Mentoring employees is no longer just a case of coaching, life skills, techniques, capabilities and experiential sharing, but also driving transformational change, says writer Chloe Herrick, Computerworld – Australia.
She reports that IT leaders are being advised to change their approach to mentoring programs to focus not just on the individual, but instead on maximising the individual’s potential in the context of the organisation.
IT consultant, Rob Livingstone, told attendees at a Not for Profits Forum in Sydney this week that mentoring employees is no longer just a case of coaching, life skills, techniques, capabilities and experiential sharing, but also driving transformational change by focussing on issues impacting employees negatively. Livingstone is also a mentor with the CIO Executive Council’s Pathways ICT leadership program, a 12-month program that helps senior IT staff develop their business acumen and management skills.
I think Livingstone is right on the mark, not just for IT companies, but for all forward-thinking organizations. Leaders should also be willing to enhance their one-to-one communication skills when supporting a mentoring partner through organizational transformation. Weathering these changes often requires a personal transformation with regard to accepting and adapting to those changes. Once there, mentoring can foster breakthrough-thinking and innovation.
At Odyssey Mentoring, we provide training for mentoring partners so they can achieve optimum impact from their work together.
– Listening
– Being a Keen Observer
– Understanding Differences – Diversity & Personality Styles
– The Conversational Dance to Insight, Action & Accountability
– Debriefing Successes & Failures
-Sharing your Network and Sponsorship
These skills make for better mentors, mentees and overall – better leaders. Win-win-win.
Downloaded 4/13/2011. To read the full article click here: http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/380072/it_leaders_urged_transform_mentoring_styles/?c=503741
