iMantri is an online mentoring platform venue for finding and interacting with mentors and a platform that facilitates the mentoring process.
 
iMantri’s structured mentoring process is facilitated by a framework and a set of tools for planning, interaction, feedback, and ratings. The members will have a choice to follow an unstructured and ad-hoc mentoring process. While the application allows for subject experts and professional mentors to offer their services, it is built to unlock the peer-to-peer mentoring potential.
 
There is enough evidence that mentoring works and makes a positive impact on participants in particular and the eco system in general. In corporations mentoring programs have shown to reduce attrition rates, boost employee morale, foster diversity and enhance career progression. In society, mentoring programs such as Big Brothers and Big Sisters have proven their efficacy in preventing youth from pursuing an errant path and in helping provide a positive role model.
 
iMantri encapsulates the peer-to-peer paradigm of the emergent business social networking space and aims to foster mentoring connections between members who can be mentors and mentees at the same time. More than a listing of a mentoring classifieds, iMantri provides a framework for mentoring as well as tools to facilitate the process.

iMantri applies the best of both mentoring and social networking to create a non-hierarchical mentoring relationship based on individual expertise. This means that mentors and mentees can both give and receive advice and acquire new skills based on their areas of knowledge and goals.
 
“Mantri” (pronounced as “Man” “Three”) is a Sanskrit word and means a minister, wise man, a counselor, a trusted advisor and a mentor. In addition to Sanskrit, the word has similar meaning and connotation in other languages such as Malay, Indo-China, and Arabic cultures.

iMantri’s core features include:

* Competency Assessment: Users will be able to assess their competencies and generate a mentoring needs analysis which pinpoints areas of strength and weakness

* Goals/Issues based Mentoring: While competencies are building blocks, some of the users who want to focus on a specific goal or resolve a specific issue can find content, context, resources and mentors based on their area of interest

* Mentor-Mentee Matching Engine: Users will be able to search for a mentor or a mentee and be intelligently matched with the right people

* Mentoring Framework and Tools: Mentors will be able to define needs in detail, create a mentoring process and implement it using tools for planning, interactions, feedback, and rating

* Mentoring Resources: Individual users will be provided contextual resources such as books, articles, news and related products and services that they can use in their mentoring process

Join iMantri to find mentors who can help you achieve your goals and objectives and/or mentor others who might tap into your wisdom and expertise. Either way it is intellectually rewarding and life enriching experience.

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Adrian Rogerson talks about being a mentor on the Aston University Peer Mentoring Scheme

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iMantri is a peer-to-peer social network for mentoring and coaching. The site facilitates connections between mentors and mentees and also provides a framework and tools for fostering mentoring relationships online. iMantri is founded by veterans in the field of management and technology and with a strong advisory board of experts from the coaching, mentoring, training and leadership development worlds. The company is headquartered in Silicon Valley. Visit iMantri at: www.imantri.com

I wanted to grow my business, but I did not know how to go about it, until a friend mentioned business mentoring and coaching. He explained that business mentoring/coaching would increase productivity in the workplace, increase team unity, decrease feelings of isolation, increase business and personal confidence, and ultimately increase profits, to name but a few of the benefits. I was interested in the benefits as soon as he had told me, but I wasn’t too sure on the term, so I had to resort to a dictionary for an explanation: business mentoring and coaching is “a form of teaching that includes walking alongside the person that is being taught and inviting him or her to learn from the mentor’s example.”

I decided to look into business mentoring and coaching in greater detail and discovered that it is a deliberate transitional process, executed to help businesses achieve their full potential, by working on their knowledge bank, work procedures and thinking ideologies. Business mentoring and coaching is a high end learning initiative which can be extremely focused or generic, depending upon the organisation’s needs and existent practices. Wow! That sounded very formal, so I decided to discuss the situation with my friend. First of all he explained about mentoring. A mentor is the driver of the mentoring process. Success of any mentoring exercise weighs heavily on the skills of the selected mentor, and it is important to understand their role: the business mentor is a motivational cum guiding energy, responsible for pushing the learners enough to perform as per the expectations. They would be well aware and experienced on the various systemised business coaching and mentoring techniques, which would be used to nurture the talent of the leaner.

He then went on so say a typical mentoring process would require the mentor to: pose questions to help the learner explore his thought process, desires and skills to accomplish the envisaged; bestow a vision and a path to commence the journey; listen, observe and then reach viable conclusions with respect to the trainee’s mindset; encourage participation – business mentoring is a two way process and therefore requires the mentor to stimulate reaction from the learner; select from among the various mentoring techniques and use the most appropriate combinations. He said the description he had just given was an encapsulation of the many facets to a near perfect business coaching and mentoring process.

As my friend was explaining the process, I thought that I could save myself some money and do the business mentoring and coaching in-house as an economical proposition. I put forward this suggestion to him, and it was immediately knocked down. He said business mentoring and coaching requires an expert approach.

So I asked him, how do I choose the best business mentoring/coaching service? He explained an ideal business mentor would have strong experience with the Office of Government Commerce’s (OGC) Best Practice methodologies, and the training program would combine a variety of tools and techniques that had been tested over years. He said the company he used understood the pertinence of communication throughout the mentoring process and arranged for one-to-one training sessions, group workshops and briefings, remote support and post project reviews. Also the calibre of the training consultants needed to be assessed: had the company recruited the training consultants to ensure they would help the trainee work out their specific training needs; configure the training program to meet the defined training needs; are they suitably equipped to evaluate post training results, and are they qualified enough to infuse the requisite improvements at any stage; and are the trainers continuously trained on training standards and apprised with the latest procedures? He said that was the criteria he had used for choosing his business mentoring/coaching company and he strongly advised I do the same.

When I look at everything his business has achieved since his company has undertaken business mentoring and coaching, I know I will be following suit.

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www.jeremyhenderson.com Home Business Mentor Jeremy Henderson teaches about the importance of creating a funnel in the marketing of your current home based business. If you aren’t building a list of qualified and free mlm leads and free network marketing leads, then you need to watch this free training. Jeremy will walk you through how to build your business with an effective funnel. For more information from Jeremy Henderson, full time home business mentor, visit his website – http If you …

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Elena Ward wrote the Article ‘Why I had Business Mentoring and Coaching and the Benefits’ and recommends you visit http://www.afaprojects.com for more information on business mentoring and coaching.

It seems almost everyone can use a little something extra to help them increase their effectiveness or give them a ompetitive edge. Those in professional service firms are no exception; however, they do face unique challenges. With so much emphasis on billable hours for accountants and lawyers, how can they find the time to devote to personal development? Could asking for help demonstrate needed initiative or threaten credibility? Despite these challenges, more professionals are seeking mentors.

Contrary to popular belief, mentoring programs are not solely for the young and new in their careers. Even more seasoned professionals find benefit by addressing issues related to personal development, business development, and life/work balance. Mentoring conversations are less about learning the ropes, and more about thinking strategically about goals.

Before you start your search for a mentor, decide what it is you would most want to accomplish through the process. It will help you make the best decision.

Where do you find good mentors? Here are a few places to look:

• Inside your firm. Fortunately, more organizations are identifying ways to help employees create and develop mutually rewarding mentoring relationships. Some offer formal mentoring programs. Formal mentoring programs should not be a simple matching game. While it might seem logical to pair a more experienced professional with an individual newer in his career, other issues should be considered first:

  • The needs and goals of individuals
  • An individual’s commitment level to personal growth
  • A potential mentor’s commitment level to the process
  • The organization’s top priorities

If there’s no formal mentoring program, simply ask someone whose work you admire if they would be willing to spend some time with you over the next few months to help you focus on some goals. You don’t even have to use the word “mentor” which can seem too daunting of a role for some.

• Outside your firm. There are some mentor programs that exist apart from the organization. They attract individuals from a variety of organizations. Participants in these programs are assigned a mentor from outside the organization. These programs help you foster relations beyond your own internal network and across industries. Such programs can be found at national and local levels.

Not everyone should be in a mentoring program. These programs work best for those who are self-motivated and open to change. Mentoring programs can be structured a variety of ways. Some include peer coaching or group coaching. Ideally a mentoring program should be integrated with the strategic objectives of the firm. Determine the specific desired outcomes of the program and measures of success.

You may also consider working with an external coach. An external coach provides a personalized approach to help you achieve specific goals. Explore the possibility of your organization sponsoring a coaching engagement; otherwise, consider the process an investment in your own development.

Whether you’re working with a coach or a mentor, here are some tips on how to make the process most successful.

• Determine the outcomes both of you want to achieve first. For example, some may want to learn or hone a skill like presenting or strategic planning. Some may want to gain more knowledge about a particular career path. Some may want support dealing with a particular challenge or opportunity.

• Establish best ways to communicate. Will you meet in person, by phone or both? How frequently will you meet? Meetings need not be time consuming when you’re highly focused.

• Set a goal. Set a specific concrete goal to accomplish during a given time frame. Make sure it’s not too general such as, “I want to be a better leader.” Instead it might be something like, “I want to meet with each person in the practice group within 30 days to get feedback.” Initiate a particular meeting or project that helps you exercise the specific skill you want to develop. Being goal focused helps establish greater accountability for results.

• Debrief. Establish checkpoints along the way to assess how things are going for both of you. Determine what would make the relationship or process even better.

While mentoring relationships can be interesting and enjoyable, they should also be productive. These relationships should provide opportunities for both learning and action. The best relationships have the potential to create value for the employee, the mentor and the firm as a whole.

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The next conference will be held at the Olympia Fields Country Club, Olympia Fields, Illinois, on November 15 and 16, 2007. www.tutormentorconference.org The Tutor Connection (T/MC) hosts the biannual Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference as part of an ongoing effort to improve the quality and availability of tutor/mentor programs in areas of Chicago with high concentrations of poverty. Speaker and workshop presentations are now being accepted. The event serves three purposes …

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Gayle Lantz, http://www.gaylelantz.com is an organizational development consultant and executive coach who works with organizations that want to develop their people, and with individuals who want to achieve important business and personal goals. For more tips on how to make the most of your work, sign up for “WorkMatters Tips” at
http://www.gaylelantz.com/signup/index.htm

Teenagers are facing the most critical stage in their life – adolescence. At this stage, they experience the transition from childhood towards adulthood; in the process of transition, teens deal with lots of biological, emotional, social and psychological changes. Often, these changes make a life of a teenager miserable. There is a great desire to fit in, to be accepted for who they are, to find their true identity, and to realize their own strengths and weaknesses. This is where peer mentoring becomes a lot of help. It keeps the youth guided and makes them feel loved, cared for and accepted.

Features and of a Peer Mentoring Program

Peer mentoring is a kind of mentoring program, which matches older youths with younger ones. The former provide the latter with guidance, advice, and all forms of support they need to be able to meet challenges of adolescent life. The older youths do not only serve as mentors but as role models to the younger ones. They are not perfect but having been through the same stage and most likely, the same problems, predicaments, and challenges in their homes, school and community; they are in the position to provide friendly advice, positive influences, attention, and moral support to these younger teens.

Mentoring programs, either in schools, local communities, and youth organizations bear the following characteristics:

• Centered on the needs of the youth – Every peer mentoring program is designed to meet the specific needs of the teens to be mentored. Those who come from broken homes, for example, may need more time for counseling and recreation activities that would help them divert their thoughts on sad experiences at home towards happy ones. Those with academic problems may require more time for tutorials.

• Participants voluntarily join a peer mentoring program – A big part of the success of peer mentoring lies on the voluntary participation of the mentor and the younger teens. The student must not be forced to attend the peer mentoring program as this would only make things more difficult for him. The student must first acknowledge the need to have a mentor, someone who is older, wider, and more experienced than him. Only upon acknowledging this need can he actively participate in the activities in the mentoring program.

• Mentors are bound by the responsibility to keep things confidential – Trust is very important in building good relationship between the mentor and the student; thus, it is a must or the mentor to keep things that he and the student talks about confidential. Without trust, it would be hard for the person mentored to talk about the things he feels and thinks especially about very critical issues involving him, a close friend or his family.

Joining a Mentoring Program

Joining a peer mentoring program starts with the eagerness to be a part of a support group or program that is aimed at creating changes both on the life of the mentor and the younger person to be mentored.

If you want to be a mentor, first you must be prepared in all aspects. Do you have a plan on how to conduct peer mentoring? Do you know what to do when trying situations arise? Do you have the patience necessary for you to deal with persons who might be going through tough moments in their life? How would you handle issues such as early pregnancy, divorce, and drug addiction?

When you are ready, the next thing you should do is to look for a pee mentoring program that is suited to your interests. You can look for these in your school, local community and even online. You may also ask for your teachers, schoolmates, and friends’ recommendations. You can also ask the head of your local community church or youth organizations in your community or neighboring areas.

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Lafayette College’s Peer Mentor Program is facilitated by the Academic Resource Center.

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Author sites: Daily Health Tips , Daily Tips and Travel Tips

When looking for a ‘Home Based Business’, you really need to take extreme care with what you are doing. There are so many different opportunities that you can sign up with. Allow me to make you a list of what you should be taking into consideration when looking for a ‘Home Based Business Opportunity’.

1. Company; What will you be selling & is the product any good?

2. How long has the company been ‘Established’ & what is the ‘Track< Record’?

3. Big Money Claims; are there loads of people making big claims of being successful & throbbing you off with all their success stories?

4. Compensation Plan; Does it sound too good to be ‘TRUE’?

5. Training; having the right training will be a matter of ‘Success or Failure’. Make sure that you get this one right. Most companies give you the wrong training.

6. Does this company have your interests at ‘Heart’? Study this one hard.

7. Does the company have a ‘5 Pillar Foundation Structure’ in place, in order for you to be successful? Every company will need this in order for them to succeed.

All of the above points are absolutely crucial for you to get right. So many people have failed because of not doing their research properly & correctly. The whole idea of this article is to aid you in the right direction of making the right choices.

So far, I have given you pointers at what to watch out for when thinking of joining a company. At this stage, there are some areas that you will definitely need to get right if you have any chance of succeeding in ‘Network Marketing’.

1. Joining the ‘RIGHT’ Company.

2. Getting the ‘BEST’ Mentoring & Support.

3. Working In a ‘Team’ with ‘Leadership’ skills.

4. Been provided with a ‘SYSTEM’ that works for you & other people.

Throughout this article, I have given you all the information that will start you thinking in the right way. So many people end up joining the wrong ‘Business Opportunities’ due to not doing their research beforehand. You have made it to reading this article and I would really like to congratulate you on getting this far.

Getting this far is just the beginning process. This information that you have just read is to allow you to start thinking in the right direction.

You now have the ‘Golden Opportunity’ of a lifetime. We are offering you a lifetime of ‘FREE’ mentoring & support. You’ll learn insider secrets from 30 years in network marketing. NO affiliate links. No companies are mentioned. It’s just the straight scoop. It’s free. “Success In 10 Steps” is the Complete Network Marketer’s Desk Reference.

Would you like to have the success that you ‘Deserve & Desire’ so much? We will work very close with you & take your ‘Home Based Business’ to the next level. You can go ahead by visiting http://www.pathway2prosper.com.

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JISC Project “Mentor Support” Short Edit Version

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Sam Brook & Paul Waters have been involved in ‘Network Marketing now for some time. Their passion is to help as many people as possible to make it within this ‘Industry’. They are very person centered with a non threatening approach to their training. They would like to have the greatest pleasures of working with you. To get more information, please visit http://www.pathway2prosper.com

All parents hope that their children will grow up healthy, happy, and productive. They aspire to have children who have the skills to contribute to their own well-being and to the well-being of their families and community. There is no magic bullet for developing these capacities in children. Literally thousands of programs have been developed to support families in their efforts to help children to become competent, confident, caring young people who have positive social connections and good characters.

Children have the potential to succeed in life and contribute to society. However, not all children get the support they need to thrive. By all estimates, an astounding 17.6 million young people – nearly half the population between 10 and 18 years of age – live in situations that put them at risk of not living up to their potential. Without immediate intervention by caring adults, they could make choices that undermine their futures. The presence of caring adults offering support, advice, friendship, reinforcement and constructive examples has proved to be powerful tools for helping young people fulfill their potential.

Mentoring is a structured and trusting relationship that brings young people together with caring individuals who offer guidance, support and encouragement aimed at developing the competence and character of the mentee. A mentor is an adult who, along with the parents, help young people bring out strengths that are already there. They are good listeners, compassionate and teach children how to live an honorable life. A mentor is not a foster parent, therapist, parole officer, or cool peer. The role of a mentor is not to “fix” young people but rather to help them achieve their full potential. Enforcing competence, confidence, connection, character, caring, and contribution to self and society, help develop a child into a productive and respectful adult in later years.

A mentor’s main purpose is to help a young person define individual goals and find ways to achieve them. Since the expectations of each child will vary, the mentor’s job is to encourage the development of a flexible relationship that responds to the young person’s needs. Using influence and resources as a decision maker, adults can bring new hope to young lives through the power of mentoring. A mentor encourages positive choices, promotes high self-esteem, teaches respect for oneself and family, supports academic achievement, and introduces the young person to new ideas. Youth who meet regularly with their mentors are 46% less likely than their peers to start using illegal drugs and 27% less likely to start drinking alcohol (Public/Private Ventures study of Big Brothers Big Sisters). About 40% of teenager’s waking hours are spent without any companionship or supervision. Mentors provide children and teens with a valuable place to spend free time. Children learn to make thoughtful choices, fulfill their commitments, acknowledge their mistakes and account for their actions. By taking control of their lives, children realize they can achieve more than they ever dreamed possible.

I encourage you to think of the mentors in your own life – a coach, teacher, or another caring adult, and take a few minutes to consider all the contributions they have made in your life during your developing years. I know throughout my own adult life and business career, I have been greatly rewarded by years of mentoring children and young adults into productive, happy individuals that are successful in life. Children need someone to believe in them. Often times, children lack the attention needed to reinforce morals, values and self esteem on a daily basis. It makes all the difference in the world during times of indecision in their lives to have that reinforcement. Mentoring develops children into young adults who have confidence, determination and self-awareness.

Mentoring is recognized throughout the US as an important part of a child’s life and some states have already proposed legislation to the Senate. The Coalition of State Mentoring Partnerships has worked closely with Capitol Hill staff and Senators to advocate this legislation. The Mentoring for All Act 2008 (S. 3200) is one of the most significant legislation actions to benefit mentoring. Please call; send emails or letters to your Senators urging support for the bill.

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Mentors talk about their experiences working with students and introducing them to careers in the medical field through the Health Adventures at MD Anderson. During this field trip to MD Andersons Rehabilitation Services center, the children experience first-hand the challenges patients face, and the role that doctors, nurses and other staff play in caring for people. When students leave the program, they leave with a desire to learn, excel in school and pursue careers in health care. For …

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Denise Dema is a Business and Life Management Coach who has over 20 years experience empowering individuals, entrepreneurs and business owners to attain self-defined success in their professional & personal lives. To learn more about the author and her practice please visit http://www.denisedema.com

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Aaron & Jeremy, a mentor-mentee pair in the iMentor program, discuss their experiences in the program and the impact iMentor has had on their lives.

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Our story at 104Inc is simple: We like to help others. Imagine a team that consists of family and friends who all have the same passion in life. Imagine a group of individuals who sacrifice so much everyday in-order to attain their goal and one day live their dream. Now, imagine the amount of effort, motivation and discipline it takes for ordinary people like us having a burning desire to accomplish something extraordinary. Here at http://www.104Inc.com, we have the opportunity to do all of that. We have, the aspiration, the zeal and the motivation to help others in areas where they are less fortunate, including our own family and friends.

It’s Simple. It’s 104Inc Approved.

Mentoring is a relationship that is established with someone who is an expert in their field. The mentor is usually older and more experienced than the mentee. The mentor shares their experiences, and the lessons they have learned. But the relationship benefits both the mentor and the mentee. The mentor benefits from the opportunity to strengthen their leadership skills. The mentee receives career guidance and helpful career advice to prepare for the next level in their career.

Many companies have formal mentoring programs in place for matching new employees with those already established in their career. If you are choosing your own mentors here are five tips to ensure a successful relationship:

1. A good career mentor:

- Is knowledgeable in their field
- Is generous and honest with advice
- Is a good communicator
- Is committed to the relationship
- Will get to know their mentee: her/his capabilities, interests and goals
- Will make recommendations for the mentee’s career development and path
- Will create learning opportunities and heighten the mentee’s career
- Will introduce the mentee to key people and professional organizations

2. Choosing a career mentor:

- Choose someone you admire
- Look outside your immediate work area – maybe your boss’s boss.
- Choose someone in another area of your organization who has had a career path similar to your goal.
- Find multiple mentors (I have clients working with more than one mentor in a formal relationship).

To find a career mentor outside of your organization, join professional associations where you can meet senior people and executives in your field.

3. Setting up the Mentor/Mentee Relationship:

- Before seeking a mentor’s assistance, make a plan. What do you expect from your mentor? What do you want to focus on? How much time do want to commit to this relationship? It is important for you to be clear about your expectations for your own benefit and in order to communicate this to your potential mentor.

- Invite the potential mentor to lunch or coffee to discuss your intention. Mentors appreciate the recognition, and are willing to share their knowledge and wisdom.

- At the meeting, effectively communicate your need for a mentor, your vision of the future. Define the relationship and why you would like this person to be your career mentor.

- Find out how involved the potential mentor wants to be in this relationship.

- Give them a chance to think about it – tell them you will get back to them in a couple of days.

4. The Relationship:

- Set up the parameters of the relationship together, how often, when & where you will meet, and the length of the meeting.

- Respect your mentor’s time. Show up on time for your meetings. If you have to cancel your meeting, give at least 24 hours notice.

- Set up boundaries for phone calls. Between meetings call only if absolutely necessary.

- Use your scheduled meetings effectively by organizing your materials and the topics you would like to discuss.

- Pay for your own meals and drinks or offer to pick up the tab for your mentor’s meal.

- If you are given an assignment, complete it on time.

- Show your appreciation by offering to help your mentor in any way possible. Send a thank-you e-mail communicating how this relationship has helped you or send a gift to recognize a special day for your mentor.

- Recognize when the relationship is winding down, communicate this, and wrap it up. If you would like to stay in touch with occasional updates of your career successes, clear it with your mentor at the end of the relationship.

- Obtain approval from your mentor before using them as a reference.

There are many benefits to a career mentorship, for both parties. Mentees gain the benefit of someone’s experience to help them navigate their career development. Mentors have the opportunity to reflect on their careers. Having clear goals and communicating these will ensure that the experience is positive and productive.

Copyright 2007, Cecile Peterkin.

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Maria & Nelly, a mentor/mentee pair in the iMentor program, discuss their experience in the program and the impact iMentor has had on their lives.

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Cecile Peterkin is a Certified Career and Life Coach. Feeling stuck in middle management or mid career? Take a FR-EE Assessment at our career guidance website.

Once you gain a business mentor, you also gain a confidant and friend. However, a business mentor knows that the process of building this relationship takes time.

The mentor needs to build personal interest as well as trust. Therefore, coming to a point where both parties feel comfortable is a journey you take together- a journey that takes commitment and consistency.

To build a solid mentoring relationship a business mentor will set the stage early on to develop a consistent pattern of communication. This is because frequency of contact is highly important. Your business mentor will discuss updates on the items he/she recommended in previous talks. This is to help the learning process for both the mentee and the mentor to move forward.

While most business mentors are focused on the details, they also focus on the big picture. A business mentor will talk with you about short and long term goals. They are interested in you as a person as well as a business person. They often encourage opening a window into your personal life, in order to help them see the bigger picture but also to make the working relationship less intense. A business mentor knows that you are human.

Understand that your mentor is also human. This helps to the two of you to develop a strong relationship. They are committed to the time they spend with you, but they also have other meetings, and obligations. As a mentee, try to avoid monopolizing too much of the business mentor’s time. Connecting in a way that is quick and easy actually makes it easier for both of you to commit. It helps to eliminate stress which creates an environment to promote self awareness and accomplishment.

A business mentor wants you to achieve your business goals and create the life you want, but to do this you need to have a clear idea of what that is. In some cases a business coach will get clients who do not have clearly defined, compelling goals. However, this doesn’t mean you won’t get to this stage. A business mentor has the skills to bring out clear thinking.

They ask thought provoking questions and encourage analysis, so you can develop clear statements and goals. They help to get to the specifics not just in your business, but in your relationship with them so you know how to form questions in a specific clear manner.

A business mentor is an advisor. They understand your issues and have the wisdom and experience to help you work through them. To truly develop a relationship that is committed and consistent you have to be willing to listen to them. A business mentor will listen to your questions and concerns, but in order to help you the role of listener has to be played by you often. They are committed to your success; their advice is reliable and applicable but you won’t get the full benefit if you are not willing to listen to your mentor.

Once you have received advice it’s up to you to make the effort with change. A business mentor is there to give you guidance not to figure it all out for you or hold your hand each step of the way. You should try to make the link between what you are told and how you will apply it to your life.

With commitment and consistency the relationship between you and your mentor can be mutually rewarding.

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Rachel Elnaugh is one of Britains best-known female entrepreneurs who was one of the original team of BBC Dragons in Dragons Den. After starting her career as an office junior, at the age of 24 she created the market-leading experiences brand, Red Letter Days. When her business crashed in 2005, Rachel stepped away from the spotlight and today spends her time mentoring and inspiring entrepreneurs, including holding masterclasses at the British Library. Proudly supported by HSBC, the world’s …

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I am looking to start my own bakery but I have bad credit from my drunken 20's. I have all the ideas but not sure on how to get this going. this is a great idea and money to be made so your input is greatly appreciated.

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Lyn Troyer and his Niche Power Group teach beginners how to make money online in niche markets with affiliate marketing. Please visit their online business mentoring website here to learn how you can go from making nothing to a full time internet income in 12 months or less. http://nichepowergroup.com

The current trend is for an increase in coaching and mentoring in the workplace.

Coaching and mentoring, whether on an executive level or for overall staff, are increasingly being recognised as important in employee development. It is acknowledged by senior management in many organisations that their company will thrive if they offer some form of coaching and mentoring to their staff.

We are particularly aware at how much this trend for coaching and mentoring has grown in the UK, as this is where most of our clients are based.

We work with companies who automatically assign a mentor to new employees, some who leave it up to the employee to seek out a coach for themselves, some who don’t or won’t see the advantage of having coaches for their people and just about everything in between.

Fortunately, many more companies are giving their people an understanding of the benefits of coaching and mentoring, of which there are many, and more people are training and acquiring qualifications in coaching and mentoring than ever before.

What Coaching and Mentoring Training is available?

People can get a professional qualification in coaching and mentoring, a certificate in coaching and mentoring; there are many courses offering training in coaching development, creative mentoring, career coaching, face to face training, on-line training, workplace mentoring, becoming a coaching and mentoring consultant, building a coaching network, business approaches to coaching and mentoring, distance learning, management mentoring, staff coaching, in house training courses, ‘out’ house training courses. There are basic courses and advanced coaching and mentoring training and qualifications.

The list truly is endless!

It seems as though everyone from business schools to the corner shop is getting on the coaching and mentoring bandwagon.

This isn’t a bad thing.

How do I know what to do?

The only problem is that for someone who has never used a coach or mentor before, it can all be very confusing.

For those who want to train to become a coach or mentor, the choices can seem daunting: ‘Where do I begin?’

For companies who want to initiate a coaching and mentoring programme, they want reassurance of the tangible benefits and return on their investment.

What we aim to do here is to give you a brief overview, understanding and insight into just exactly what coaching and mentoring means, some coaching and mentoring theory and to give our view on what it takes to be a good coach or mentor.

Coaching and Mentoring overview

Is there a difference between Coaching and Mentoring?

We’re going to cop out here and say there probably can’t be a definitive answer to this. The two terms seem to be increasingly linked and are often used interchangeably.

These happen to be our definitions, but we’re sure you’ll find a bunch of others if you look around.

Coaching: we see a business, corporate or executive coach in much the way we see a sports coach. This person sets specific goals and objectives, sees what you need to do to achieve them and works with you on target setting, professional and personal development, expansion of your skills base and offers practical and relevant advice and guidance.

Mentoring: a mentor can almost be seen as a wise, experienced friend or favourite aunt or uncle type person. A mentor leads by example and is a role model. They might be very good at helping you see the big picture and understand the politics of the organisation you work for.

A coach can be a mentor and a mentor can be a coach, or the role can be rolled into one. The key is that whatever term you use, the person being coached or mentored gets unbiased support and guidance.

Benefits of Coaching and Mentoring

When you work with a coach or mentor you will benefit in many ways:

Have a safe place to offload
Develop skills you already have
Learn new skills
Gain insight into yourself and the people you work with
Get unbiased, confidential support
Gain fresh perspectives on your issues
Get advice, suggestions and options

Coaching and Mentoring Theory

We’re probably the wrong company to ask about coaching and mentoring theory. As a matter of fact, we’re not too hot on theory since we believe that you can’t pigeonhole people and impose a template of how coaching and mentoring should look.

On one level, we suppose that you could say that having a counselling skill is a good ‘theoretical’ place to start. The principles that a good counsellor needs to have are equally true for good coaches and mentors:

Maintains confidentiality
Excellent listening and responding skills
Non-judgemental
Objective outlook
Advises rather than tells
Has the ‘mentee’s’ best interests at heart

Coaching and Mentoring Development

Coaching and Mentoring Training

As we said earlier, the list is endless when it comes to ’stuff’ around coaching and mentoring. There are stacks of training courses, programmes, qualifications, certificates and workshops all claiming to provide you with the skills needed to become a coach and/or mentor.

We can’t say which of these is any good. There are some essentials to look for when finding the right training for you.

No promises about outcomes
It shouldn’t cost the earth
It needs to have a high degree of integrity
It should be practical and experiential
You should feel a compatibility with the people running it
You should be given lots of individual suggestions on how to develop yourself as a coach/mentor
Trust your tummy! Meet up before you sign up and ask lots of questions.

An example of someone who’s ‘doing it’

We can, however, give you an insight into one of the people within Impact Factory who is a coach and mentor and the range of skills she has which help her do the job.

Jo Ellen Grzyb, one of the founding partners, has an eclectic background, which we believe is a good place to start when thinking about training to become a coach and mentor.

We say this because the more experience you have, obviously, the more you bring to the job.

Jo Ellen has worked in the business and arts communities in one form or another, and on both sides of the Atlantic, for 30 years. She trained as a psychotherapist and ran career development courses for a number of years before founding Impact Factory with Robin Chandler 14 years ago.

She has had years of personal psychotherapy and has a monthly session with her own supervisor. She has also changed careers a number of times and has real insight into how to ‘take the plunge’ and move one when something isn’t working well.

She writes, appears on radio and telly.

She’s a brilliant networker and isn’t particularly self-deprecating about what she can offer people.

Through all her years of experience, one consistent theme has been her focus on enabling other people to do their work better.

Most importantly, she has never sat around waiting for someone else to make it happen for her – she’s just gone and done it, success or failure being far less important than the doing.

All of that makes her excellent in her role as a coach and mentor.

So what’s the point?

Why we’ve given you that thumbnail sketch is that we get lots of enquiries from people wanting to become coaches and mentors who are looking for someone else to make it happen for them.

That ain’t going to work.

If you want to train as a coach and mentor, you need to take a good, impartial look at yourself to see if you’ve got what it takes.

Remember earlier we said that everyone seems to getting on the coaching and mentoring bandwagon? Well, we feel pretty strongly that a lot of them should get off. Having said that, the profession is open for good, committed people.

You may be one of them.

Using a Coach or Mentor

How do I get one?

As we can see there’s no shortage of people wanting to become coaches and mentors. But what if you want to use one. Where do you begin?

Of course, the best place to look is your workplace. If they already have a corporate coaching and mentoring programme that you aren’t accessing, get yourself to HR ASAP and ask to be assigned one.

You could also look around your company and identify someone you think would make an excellent coach or mentor and ask them if they’d be willing.

Using either a formal or informal approach is equally effective. The key is working with someone you like, admire and with whom you feel comfortable.

Anything else I should be aware of?

There are a few important things that will help you make the most of your coach or mentor.

Meet with them on a regular basis – whether fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, etc
Set clear objectives
Rely on them for guidance, not answers
Be honest
A mentor isn’t a dumping ground

Using a coach or mentor is one of the best ways to develop yourself and is a great way not to have to go it alone.

Watch the video related to mentor

mentori new 2008

Help answer the question about mentor

About Author

Jo Ellen and Robin run Impact Factory a training company who provide Coaching and Mentoring, Public Speaking, Presentation Skills, Communications Training, Leadership Development and Executive Coaching for Individuals.