Mentoring

Mentoring for communicators

There are many ways a mentor can help:

- When you have an inexperienced team member whose been thrown into the deep end

- If you don’t have the time or experience yourself to help out

- When the project’s high risk, and you’d like a bit of extra expertise

- Or you want someone who’s done it before to talk through the process, brainstorm ideas, help see it through

For you 

As a communication professional, who do you turn when you're stuck? How do you improve your ability to influence others and improve your own communication skills? Having contact with an expert who can help you through makes sense.

A member of your team 

Or, as a manager, there maybe one of your reports whom you believe needs help with communication, to develop a strategy or to improve their own skills. 

The team itself 

A team which needs to make progress and may have some poor dynamics or need to improve their communication can benefit from expert mentoring. 

How it works

A mentor is usually appointed by a manager to support a valued member of his/her team who needs targeted support on a specific project.  The mentor gives one-on-one support to the mentee, and reports back to the manager. Focus is on achieving the immediate business priority whilst building the knowledge, skill and confidence of the mentee.
A kind of ‘teacher-pupil’ relationship which assumes skill and talent on all sides.

The approach

1. Contracting meeting between manager, mentee and mentor to set clear project and development objectives.
2. Mentor and mentee work together to create project plan showing objectives, timelines, key deliverables, performance goals.
3. Mentor and mentee work together to deliver the plan.
4. Regular meetings between mentor and mentee to review the project plan, eg two hours a week, plus telephone support when needed.
5. Mentor focuses on giving the mentee the skills and support to deliver the task.
6. End of project review (attended by manager, mentee and mentor).
7. Mentor provides written review including development suggestions for mentee.

InComms consultancy partner, Saffron House, can help you improve your communication effectiveness and increase your ability to lead and influence change. Our skilled professional has previously headed up internal communication in three FTSE 100 businesses and is fully qualified through the Diploma in Leadership Mentoring and Executive Coaching, Institute of Leadership & Management.