What do you do if your mid-career training role requires mentoring and guiding junior colleagues?

I tell everyone in my circle to stay in leadership, it is not a title, it is a responsibility and it is a great mantle to befall on those that are willing to find a platform to help others to grow. Embrace the change and deliver. Seek further knowledge and counsel on how to deliver seamlessly. Understand the interests of the mentees and give a tailored training that aligns with their personal and organization's goals.

Firstly, when you mentor, you learn. That's if you are doing it correctly. Your mentee will ask you things you don't know, and that's your opportunity to share a common learning experience. Collaboration!

For those joined as beginners, there's lot to learn like for them the first stepping stone is discipline - be on time at work and start with the work proactively as guided and instructed. If it's a job profile of a Trainer, then the individual has to start training on time and ensure the decorum is maintained all throughout. Second stepping stone would be open to learning and embracing change rather then let the fear intrude the path of growth through learning. So while mentoring the juniors these were the first steps I had to imbibe in them for the project to run smoothly.

If your mid-career training role requires mentoring and guiding junior colleagues, there are several actions you can take to excel in this aspect of your job: Establish clear communication; Set clear expectations; Provide constructive feedback; Be a role model; Offer guidance and support; Encourage autonomy and independence; Promote a positive learning environment; Stay current. By actively mentoring and guiding your junior colleagues, you not only support their professional development but also contribute to the overall success of your team and organization.

A true leader has the perspective that they are here to serve. Leaders ought to live their life humbly mentoring those a step (or several) behind them - whether it's in their official job description or not. Our future depends on these solid leaders to live out their lives well!

Instead of setting objectives, I would recommend enabling the mentees to set their objectives. That brings more ownership and buy-in of the SMART goals. Engaging with the mentees in each milestone to appreciate, guide and support when they lack a milestone is an important role of mentor. This will strengthen the confidence in their journey

SMART goals are perfect for setting achievable milestones in a career. But, as we have seen the workforce is constantly changing. Setting a mentee up with resources and how to stay informed of best practices has always been my first priority. Helping them know where to find the answers themselves for continued success.

In addition to short-term SMART goals, encourage mentees to envision their long-term career aspirations and personal development objectives. Help them articulate their broader vision and identify milestones that align with their overarching goals.

The team's goals, prioritizations can be made from your knowledge based on your manager's requirements. But it is your team who has to get a complete buy-in while picking the goal. Use agile methodologies and run small sprints with common goals. Like planning poker, your mentees should be groomed enough to pick their goal on their own. They should be able to generate action items, add it to the sprint backlog and start working on it. It is you, who has to direct them in the right way. But do not impose your ideas in them. Your ideas can be suggestions. But, they should decide and take it forward.

When you are in a role to mentor a position that you excel in, just remember to look back and recall what it was like when you first started and what you would have liked someone to have shown you. It's that simple.

Build up your trainees with confidence and the necessary skills to succeed. By doing so, you create future partnerships, a harmonious team, several valuable resources, and so much more. There is never a negative to mentoring and guiding new team members.

Practice empathy by seeking to understand your mentees' perspectives, emotions, and experiences. Show compassion and empathy when listening to their challenges, validating their feelings, and offering support and encouragement.

Trust is basic. Let me share few examples of simple incidents where trust could be broken / not formed 1. Mentor showing up late during a coaching session 2. Not allowing mentee to complete the conversation, but interrupting with one's point of view 3. By sharing real life examples, connecting the mentee's situation directly with a similar example 4. In case of sensitive and emotional information, allow the mentee to come back and share the progress instead of frequent check-in. Sometimes it suffocates one

Allowing mentees to participate actively during site inspections in a controlled environment where there is no or minimal safety risks involved helps speed up the learning curve. Encourage the development of applying technical knowledge along with practical skill set. Make the training enjoyable. Mentees participated in a followup interview with management after completion of their training. Management reported back to training staff with their comments. Ended my 33 year career batting a 1000.

Trust is one virtue which is driven by integrity and value for the relationship. When the employees trust the leader, they are ready to sacrifice small comforts for aligning with the vision and mission of the company. Trust comes from the point of the leader leading by example, and setting principles, which the men , look up to and imbibe in their own professional life

Communication is the cornerstone of any relationship. If directions are clear. Objective is clear. The way to achieve objective is clearly defined. Then it is easier for people to stay on the same page. Clarity in communication, fosters, trust better relationships and clarity which accelerates the growth towards success and achieving the desired outcome.

Communication is not only by words. But the modulation and body language plays a big role. 1. Provide a body language that gets the mentee into comfort zone for the conversation 2. Encourage written form of minutes or action plan and send the required link / materials of any references you provide during the coaching. 3. Listen to understand. If required, take time to reflect on the inputs, work on a suggestion, plan and connect back.

Si on donne aux mentorés la possibilité de nous faire part de leurs commentaires sur notre mentorat, cela nous aidera à améliorer nos compétences en mentorat et à mieux répondre à leurs besoins. C'est une autre fa?on de faciliter la communication.

One of the biggest parts in communication is considering how the message received. What type of audience do you have? Does your mentor receive the message better in person or over Zoom? Then, repeating topics after the conversation to ensure you both are on the same page will benefit both the mentee and the mentor.

Também é relevante saber comunicar claramente sua mensagem para que seu mentorado possa compreender o que você quer transmitir. Sabemos que comunicar é "o ato de tornar comum", ou seja, a comunica??o se dá pela compreens?o da mensagem e n?o, simplesmente pelo falar. Se você quer se comunicar de maneira clara, vale a pena focar no desenvolvimento de duas competências fundamentais: a capacidade de fazer boas perguntas e a escuta ativa para compreender as respostas à essas perguntas. Quanto à primeira competência, dedique-se a treinar perguntar e acalmar sua ansia por falar. Já sobre a escuta ativa, entenda que ela se dá em níveis. Se hoje você ouve apenas para provar seu ponto, comece a ouvir para realmente entender o ponto de vista do outro.

Feedback, for me is a critical component , also varies immensely based on the culture and context. Some cultures encourage good-improvement-good points as style of feedback. Some cultures bring straight forward / direct feedback models. Some are very sensitive to verbal feedback to improve without valid points. So, prepare yourself well , understand cultural patterns of the mentee before sharing the feedback

Prompt them to reflect on their strengths, areas for improvement, and goals, fostering self-awareness and self-evaluation skills.

Está se comunicando? Ent?o é hora de desenvolver sua capacidade de oferecer feedbacks que realmente transformem o outro. Pesquisas apontam que, de modo geral, os líderes n?o s?o bons e nem frequentes em oferecer feedbacks, logo, comece treinando essa competência. E você fará isso aumentando a frequência com que você realiza esse processo. Ofere?a um feedback semanal, de poucos minutos, apenas para conectar-se com o outro. Mais um mensal para combinar e checar entregas. Um terceiro semestral para avalia??o de progresso. Além de mais dois ocasionais: um quando seu liderado inicia em sua equipe, combinando papéis e alinhando expectativas. E outro sempre que ele passar por um processo de desenvolvimento.

Feedback is I critical when mentoring someone because they need to know how they are doing. If they don’t know how they are doing how will they learn and grow? Criticism can be difficult at times, but received in a professional way it makes the person self reflect and grow from that point forward.

You should encourage reflection, but also *start* the reflection conversation. After the completion of a major milestone, you can ask what they think went well, but I find that often times starting by sharing what you noticed went well is a great way to get your teammates thinking critically about their own performance, and feeling comfortable sharing their experiences. During the reflection, try to probe to determine whether they liked the project and if it is something they would like to do more of or less of in the future - this way, you can have both a reflective conversation and prime yourself for a career growth conversation based on their experiences.

Reflection is a critical practice to develop skill. It is not a simple process than can be rushed. It can require soul searching, especially when problems you're addressing are important, messy, or challenging. Noticing and working honestly with objective facts, thoughts, feelings, and your gut responses takes time and what your mentees need most from you is permission to take the time they need to do this well. They also need to feel safe enough to make mistakes, because that's the only way they'll really be able to learn.

I have mentored few of my team members early in my career. Few weeks back, when I was engaging with one of my former colleagues (my former mentor), I was happy with what she said. She said that my mentee is now more responsible and has become a more reliable developer. She appreciated me on the way I groomed him. It is happy to hear my mentee's growth and it is very happy to hear this from my former mentor. Techniques that I usually follow include, 1. Making them define their own goal with complete buy-in 2. Directing them towards the right path 3. Allowing them to experiment 4. Creating interest in new learning 5. Giving constructive feedback 6. Making them analyse their own progress 7. Cheering them on their achievements 8. Listening

In my experience the mentor/protege relationship requires willingness from both parties. A mentor should be open and accessible, but not forceful. The best relationship puts the protege is the “seeking” role and the mentor in the “pouring in” role. It is never a good idea to assume a protege wants your input. They should seek you out as one from whom to pattern their success. As a mentor this means first you must personify what a successful practitioner looks like. It means you must lead and make them want your input. A lot of mentors have this wrong. Be the picture of success for your team; they will seek you out without having to force yourself on them. The best assurance is when they are sent to you or they find you.

In a midcareer training role that involves mentoring junior colleagues, it's essential to establish a supportive and constructive relationship with them. Listen actively to their concerns and challenges, providing guidance and feedback tailored to their needs and skill level. Encourage them to ask questions, share knowledge, and take on new responsibilities gradually to foster their professional growth.

Having been both a mentor and a mentee, I can honestly say that sometimes, the thing that brought you into a mentorship relationship may feel like the last thing you discuss when life truly presents large challenges. It can be emotional and messy and so full of the really good stuff of life.