June, 2007 -by Peter C. Brinckerhoff

This Month's topic: Mentoring

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My New Book on Generation Change Is Available!  My newest title, Generations: The Challenge of a Lifetime  for Your Nonprofit is available for review and purchase at the  Fieldstone Alliance website. I'm really excited about the  reaction to this book, and I know that the issues covered in it  are affecting your nonprofit and will continue to in the coming  years. Check it out.  Here's what people are saying about the book: “Helpful ideas for immediate action! Great insight into the different generations in a practical way that lends itself to clear thinking about how to most effectively engage people. Easy to understand and engaging—a pleasure to read.” —Janet Froetscher, President and Chief Executive Officer, United Way of Metropolitan Chicago: “An invaluable guide—it will be a frequently consulted resource. Brinckerhoff’s ‘Six Big Actions’ provide an excellent operational framework to plan for generational change.” —Joan M. Twiss, M.A., Executive Director, Center for Civic Partnerships, Sacramento, CA Take a moment and check out the book--I think you'll see that it applies to your organization.

Websites of the Month

Here are my recommendations for websites of interest on this month's topic: Mentoring

MENTOR's website	www.mentoring.org
The Free Management Library's resources on mentoring.	www.managementhelp.org/guiding/mentrng/mentrng.htm
Some good tips and ideas from the Mentoring Group.	www.mentoringgroup.com

Back to Top

Mentoring

Mentoring is as old as the human race. We've called it many things, including coaching, counseling, and tutoring, but the idea has remained the same: a long-term one-one-one relationship that transfers skills and information in a mostly informal atmosphere.

I see mentoring in nonprofits more and more, for both staff and boards. It reduces turnover, gets people up to speed more quickly, and crosses both management and generational divides.

Here's a link to the "Ideas" section of my website where I talk about Board Mentoring.

In my new book on generation change, I talk about mentoring as one of my "Six Big Actions. Here's an excerpt:

"Mentoring and open discussion is crucial in solving inter-generational conflict. You need to set up both formal and informal mentoring and discussions to break down barriers between generations. Whether on staff, or in your volunteer cadre, mentoring passes on not only knowledge but also perspective, both of which are crucial. A young person might well wonder why a Greatest Generation grandparent is so frugal (stingy? cheap?), and could look at them negatively. But when they talk to that grandparent and hear their stories of living through the Great Depression, the grandparent’s perspective becomes much clearer.

As a leader and supervisor this takes constant attention, preventive action, and quick response if and when conflict arises. Admittedly, not all interpersonal conflict is based on generational issues (just as it is not always based on race, income, nationality, or high school of origin), but if you aren't looking for generational conflict, you'll  never diagnose it.

Some of these discussions can be formal, but also try to facilitate more informal discussions, lunches, coffees, round tables, and get-to-know you sessions that will open some doors. In terms of more formal mentoring, remember that it should NOT always occur using older mentors and younger mentees.

FOR EXAMPLE: One of my absolute favorite mentoring stories is about Jack Welch, when he was CEO of General Electric. In 1991, Welch and a friend of his were attending a Business Round table meeting. After the meeting, the friend asked Welch if he had time to have lunch. Welch deferred, saying that he had to hurry back to his office for a meeting with his mentor.

“Your what? You don’t mean your mentor…. You’re mentoring someone? Who?” Said the friend.

“No, I have a mentor.” Said Welch, “and he’s twenty-four.”

“No way,” said the friend. Then Welch told the story.

About a year earlier Welch had walked by a workstation where a young employee was working. The screen looked different than anything Welch had seen, so he asked the employee what he was doing. The youngster told Welch he was looking at GE’s competition’s sales and marketing information. “How did you get it?” asked Welch. The youngster shrugged and said, “It’s all online, Mr. Welch. You just gotta go look.”

Welch asked the employee to come to his office the next day. Remember, this was in 1990, and it was not clear that the Internet was going to be much more than a geek thing. But there was a new piece of software called Mozilla, later Netscape, that made access to the Internet much, much easier. The young man came to Welch’s office and spent two hours explaining how the Internet and networking could help GE. Welch immediately assigned him as Welch’s tech mentor, and they spent two hours together each week for a year. At the same time, Welch mandated that all of GE’s top managers find their own technology mentor, and that the mentor be under thirty years of age.

The result? GE was far, far ahead of its competition in being online in sales, service, parts, marketing, and its own intranet.

Take a look at the mentioring resources online and in writing, and give this a try.

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If you found this hint helpful, there are lots more management, marketing, and technology ideas for you in the "Ideas" section at www.missionbased.com. Check them out--they're free.

And, remember to take a look at the Mission-Based Management Blog.