{"id":216,"date":"2020-01-20T15:34:03","date_gmt":"2020-01-20T22:34:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/articles.thescpgroup.ca\/?p=216"},"modified":"2020-01-20T15:34:03","modified_gmt":"2020-01-20T22:34:03","slug":"mentoring-in-times-of-organizational-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scpg.ca\/worthreading\/2020\/01\/20\/mentoring-in-times-of-organizational-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Mentoring in Times of Organizational Change"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Article by Yvonne Thevenot<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tapped\n for an executive appointment?  Job gone? Applying for your second-third\n role? Applying for a new role, new department Declined for a role? Been\n promoted overseas?…..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The list goes on!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As\n we consider these crucial career moments it is almost guaranteed that \nif you have experienced any of these, you will think of the role of the \npersons who helped you think through your journey, helped you stay \npositive, and focused despite the ambiguity, and who absolutely believed\n in you every step of the way.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\n is a strong likelihood that the people you are thinking of, are your \nmentors. \u201cDear Mentor, Something is Changing\u2026!\u201d by Yvonne Thevenot, \nICM-P, ACM-F, CCMP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow could they possibly have been my mentor?  They never once told me what I should do!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A\n common myth of mentoring is that the mentor provides the answers.  The \nmentor somehow knows the right path for the mentee and instructs them \nalong their journey.  The mentee, grateful for the mentor\u2019s wisdom \nfollows the path, and somehow magically all turns out just right.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Magical, mythical, and\u2026not true.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A\n mentor in fact will guide their mentee through questions, and with \nthoughtful listening, support and encouragement, will help the mentee \nuncover the answers for themselves, framed in their goals, their values,\n and their personal commitment to themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So why then a mentor in a time of change?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In \u201cEmployee\u2019s Survival Guide to Change<\/a>\u201d\n by Jeffrey M. Hiatt, he asks the employee to ask themselves the \nquestion \u201cwhat does this change mean to me?\u201d  The power of engaging a \nmentor in times of change truly stems the power and simplicity of this \nquestion. While of course someone can ask themselves this question, \nimagine how even more powerful this question will be coming from the \nvoice of your mentor.  And through reflecting your thoughts back to you,\n allowing you to consider this question even more deeply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. What does this change mean to you?<\/li>
  2. What do you love about what this change holds in store?<\/li>
  3. What has you worried, or concerned?<\/li>
  4. How have you helped yourself explore the alternatives?<\/li>
  5. If you chose not to make this change, then what?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Broad-based\n organizational change often impacts multiple levels of the organization\n at the same time.  What that means then, is that just around the time \nthat you might want to talk to your manager about the impact of a \nchange, they are experiencing all the anxiety, ambiguity and complexity \nof change themselves.  A manager may have a vested personal interest in \nyour change that may be challenging to set aside to have a mentoring \ndiscussion centered on strictly your goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So, if you \nfind yourself in the middle of a change, feeling anxious, unfocused and \nconflicted, this is no doubt the perfect time to reach out to your \nmentor.  And when you do, keep these tips in mind:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Your\n mentor will guide you, ask you questions and help you think, but cannot\n possibly know what is \u201cbest\u201d for you. Why the mentee asks even more \nquestions of the mentor. The connection is complementary!<\/li>
    2. You\n will feel emotional:  hopeful, angry, sad, excited, conflicted.  Notice\n and accept those emotions as expected, human, and welcome \u2013 take some \ndeep breaths, and allow yourself to transition to a space of clarity of \nthought and a plan for next steps.<\/li>
    3. It\u2019s ok to change \nyour mind.  As more information is available, as you transition through \nthe change, you can fully expect your first impression or bias changes \nas well.  That would be reflected in your views even on as simple a \nquestion as \u201cwhat does this change mean to you?\u201d<\/li>
    4. Accept\n that information will be incomplete and do not spend \u201cmental calories\u201d \ntrying to solve the unsolvable.  Life is full of decisions that we make \nwith incomplete information, accept that this might be another on that \nlist.<\/li>
    5. And if you don\u2019t have a mentor to reach out to \u2013\n make the most of a journal to pose some questions for yourself and then\n in a thoughtful and mindful way, respond with all the honesty and \ncandour to yourself that a mentor would demand of you.  <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

       And mentors, some tips for you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      1. Resist\n the urge to \u201ctell\u201d:  be extra diligent about jotting questions down in \nadvance and prepare your mind to listen deeply to what is being said\u2026and\n not said!<\/li>
      2. Accept that your mentee may be emotional:  \n mentally prepare for this and have a plan of how you will stay in the \nmoment, and respond.<\/li>
      3. Be prepared for \u201cI don\u2019t know\u201d \nand understand that may in fact be true:  your mentee simply may NOT \nknow at that moment. Your role is to scratch at that with the next set \nof probing questions such as \u201cwhat additional information would be \nhelpful?\u2026.\u201dhave you tried writing down the pros and cons\u201d\u2026 \u201chave you \nbeen in this position before and how did you move through it then\u201d\u2026.<\/li>
      4. Support\n the dialogue with proactivity:  an off-cycle check-in may be just the \nfriendly reach-out that your mentee needed\u2026but didn\u2019t know how to ask \nfor.<\/li>
      5. Be prepared to have unfinished business:  \nsometimes as your mentee \u201ccrosses over\u201d into a more contented and \nfocused state they may not even realize that you helped them get there, \nand you may simply stop hearing from them or being updated as they move \nonto the business of their future.  Understand your role on the path has\n been of value, and knowing that life always has more change to offer, \nthey will no doubt be back.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        Best wishes, and Happy Mentoring!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Article by Yvonne Thevenot Tapped for an executive appointment?  Job gone? Applying for your second-third role? Applying for a new role, new department Declined for a role? Been promoted overseas?….. The list goes on!   As we consider these crucial career moments it is almost guaranteed that if you have experiencedContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":217,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2,7,9,10,13,15],"tags":[32,50,59,68,90,102,103,131],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scpg.ca\/worthreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scpg.ca\/worthreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scpg.ca\/worthreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scpg.ca\/worthreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scpg.ca\/worthreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/scpg.ca\/worthreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scpg.ca\/worthreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scpg.ca\/worthreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scpg.ca\/worthreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scpg.ca\/worthreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}