:

Goal Setting Reflection Worksheet

Mentoring Agreement

Session Preparation Worksheet

Session Reflection Worksheet

5

6

7

8

3

Getting the Most Out of Your Relationship

Sample Topics for Discussion

Ensuring a Successful Partnership

Giving and Receiving Feedback

9

10

11

4

Coming to Closure:

Guidelines

Mentoring Program Assessment Survey

12

13

5

Appendix/Tools and Resources

Development Activities Worksheet

Managing Conflict Worksheet

Mentoring Resources

15

16

17

2

Introduction

Mentoring Overview

This Mentee Guide will help you learn about, understand and apply best practices to your mentoring partnership. This guide is intended to be used at your own pace to help further the development of your mentoring relationship and outcomes. If you are need of additional support, please contact your Advisor.

What is Mentoring?

Mentoring is a developmental partnership through which one person facilitates the growth of another by sharing known resources, expertise, values, skills, perspectives, attitudes and proficiencies. Mentoring allows the Mentee to build his/her professional competence in a safe environment, while providing the opportunity for the Mentor to enhance his/her own capabilities.

Who is Involved?

Manager o Approves your application for the program o Supports your participation in the program

Mentor o A member outside of your current business function

Advisor o Supports your mentoring partnership throughout the program

Why Mentoring?

Mentoring initiatives have been gaining popularity across all industries and professional settings. The benefits of a mentoring program are threefold: Benefits to the Mentee: Become more aware of own strengths, development needs and

opportunities to build capability Develop personal insight and perspective Build and leverage new cross functional relationships Demonstrate accountability to set goals and take steps to accomplish

objectives Benefits to the Mentor: Working with people from different contexts and backgrounds Practice and development in offering positive and constructive feedback Increased awareness of the shadow cast as a leader Increased job and personal satisfaction.

Benefits to the Organization: Increased engagement, employee satisfaction and retention Accelerated practice for the identification, development and retention of

talent for leadership roles Platform to share and leverage Mentors’ knowledge and skills

throughout the organization Fosters a culture of personal and professional growth

3

Introduction

Roles and Responsibilities M

en

tee

Complete Mentee Profile (application)

Attend orientation

Complete Mentoring Agreement with Mentor and define personal goal(s) of mentoring experience

Meet with Mentor in accordance with the Mentoring agreement

Own and drive the mentoring process

Be open to appreciative and constructive feedback

Update manager regularly on program participation & development progress

Complete Mentoring Program Assessment Survey

Men

tor

Complete Mentor Profile (application)

Attend orientation

Complete Mentoring Agreement with Mentee and define personal goal(s) of mentoring experience

Meet with Mentee in accordance with the Mentoring agreement

Discuss Mentee’s goals, aspirations and potential development experiences

Share expertise, insights, and feedback

Provide a safe environment for Mentee to take risks, share ideas, reveal challenges, etc.

Challenge Mentee to think differently and broaden his/her point of view

Open doors to provide networking opportunities

Complete Mentoring Program Assessment Survey

Ad

vis

or

Introduce you to the program and preliminary expectations prior to formal orientation

Serve as a single point of contact for your mentoring questions, concerns, and updates

Check in with you throughout the relationship

Send mentoring communications and inform Mentors and Mentees of upcoming events

Man

ag

er

Approve Mentee application

Support and provide guidance for the Mentee throughout the Mentoring Process (e.g. allow time for Mentoring Sessions)

Periodically check-in and ask questions about the mentoring process

Continue to provide appreciative and constructive feedback

4

Introduction

Program Guidelines

Timeline/Duration

Below is a timeline and list of tools to guide your mentoring relationship. The tools listed here can be found within this Guide.

Confidentiality

The level of confidentiality is determined by each Mentoring pair, within their Mentoring Agreement. We encourage you to revisit your expectations throughout your Mentoring relationship. Accommodations

Not all mentoring relationships will prove to be successful. We encourage you to raise any concerns you may have about your relationship with your assigned Advisor. In the event that a Mentoring relationship is not successful, we will try our best to accommodate requests for a change in the Mentor/Mentee assignment.

5

Templates to Guide Mentoring

Goal Setting Reflection Worksheet

In order to more effectively set goals for this mentoring partnership, reflect and answer the following questions.

Question Reflection

What 2-3 goals would you like to

focus on throughout the mentoring

experience?

Why are these goals important?

What obstacles might get in the

way?

How will you measure your progress

again these goals?

Questions to consider asking your Mentor :

o Do you think my goals are realistic?

o Do you think my goals are aligned with the needs of the organization?

o Can you help me accomplish these goals?

o How can we work together to meet these goals?

6

Templates to Guide Mentoring

Mentoring Agreement

Mentee Name Mentor Name Mentoring Period

Process:

1. Jointly review and discuss each person’s answers and reach agreement 2. Mentee writes in the agreed answer 3. Both Mentor and Mentee sign the form 4. Mentee is responsible for keeping the form up to date and for reviewing/updating as needed 5. Periodically, jointly review your answers, evaluate success to following the agreement and agree to any necessary changes

What does the Mentee hope to gain from this experience?

What 2-3 goals would you like to focus on? (refer to Goal Setting Reflection Worksheet)

What expectations does the Mentor have of the Mentee? See

Roles & Responsibilities in your guide for suggestions.

What expectations does the Mentee have of the Mentor? See Roles & Responsibilities in your guide for suggestions.

How often will we meet? For how

long?

When and where will we meet?

Who will be responsible for scheduling our meetings?

What will be the ground rules for

our discussions? (e.g.,

confidentiality, openness, candor, etc.)

If challenges arise, how will they be solved?

Mentee Signature:

Mentor Signature:

7

Templates to Guide Mentoring

Session Preparation Worksheet

The following questions will help you prepare for your sessions with your Mentor. This may be helpful to set the tone for each session. Answer these questions with that in mind.

Question Reflection

What do you hope to accomplish

during this session?

What would a successful session

look like? What outcome do you

need to feel that this session

was worthwhile?

What progress have you made

from the last session?

What obstacles have you come

across since the last session?

How have you gotten back on

track?

Additional Comments/Thoughts

Tip:

o Use the Mentoring Agreement and Goal Setting Reflection Worksheet as a resource

to your mentoring sessions to help generate discussion and highlight areas of

focus.

8

Templates to Guide Mentoring

Session Reflection Worksheet Take a few minutes and reflect on the session you had with your Mentor. Frame your thoughts and conclusions in terms of what you will start doing, what you will stop doing and what you will continue doing. In addition, make note of any key insights you gained during your meeting.

Based on the session I just completed with my Mentor, I believe I will be even more effective if

I…

START

STOP

CONTINUE

What key

insight did you

get and why is

this important?

9

Getting the Most Out of Your Relationship

Sample Topics for Discussion

Getting to Know Each Other

• Journey to current role

• Long term vision

• Insights into personal values

Current Challenges and How to Address

• Key challenges in your day to day success (project, obstacles, influencing, etc.)

• How to overcome / Guidance and examples from Mentor

Insights into the Mentor’s Business Area

• Relationships with other leaders

Critical Competencies to Develop and/or Enhance

• Sharing leadership competency assessment with Mentor (Momentum)

• Sharing IDP with Mentor (Momentum)

10

Getting the Most Out of Your Relationship

Ensuring a Successful Partnership

At CVS Caremark, mentoring partnerships are governed by guiding principles that help ensure a successful mentoring experience. In order for your mentoring partnership to be an effective work of ART, your relationship must be guided by these principles: Accountability, Respect and Teamwork.

Accountability

We take ownership

for our actions and

the results.

This refers to mutually held expectations and agreed upon mentoring activities, including activities to monitor and evaluate your progress toward stated development goals. Accountability supports the sense of meaning and purpose in the mentoring process.

When you and your Mentor keep agreements, this strengthens trust and helps keep the learning relationship focused and productive. This focus, reinforced by the Mentoring Agreement, will help keep you and your Mentor on track.

You can keep this joint-accountability strong in the following ways:

Ask your Mentor what he/she expects of you and see if you both have the same understanding.

Help your Mentor understand your needs and point-of-view. Ask your Mentor to give you specific feedback on your ideas, performance, etc. Check for

understanding. Regularly report on your progress and impact on your Individual Development Plan or

mentoring goals.

Respect

We treat customers

and colleagues in a

way that makes

them feel valued

and appreciated.

Mutual appreciation and respect is the keystone of a successful mentoring partnership- both of the Mentor’s knowledge and expertise and of your investment of time and energy.

Trust is the starting and sustaining aspect of your partnership. Learning is greatly enhanced when you and your Mentor feel a sense of personal and professional respect for one another.

You can keep respect strong in the following ways: Schedule a time to meet with your Mentor to discuss the importance of mutual respect.

Typically, this is incorporated in to the Mentoring Agreement discussion. Be responsive; both you and your Mentor need to be sensitive and responsive to the goals,

needs, time and perspective of the other. Follow your Mentoring Agreement. Openly discuss with your Mentor your perception of the respect level in your partnership. In the event of conflict, reflect on what changed in your mentoring relationship to result in

the loss of respect, and then determine what it will take to get it back.

Teamwork

We share

information and

resources as we

work together to

deliver results.

Although the Mentee drives the mentoring process, both the Mentee and Mentor play an integral role in the Mentee’s growth.

You and your Mentor can share your strengths and development needs, your past and present experiences and future aspirations. Both of you can offer and receive feedback in the spirit of building on competencies and strengthening areas of development.

You can keep teamwork strong in the following ways: Communicate openly and honestly with your Mentor. Ask your Mentor to help you schedule sessions that are most conducive for the two of you. Adopt an attitude of generous thinking; assume the best intention on behalf of your Mentor. Keep your manager updated on your mentoring goals and progress. Be sure to define the

level of sharing you want your Mentor to have with your Manager (and others) in the Mentoring Agreement.

11

Getting the Most Out of Your Relationship Giving and Receiving Feedback

Feedback is important to people as professionals and as individuals. It is an essential ingredient for personal learning and professional development. Without feedback, people are left to “fill in the blanks” on their development and performance. As a Mentee, you will look to your Mentor for feedback on your performance, ideas, development progress, etc. However, you may also give your Mentor feedback from time-to-time. Therefore, it is vital to the success of your partnership that you understand how to both give and receive feedback effectively.

Why Give Feedback?

Lets people know when they have “hit the mark” Provides insights as to how he/she can be even more effective Improves performance and results

Effectively Providing Informal Feedback:

Feedback should be appreciative and also constructive, when necessary Feedback should be specific, behavioral, non-judgmental and sincere

When to Give Feedback:

You have personally observed the behavior You know you can “be here now” for the discussion You are in the right place on the Mood Elevator You can talk about the behavior and not the person You are clear about your purpose in giving the feedback The feedback recipient is open and willing to listen

12

Coming to Closure Guidelines

Mentors and Mentees are paired for one year. The final phase of mentoring, Coming to Closure, offers a wonderful opportunity to reflect on learning, raise the bar on future performance, and celebrate success. In order to make the closure a mutually satisfying experience, follow these guidelines:

□ Be clear about the date of your last meeting and discuss this ahead of time. Do not wait until the last meeting to say goodbye. Make sure you address this issue and work toward closure.

□ Have a highly focused conversation about the specific learning derived from the mentoring experience. Focus on both the process and the content of the learning in your discussion.

□ Talk about how you are going to apply and integrate what you have learned as a result of the relationship. How will you leverage what you have learned?

□ Celebrate your successes. Revisit the journey – share your appreciations about each other. What did you learn about yourself? What did you learn about your Mentor?

□ Redefine the relationship. Mutually agree on how and when/if you will stay in touch. Follow through with that commitment.

13

Coming to Closure Mentoring Program Assessment Survey

When your mentoring relationship is coming to a close, you will be asked by your Advisor to complete a Mentoring Program Assessment Survey. This will serve as an opportunity for you to evaluate the program structure, your personal development, and provide us with additional feedback on your overall experience with the Mentoring program. Your open and honest feedback is appreciated and will be used to make improvements to the program. More details to come!

14

Appendix/Tools and Resources

15

Development Activities Worksheet

Complete this worksheet to help prepare for a discussion about proposed development activities with your Mentor and/or manager. Remember to craft the majority of development activities to be action-oriented and performed on-the-job.

Question Reflection

What type of development activities

most appeal to you and your learning

style?

What kinds of development activities

do not appeal to you?

What types of activities will help you

accomplish your goals?

Questions to consider asking your Mentor:

o How do you view yourself as a teacher/coach?

o What activities might you suggest that fit my learning style and meet my

objectives?

o What role do you expect me to play in creating development activities?

o How do you typically go about learning something new? How do you see me

applying your experience to my own?

16

Managing Conflict Worksheet In the event that you and your Mentor get off-track, complete this worksheet to help you prepare for managing the conflict. Remember to create a supportive, safe environment for the discussion and to have a clear understanding of the outcome you desire.

Question Reflection

What is the source of the conflict? If

you do not know, record how you will

explain your feelings to your Mentor.

What message do you want to

communicate?

What are you willing to compromise in

order to remove the conflict?

What steps will you take to move the

relationship forward?

How will you establish a supportive

climate for this discussion?

Questions to consider asking your Mentor:

o Are you feeling the same way I am about this conflict?

o Do you think this is an area of conflict as well?

o What are your ideas for resolving this conflict?

o What have we learned and how can we better handle future conflict?

Tip:

o After the discussion, consider completing the Session Reflection Worksheet to

summarize key learning.

17

Mentoring Resources

CVS Caremark Resources

Momentum Site – Competency Assessment, Individual Development Planning (IDP)

Through LEARNet

Books 24 x 7 - http://www.books24x7.com/bookshelf.asp for a number of online resources including audio, texts on a wide variety of topics

• Mentoring 101, John C Maxwell • The Mentor's Guide: Facilitating Effective Learning Relationships, Lois J. Zachary • Power Mentoring: How Successful Mentors and Proteges Get the Most Out of Their Relationships, Ellen A.

Ensher • Everyone Needs a Mentor, David Clutterbuck

Essentials of Mentoring (WBT/Online), Course Code: SS02258

Mentoring Effectively ( WBT/Online), Course Code SS02316

Pocket Mentor, Giving Feedback (Book), Harvard Business School, Course Code 55KEEP0014

Achieving Success: the Help of a Mentor (WBT/Online), Course Code SS02320

Books on the topic of Mentoring

The Mentee's Guide: Making Mentoring Work for You Lois J. Zachary and Lory A Fischler

The Heart of Mentoring: Ten Proven Principles for Developing People to Their Fullest Potential David A Stoddard and David A Stoddard

Reaching Your Potential: Personal and Professional Development Robert K. Throop

Goal Setting: How to Create an Action Plan and Achieve Your Goals (Worksmart) Michael S. Dobson (Author), Susan B. Wilson