Consulting-Specifying Engineer - February 2008 - (Page 30)

Seven keys to being a mentor 1. Available. Be willing to spend time, invite interaction, and willing to share. 2. Walks the talk. Earn the respect of your peers and industry through your actions and words. 3. Communicative. Listen openly, ask sound questions, and proffer advice that is respectful, not demeaning. 4. Trustworthy. Inspire trust by being available and present, and being genuinely interested in the lives and careers of your mentees. 5. Interested. Be zealously curious about your field, business, or community. 6. Humble. Have a level of humility—see mentoring as a way to give back to your field of engineering, not a way to feed your egos. 7. Educated. A good mentor is one who is always learning new things in your field, and you recognize what you can learn from your mentee. Seven keys to being a mentee 1. Aware. Make a list of your top business and industry goals for a mentoring relationship. This provides focus. 2. Courageous. Be willing to try out new ideas, even if they seem foreign in relation to your way of thinking. 3. Inquisitive. Wonder and be willing to ask questions, conduct research, and discover new networks. 4. Studious. Be prepared to research, think, and document before, during, and after meetings with your mentor. 5. Honest. As a good mentee, you have to be honest and open in defining your needs, expectations, and current situation with your mentor. 6. Responsible. You must be able to accept responsibility for your career, how it grows, and your active role in that growth. 7. Open minded. Be able to accept constructive criticism and really think about its implications for your advancement toward goals. External—informal: Mentoring occurs in the informal relationships we build due to a need or information we seek. These are friendships with other engineers from other firms, people we meet in the day-to-day work of our professions, and those who we go back to often for clarity and guidance. We are all familiar with the one mentoring relationship we had in high school or college with our teacher, professor, parent, or person who first ignited our interests in engineering. The core of any working mentoring system, internal or external, formal or informal, is the strength of the relationship. Mentoring relationships can last a lifetime. So much depends on the individuals involved, from their personalities to their goals to what happens in their lives involving and apart from their careers. The best mentoring relationships have two things in common: consistency and preparation. To continue to move learning forward and be successful at implementing new behaviors and attitudes, frequent contact is required. This contact, via face-to-face meetings, video conferencing, phone calls, or e-mails, should include an update from the mentee on recent progress of projects or goals that was discussed previously. A mentor’s job always is to have two pictures in mind: the big picture of the mentee’s goal in relation to the industry as a whole, and the immediate details being implemented by the mentee. In terms of preparation, it is vital that mentees come prepared with a mental agenda and express it to the mentor. Take notes. Create action items during meetings. It’s good to ask questions, ruminate on a mentor’s advice and knowledge, and to be respectful and thankful of that person’s time. Mentors get a lot out of positive mentoring relationships—often as much as the mentees. And here’s a novel idea: If you’re a seasoned engineer who has been reading this and entertaining the idea of becoming a mentor, let me suggest that you also consider becoming a mentee. As experienced engineers, you could benefit from finding mentors among the younger generations who can show you around the Internet, keep you abreast of new software programs, and inform you of events and conferences that were previously unknown. For those engineers staring off the cliff of retirement, think about finding a mentor who has made the jump into semi-retirement. Someone who is contributing to the field as an independent consultant, adjunct professor, or invited speaker can provide great insight into taking the next steps. We should ask ourselves: What is my immediate challenge or need at work? The answer to this question is the focus that drives our search to finding the right fit for a mentoring relationship. Amy Smith is training manager for PSAV Presentation Services, and received her doctorate in curriculum and instruction in adult education. She also was a professor at Kent State University and Western Oregon University. References Benabou, C. and Benabou, R. 2000. Establishing a Formal Mentoring Program for Organizational Success. National Productivity Review 19(4): 1-8. Durkin, D. 2007. How Loyalty and Employee Engagement Add Up to Corporate Profits. Chief Learning Officer 6(11): 30-34. Hoare, C. 2006. Handbook of Adult Development and Learning. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Holloway, J.H. 2001. Research Link/The Benefits of Mentoring. Educational Leadership 58(8): 85-86. Mossop, C. 2008. Aligning Mentoring Programs with Business Strategy: Best Practice #1 for Mentoring Program Design. HR Voice, Human Resources Management Assn. 32(3). 30 Consulting-Specifying Engineer • FEBRUARY 2008

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Consulting-Specifying Engineer - February 2008 Contents Viewpoint News M/E Roundtable How To Write Control Sequences Mentoring Engineers: Myths, Motivations, and Models Keep Young Electrical Engineers Grounded Protecting a Vulnerable Population Codes & Standards Case Study New Products Equipment Lifecycles Advertisers Index Green Space

Consulting-Specifying Engineer - February 2008

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