Avionics News November 2012 - 54

BUSINESS BASICS

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If he or she said yes, you can get to the real work, and it will be work. “You need to bring yourself fully and completely,” Zachary said. “When you’re bringing yourself, you’re not just bringing your job title; you’re bringing your whole collection of worldly experience to the table. That means you have to bring openness, and you have to be willing to be vulnerable.” You should bring awareness of your strengths and weaknesses to ask for specific, constructive feedback. Give feedback in return and communicate openly, which allows the mentor to walk in your shoes, provide the best advice and help you help yourself. You may also need to do some actual work on reports, presentations, readings and other projects your mentor suggests would be useful, or even keeping a mentoring journal to allow you to reflect regularly on your learning, remember specific insights and consider how to use this new knowledge in the future.

LEADING LEARNING Once you have prepared the relationship, the next step is negotiating how you will work together, including your expectations and the ground rules to use, Zachary said. These include confidentiality agreements, boundaries (for example, no calls after 7 p.m. or weekends), frequency of mid-month email check-ins, where and when to meet and work agreements for how to progress. You might also define what mentoring metaphor to use. According to Ensher, the mentor may be a doctor who diagnoses problems or a pace-car driver who slows you down and gets you reorganized. While there aren’t any hard-and-fast rules about how frequently you should meet, research suggests the more frequently mentors and protégés interact, the better the outcome, Ensher said. Certainly, your goal should be one monthly in-person meeting with a few minutes of follow-up by email every week. Of course, if you’re working on a project or deadline together, you may want to meet more frequently, but communicate your intentions clearly.

Pay it Forward
If you’re in need of occasional insight, chances are good your people do, too – especially those new to your company and who may one day fill your seat in the front office. For them, consider an in-house mentoring program. In-house mentoring can take several forms, whether it’s peer-to-peer, senior-to-junior or even junior-to-senior in those areas where employees possess unique knowledge. Indeed, mentoring is good leadership training, according to Lois Zachary, author of The Mentee’s Guide. Both use many of the same learning, communication and collaborative skills.

Putting Mentoring to Work in Your Shop
Your shop’s specific needs will vary, but consider that new hires should be mentored as part of their onboarding process, as well as newly promoted employees who are growing into new positions. Specific projects or learning needs may also warrant attention, too. Make mentoring part of your culture by providing meeting places and times where both parties can come together and build relationships. Be sure you manage for the behavior, and include it in performance evaluations to provide rewards for mentors who volunteer their expertise in service of the organization. Provide public recognition for them as well. q

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Avionics News November 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News November 2012