Practitioner’s Corner
June 12, 2000Book Club
June 12, 2000Over the last few years there has been an increased awareness of the need for conscious and effective mentoring, in Canada. There does exist a collective base of experience and support for Mentoring as a means to attain personal development and social justice goals. We have collected, for you, information about some of the recent initiatives taken by various organizations and groups. In other cases we have provided to additional information and resources.
Definitions developed at the “Focus on Mentoring” session, sponsored by The Counselling Foundation of Canada February 4 and 5, 2000. A number of individuals engaged in the development and delivery of mentoring initiatives participated in the session. These definitions are the result of hard work by representatives from across Canada including Memorial University of Newfoundland, Ryerson University, Skills for Change, CESO, University of Manitoba, Ontario College of Art and Design, Canadian Youth Business Foundation, Human Resources Development Canada, Frontier College, University of Toronto and University of British Columbia.
Mentoring
Mentoring is a freely given/chosen relationship. It is an intentional and reflective process based on a mutual investment of time, energy, trust, knowledge transference and learning. It is a reciprocal and experiential relationship that has an enduring impact, both formally and informally, on the expectations of those giving and choosing the relationship.
Mentoring Program
Mentoring Programs are purposeful. They have the explicit goal of structuring opportunities in which a mentoring relationship will grow. Nurturing and supporting the mentoring relationship to achieve the defined expectations is inherent to the program. While programs are temporal, outcomes related to the defined expectations, whether formal and informal, are enduring.
From report prepared by Linda Mollenhauer for Big Brothers and Sisters of Canada, 3228 South Service Road, Suite 113E Burlington, Ontario, Canada, L7N 3H8
Mentoring Roundtable
Report on Proceedings of the Roundtable held on March 17, 18, 19, 2000 in Scarborough, Ontario
Executive Summary
The purpose of the Mentoring Roundtable was to:
- create an awareness of the many mentoring “best practices” in Canada and abroad;
- develop an understanding of what we need to do in Canada to increase the scope and impact of mentoring;
- develop an action plan on how we can increase the number of young people being supported by a mentor.
The three keynote speakers brought different perspectives from the United States and Europe about the evolution of mentoring programs, mentoring roles and relationships and the ways to raise the profile and increase resources.
Gary Walker, President of Private/Public Ventures, provided a historical perspective about how mentoring has gained profile in the United States. He focussed on the importance of providing credible, unassailable evidence that demonstrates the impact mentoring can have on the lives of youth.
Joellen Gonder-Spacek, Executive Director, Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota, also identified a number of key events and ways that helped put mentoring on the public agenda in the United States.
She went on to identify barriers that can hinder the growth of mentoring and some solutions for overcoming them. Ms. Gonder-Spacek pointed to the importance of increasing the capacity of current programs, ensuring quality standards in the development of new programs, improving the understanding of mentoring by key policy-makers and the public and uniting around key issues.
Tom Cox, Senior Associate with Clutterbuck Associates in the United Kingdom began by outlining what mentoring is (e.g. one-on-one, confidential, developmental) as well as what it is not (e.g. sponsorship, task-oriented, hierarchical). He went on to describe different types of mentoring relationships, such as coach, counselor, guardian and networker, and laid those against the needs being met by the mentor/mentee relationship. Mr. Cox also provided some tools for helping to make appropriate matches.
After brainstorming definitions of mentoring, delegates at the Roundtable developed a vision statement for the future of mentoring in Canada. Delegates stressed the importance of striking an appropriate balance between national and local responsibilities and interests. The final vision statement was: “a Canadian culture intrinsically values and enables mentoring, both formally and informally, for all who can benefit. It occurs nationally, regionally and locally through collaborative efforts”.
Delegates then discussed and summarized the key issues and challenges that need to be addressed in order to achieve the vision statement. They fell into four themes: vision, leadership, public awareness and sustainability. Delegates highlighted the importance of developing a collaborative approach and a shared vision; recruiting recognizable ‘champions’ at the national, regional and local level; increasing the public’s understanding and awareness of the benefits of mentoring; and building the capacity to deliver quality programs.
Delegates wrapped up the Roundtable by identifying a number of immediate next steps. The steps were to:
- prepare a report on the Roundtable
- identify a core group that has cross-sectoral representation to prepare a report that outlines a vision and strategies
- debrief key people within delegates organizations about the Roundtable and its plans
- seek opportunities to raise the profile of mentoring and build a network of people who share the interests of the Roundtable
- set up a web site that provides information and supports for establishing mentoring programs
- begin to build political and legislative support for mentoring
- sign on to mentor a young person ourselves
Mentoring Publication
PEERS AS MENTORS:
DEFINITIONS, CRITICAL STRUCTURES, AND EFFECTIVENESS
Written By:
Dr. Harvey Mandel
York University, Toronto
Published by:
The Counselling Foundation of Canada
November 1998
Available online at www.counselling.net
Check it Out!
Listed below are some internet sites with mentoring information. This list is by no means exhaustive but is intended to give an example of what is available and to be a base for further research.
www.teachersfirst.com/mentor.htm
www.leadershipmanagement.bc.ca
Secrets Revealed
The Top Ten Myths Associated with Mentoring:
A review of Mentoring Activities in 2000 Canadian Corporations: Implications for Mentoring
From “A Review of Mentoring Activities in 2000 Canadian Corporations: Implications for Mentoring Youth” A Study Conducted by Peer Resources, 1052 Davie Street, Victoria, British Columbia V8S 4E3 for The Youth Intiatives Directorate, Human Resources Development Canada, Rey A. Carr, Ph.D., Prinicipal Researcher, May 7, 1999.
As a way to determine the readiness of corporations in Canada to participate in youth mentoring strategies, Peer Resources conducted a review of the current status of mentoring among 2000 of Canada’s most productive corporations. Results showed considerable support for and interest in mentoring. Corporations appeared willing to assist with youth mentoring initiatives. Barriers to their involvement were identified. Suggestions for reducing such blocks include providing practical information resources, facilitating partnerships with youth-serving organizations, and building on volunteer trends and community needs.
Results
Sixty-six percent (or 1100) of the interviewed corporations (1668) were involved with some type of mentoring. Of those corporations involved with mentoring, 49 percent (or 539) said they engaged in informal mentoring (no formal mentoring program, but employees help each other in a number of informal ways related to career development and advancement).
Thirty-three percent (or 363) stated they have an organized or formal mentoring program (where experienced employees are paired with less experienced employees).
Fifty-five percent (or 605) were involved with co-op, internship, apprentice, or work-study programs (where students participated in a time-limited work experience activity within the company).
Sixteen percent (or 176) reported that they had established peer mentoring programs (where small groups of individuals met in teams to provide learning support to each other); and 10 percent (or 110) reported that their employees were involved as volunteer mentors typically working with youth in their communities. (Note: percentages add to more than 100 because many corporations were involved with more than on type of mentoring.)
The majority of those corporations involved in mentoring stated that they did so in order to contribute to their productivity and to achieve certain business goals. The most frequently stated goals were to:
- develop the leadership potential within their own employees;
- contribute to the learning and career development of newer employees;
- improve leadership succession planning
- provide a community service; and
- increase the talent pool from which they can draw future employees.
Although the majority of corporations contacted reported some type of involvement in mentoring, only 22 percent (363) of the total contacted (or 1668) actually had a formal mentoring program. Many corporations reported that they were either too busy or too small to initiate a formal mentoring program. Forty percent were able to identify specific barriers associated with initiating such programs, but approximately 50 percent of those without programs gave no reason. Only 4 percent expressed no interest at all.
From “Foreign Trained Professionals: ‘Getting into the Loop’ (How Foreign Trained Professionals Can Gain Canadian Experience) report prepared by Rifke Gold for the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Access to Professionals and Trades Unit, February 2000.
Can mentoring meet the employment needs of the foreign trained professional?
Mentoring is a personalized and systematic way to be socialized into an organization’s culture – to gain the cultural competence that is important for workplace functioning. Mentoring provides two primary functions: career/instrumental and psychological. The instrumental function is the external value of the relationship; mentees benefit from their mentor’s knowledge, contacts, support and guidance. The psychological function is the internal value of the ongoing interpersonal dialogue, collaborative critical thinking, planning, reflection and feedback (Galbraith and Cohen, 1995).
The traditional informal model of mentoring, by its very nature, cannot accommodate the immigrant foreign trained professional as it is the lack of that very mechanism — “the Old Boys Network” — that contributes to keeping him/her “out of the loop”. On the other hand, there is evidence that suggests that a well conceived and well designed model of formal mentoring may be a cost effective and cost efficient means of facilitating access and integration into the labour market for the foreign trained professional (Mentoring Program for New Canadians, Caledon Institute of Social Policy, September 1998).