What do you know about mentoring? Have you ever had a mentor? Many professionals have remarked that a mentor made all the difference in their career. I read One Minute Mentoring immediately after Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor. So, I didn’t feel that great about the book.
The other issue is that at the time I read this book over three years ago, I was very tired of business fables. Now with the passage of time, looking at my notes, the book has some great information.
You can read One Minute Mentoring by Ken Blanchard and Claire Diaz-Ortiz in an hour. If you’ve experienced any of the following, then a mentor may be the answer.
- Doubts about your career path.
- Wondering if you have what it takes to achieve their goals.
- What your career goals should be.
What is One Minute Mentoring About?
The book, One Minute Mentoring, is written in story form, demonstrating how to find and work with a mentor. And the benefits to both mentor and proteges. One Minute Mentoring complements Find a Sponsor, Forget a Mentor. In fact, I would pair the two books. A quote that caught my eye that others would appreciate,
“People who can help you see the big picture don’t necessarily have to be in your field.”
Have you read?
Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor: The New Way to Fast-Track Your Career by Sylvia Ann Hewlett
In the book, the authors say that when you work with someone, there are two aspects you need – Essence and Form. The first meeting between a mentor and mentee should be an Essence meeting. The second meeting could weave in Form.
- Essence: Heart-to-heart sharing and finding common values.
- Form: Structure. How you work together.
I have read a lot about mentoring. However, I learned new things in this book. In mentoring relationships, I know you have to define the relationship. But I’ve never heard of creating a mission statement. One Minute Mentoring recommends that the first step in a mentoring relationship is to create a clear mission statement.
One Minute Mentoring: The Story
Josh Hartfield is unmotivated. He’s in a sales job and facing a slump. His boss, Eva Garcetti, tells him that he has to improve or figure out what he has to do next. She encourages him to take time to reflect, looking at his strengths and weaknesses. She delivers the message lovingly, explaining that she will assist him.
On the other hand, Diane Bertman loves her sales job. She’s enjoying it less because of all the travel. She has twin grandchildren whom she wants to spend more time with. Bertman is almost 60, but not ready to retire. When she discusses her feelings with her mentor, Warren Riggs, he identifies three things. Diane is,
- Feeling a lack in her career.
- Suffering from overwhelm.
- Needing to share her knowledge, experience, and wisdom with others outside of work. In other words, she needs a mentee.
As you might have guessed by now, Diane starts to mentor Josh. At first, she sees the relationship as one-way, sharing her knowledge, experience, and wisdom. She enjoys mentoring Josh and discovers that she’s benefiting as well from the mentoring relationship. Meeting with Josh is helping her to figure out her next steps.
As the mentoring relationship evolves between Josh and Diane, it morphs into cross-generational mentoring where both mentee and mentor benefit. It’s a win-win for both Josh and Diane. At the one-year anniversary of the mentoring relationship, mentor and mentee have a review. They then decide to renew the mentoring agreement.
To find a mentor, reach out to your networks.
Where to Find Mentors
- Former supervisors
- College alumni
- Teachers
- Professors
- Neighbors
- Friends
- Family
- Company programs
- Professional associations
- Volunteer organizations
- Online mentoring organizations
To have a successful mentoring relationship, there are a few things you need to do.
- Commit to the mentoring relationship.
- Meet regularly.
- Establish clear communication between mentor and mentee.
- Develop trust and respect for each other.
- Learn how to connect with a mentor to build productive relationships.
- Create ground rules – how frequently to meet and how to communicate (phone, email, text, face-to-face).
- When a mentor introduces you to a contact, respect that, and don’t jeopardize the relationship.
- Review the mentoring relationship.
Mentoring Model
- Mission: Create a vision and purpose for the mentoring relationship. Both mentor and mentee can benefit from the partnership.
- Engagement: Decide how you’ll interact with each other based on schedule and personalities. A combination of digital communications and face-to-face meetings may work well.
- Network: Both mentor and mentee can expand their networks via each other’s networks. Honor the contacts of your mentor.
- Trust: Build and maintain trust with your mentoring partner. Tell the truth, stay connected, and be reliable and dependable.
- Opportunity: Create opportunities for each other to learn and grow.
- Review and Renewal: Schedule a regular time to review progress. Renew your mentoring partnership if it’s working.
Great Sound Bites from One Minute Mentoring
- When you have a problem to solve, talking about it is a good first step. The act helps to clarify and crystallize what you’re thinking about.
- Potential mentors are all around you once you start looking for them. Let your connections know you're looking for a mentor. You don't know who knows who.
- Mentoring another person will help you focus on your own next steps. Supporting another person feeds the creative process. You'll likely come up with ideas that you wouldn't have if you weren't helping the other person.
- Many people avoid mentoring because they think it takes a lot of time. It doesn’t have to. Mentoring can be in moments.
- You want a mentor whose values and personality align with yours. This helps you to be authentic and connect on a deeper level.
- Everybody makes mistakes. It’s how a person handles those mistakes that makes them trustworthy or not. Focus on the lessons learned.
- Cultivate and nurture the relationships in your network. Find ways to support the people in your networks.
- The leadership skills you learn as a mentor can make you more valuable to your employer. You'll develop emotional intelligence and empathy.
- You’ll never get where you want to go if you don’t create a mission statement—and you’ll never know you’ve arrived if you don’t do regular reviews. You have to know where you're going and when you arrive at your destination.
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Final Thoughts: One Minute Mentoring by Ken Blanchard and Claire Diaz-Ortiz
One Minute Mentoring offers some excellent information on mentoring. The book has a section on how to start a mentorship program in organizations. Would a mentoring relationship work for you?
Next Steps
- Buy and Read One Minute Mentoring
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