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Mentoring for Organizational Effectiveness

Adding Value to Organizations through Effective Mentoring Relationships

About This Program

Mentoring is one of the most powerful tools for preparing tomorrow's leaders, but few enterprises know how to build and sustain an effective mentoring program. In this workshop, we will explore a state-of-the-art framework for making corporate mentoring programs work. Drawing on experiences from "best practice" firms, the importance of developing a fully integrated and diverse portfolio of mentoring initiatives will be reviewed. In addition, practical examples based on research and practice will shape the discussion of how mentoring can be used to strengthen organizational intelligence, build sustainable communities of knowledge, promote collaboration across differences, and sustain the organization's competitive advantage.

Who Should Attend

  • Individuals responsible for managing the performance of others, human resource activities, coaching and performance management in any type of organizational setting
  • Those desiring to gain a better understanding of current approaches to mentoring in today's dynamic environments
  • Managers seeking to learn individual coaching skills and understand their application to teams and high performers
  • Any professional interested in mentoring, coaching and leadership development as an organizational development tools

Learning Objectives

  • Provide an understanding of the functions, types and outcomes of effective mentoring relationships
  • Generate awareness of the skills, tools and techniques needed to design and execute effective formal mentoring programs.
  • Develop an appreciation for the new "soft" skills required of those who serve as mentors and for those seeking to get the most out of being mentored
  • Stimulate an increased awareness of how to identify and solve challenges and dilemmas surrounding negative mentoring experiences within either formal or informal relationships
  • Create an understanding of the impact that diversity has on effective mentoring relationships

Program Outline

  • Mentoring
    • Moving beyond the myth
    • Understanding the skills of the new workforce
    • Key sources of knowledge for professional effectiveness
    • p style-individual and team effectiveness
    • What is coaching? The Coaching Process
    • Why has it become central to maximizing performance?
  • Mentoring
    • Mentoring Defined
    • Understanding the Functions of Mentoring
    • Defining Effective Mentoring Relationships
    • Outcomes and Benefits of Effective Mentoring Relationships
    • Diversity and Mentoring Outcomes
  • Effective Mentoring Programs
    • Structuring effective formal mentoring
    • Avoiding the "five follies" of formal mentoring
    • Building a strategic mentoring portfolio
    • Lessons from "Intelligent Mentoring"
  • Practice and application
    • Mentoring scenarios
    • Discussion and review of mentoring tools

Days/Duration

1 day - six (6) hour program

Professor Bio

Audrey J. Murrell conducts research, teaching and consulting that helps organizations better utilize and engage their most important assets - their human and social capital. She is an Associate Professor of Business Administration, Psychology, Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh Pitt Business School of Business and Director of the David Berg Center for Ethics and Leadership. Professor Murrell conducts research on mentoring, careers in organizations, workforce/supplier diversity, and social issues in management. Audrey has received numerous recognitions including the University of Pittsburgh Student Choice Award, the "Women of Distinction" award from the Girls Scouts of Southwestern Pennsylvania, the Susan B. Anthony "Women of Vision" award from the Women's Leadership Assembly, and the Chancellor's Distinguished Public and Community Service Award from the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Murrell is the author (along with Crosby and Ely) of the book entitled, Mentoring Dilemmas: Developmental Relationships within Multicultural Organizations published by McGraw-Hill, and the forthcoming book (along with Forte-Trummel and Bing) entitled, "Blue Mentoring: Innovative Mentoring for Organizational Learning at IBM" published by Pearson Education Group.