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40

Speak Out

October 2016

www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

The success of

individual partnerships in the Speech

Pathology Australia Mentoring Program improved considerably

when the matching process became mentee driven at the

start of 2014. The article below is from The Art of Mentoring’s

(www.artofmentoring.net/about-us

) August newsletter for more

information regarding factors influencing the success of mentoring

relationships.

Ultimately the success or failure of any mentoring relationship

comes down to just one person, and it may not be the person

you are expecting.

It is easy to argue that with a mentoring relationship, like any

other relationship, “it takes two to tango”. The success of the

relationship is reliant on the contribution of both the mentor and

mentee.

One could also posit that since the mentor is usually the person

with greater experience and maturity, he or she must take

responsibility for establishing fertile ground for a relationship.

One could even argue that in a structured mentoring program

the program manager has a part to play in the success of the

mentoring relationships. The training and structure provided by

the program manager is necessary to kick start a successful

relationship.

All of these arguments have elements of truth. There is no doubt

that mentees, mentors and program managers all have a role to

play in creating a strong mentoring relationship.

However, the one person responsible for ensuring the “success”

of that relationship is the mentee.

From the outset, mentoring relationships are more one sided

than the “two way street” of a friendship or family relationship.

Mentoring programs are invariably structured to benefit the

mentee, whether the mentee is a junior staffer preparing to step

into a more senior role, or an executive being reverse mentored to

better understand technology.

The success of the mentoring relationship, for both the individuals

and the organisation, is reliant on the mentee moving forward in

some way.

In the end responsibility must rest with the mentee to derive

benefit from the relationship. This responsibility includes:

• clarifying what they hope to gain from the relationship;

• making sure meetings happen;

• arriving at meetings with an agenda, or at very least a clear

idea of what they want to discuss;

• following up after meetings to summarise any actions agreed.

Mentors, who are usually volunteering their time and expertise,

are a resource the mentee has been privileged to access. They

should not have to chase or corral their mentee to force them into

gaining value from the relationship.

Mentors and program managers should be on the lookout for the

danger signs that a mentee is failing to take responsibility for their

own success. These signs include:

• the mentee “disappears” for lengthy periods of time, failing to

organise meetings or follow up on promised actions;

• the mentee sits and waits for pearls of wisdom, rather than

arriving with a clear agenda;

• the mentor is diligently writing notes at meetings, while the

mentee is not;

• the mentor is sending follow up and confirmation emails

rather than the mentee.

Pre-screening of mentees and good training should help to

ensure that mentees are sufficiently committed and aware of their

responsibilities that these behaviours will not arise. But if they

do, it would be wise to swiftly call the mentee to account. Make

them aware that not only will this behaviour limit the benefit they

will derive from the mentoring relationship, it is also disrespectful

to the mentor who has volunteered their time to help and shirks

their responsibility to an organisation that has invested in their

development.

For more information about the Speech Pathology Australia

Mentoring Program go to:

www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/SPAweb/Members/

Mentoring/SPAweb/Members/Mentoring

or contact Meredith

Prain

psa@speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

(Tuesdays only).

SPOTLIGHT ON

PROFESSIONAL

SUPPORT

Keys to a

successful

mentoring relationship

Meredith Prain

Professional Support Adviso

r