Crucial mentoring conversations : guiding and leading / Niel Steinmann.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Steinmann, Niël, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Business networks.

Social networks.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (178 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Randburg, [South Africa] : KR Publishing, 2017.

Summary:

Mentoring nourishes others to grow and act with greater confidence. The need for mentorship is greater than ever before. However, informal mentoring has not kept up with the challenges in business. In his latest book on mentoring, NiEl Steinmann, South Africa's leading authority on mentorship suggests a structured and intentional approach to mentoring, called crucial mentoring conversations. He explains: 'Our success in life is dictated by the quality of relationships we can build and maintain'. Parents, teachers and leaders from any career, professional, or educational setting are now challenged to successfully navigate mentoring relationships. The book is rich with advice and will explore the various conversations crucial for mentoring relationships. You will be able to hold deeper more honest conversations that create new levels of self-awareness and opportunities for those that you mentor to transform situations and relationships around them. It presents to the mentor practical tools to facilitate this awareness and learning in ways that enrich, challenge, inspire and enable mentees to learn about themselves and their world. When you mentor intentionally, opportunities for crucial conversations present themselves all the time - from 'What's my purpose?' to navigating career challenges, to performance feedback, developing strengths and how to manage productive relationships and networks both personally and professionally.

Contents:

Cover

Title Page

Endorsements

Copyright Page

Title Page 2

Dedication

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Foreword by Ruby Motloheloa

About the author

Preface

Introduction and thoughts on how to use this book

Part 1 The world of mentoring

Mentoring and coaching

Mentoring today

Peer mentoring

A generational view on mentoring

The value of reverse mentoring

Formal vs informal mentoring

The value-add of mentoring in business

The challenges of structured or formal mentoring

What is the purpose of formal mentoring in your business?

Who should be mentors?

How should you match mentors and mentees?

Does the success of formal mentoring depend on the mentee?

How do you sustain a formal mentoring relationship?

How much structure is necessary?

The need to be more intentional as mentors

Nurturing a profitable relationship

The formation of the relationship

Intentional mentors ensure that their mentees become "definitively competent"

Mentors could contribute to both the technical and professional competence of their mentees

Mentors should inspire and influence the appropriate "mindset"

Mentors must reveal the need for institutional alignment

Mentors should convey the 'territorial wisdom'

Mentors should help encourage their mentees to focus

Being intentional about the 70-20-10

Provide blended learning to increase the impact of formal learning

Create collaborative learning environments

Leveraging intentional mentoring

Part 2 An introduction to crucial mentoring conversations

A personal experience

Demystifying crucial mentoring conversations

The purpose of a crucial mentoring conversation

Ingredients of successful crucial mentoring conversations

Turn down the noise

Reciprocal contributions from both parties.

Authentic trust in each other and in the purpose of the relationship

What does it mean when you say you trust someone?

The 3 key promotors of trust

Competence

Behaviour that cements competence as a promoter of trust

Character

Behaviour that fortifies character as a cultivator of trust

Caring

Behaviour that augments care as a cultivator of trust

Resulting actions/assignments that come to light through these conversations

The topics that crucial mentoring conversations can/ should cover

Who should own or drive these conversations?

When should you have a crucial conversation?

Creating success at having crucial mentoring conversations

The power of storytelling… "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…"

When is storytelling powerful?

When you have a story to tell about yourself

When you want to share a particular lesson

When you need to illustrate a moral or ethical issue

When you want to communicate across boundaries (culture, gender, religion, generation)

When you want to share a truth

Three critical aspects of stories to remember

Ensure honesty and safety in your conversations

The sweet aroma of authenticity

How can mentors exhibit greater authenticity?

Share your story

Practice what you preach

Get your own feedback

Celebrate your own uniqueness

Recognise the diversity in others

Straight talk will promote openness

At what stage should confrontation be part of a crucial conversation?

Observe

Articulate

Validate

The power of questioning

How to end a crucial mentoring conversation?

The importance of action and execution

Part 3 Guiding and leading crucial mentoring conversations

Conversation on purpose and vision

Uncovering purpose and values

Linking individual and corporate purpose.

Some questions to explore around this conversation - decide what would be most appropriate for your particular relationship:

Possible mentoring story

Conversation outcome/assignment:

Creating a personal or life timeline

Step 1

Step 2

Reflecting on values

List of the 100 most common values*

Conversation on career momentum/ mobility

Understanding the challenge of employability

Why do people get promoted?

Discovering career anchors

Conversation on performance

Work performance

Some questions to explore around this conversation - decide what would be most appropriate for your particular relationship:

Rethinking performance - challenge the performance management paradigm

Useful pointers on feedback:

Conversation on fitness

Prerequisites for 'fitness' conversations

Does your organisation calibrate talent/fitness?

The low potential group

The low performance group

Talent bench group (the ideal target group to mentor for future development)

Conversation on strengths

So what about your mentee's weaknesses?

Conversation on relationships

Conversation outcome/assignment

The Johari window

Taking the sting out of conflict.

Don't expect to be loved and appreciated by everyone

Never respond in a moment of anger

Acknowledge own emotions and seek discernment about your planned reaction

Resolve conflict hastily

Care to look through other's lenses

Think about the words you choose and how you say them

Look for positives from the conflict

Stand up for what you stand for and stand by it

Don't stick your nose in it

Say it!

Conversation on networks

Embrace the "meeting before the meeting" principle

Create a network mapping chart

The dangers of social networking

Conversation on classified issues

Part 4 Pouring yourself into someone

Mentoring high performers

Challenging comfort zones with the best intentions

Recognise when to "go off-line"

The most common mistakes that mentors make

Low expectations for the mentee?

Mentors acting as guides

Underestimating the effort

Hiding your mistakes

Not managing expectations

Evaluating the impact of your crucial mentoring conversations

In conclusion

References

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF cover (ebrary, viewed June 22, 2017).

ISBN:

1-86922-671-2

OCLC:

988867165