Mentoring
Don’t start a mentoring programme at work - unless you do it right
- Published on 19 Aug 2014
- Axel Rittershaus
I recently had a great conversation with an executive, during which we spoke about leadership, coaching and mentoring. He mentioned his company supports their executives with coaches. However, his company is aware that a coach isn't the right person for educating young executives on topics such as the company-internal rules and guidelines, and networks of influence. Even if the coach has worked with the company for many years, it isn't his job to educate his 'coachee'. My companion explained how he and his company had developed a solution to this challenge - one which is proving popular throughout many organisations.
Women-to-women mentoring – the future of business networks?
- Published on 14 Aug 2014
- Frew Murdoch
Mentoring is not a new concept - we've all heard of the Old Boy's club but what about an Old Girl's club? We're almost halfway into Women's month and it's time for women at work to take a proactive stance at climbing the ladder of success. One way of doing this is to encourage women–to-women mentoring, says Dalene Sechele, head of human resources at Mercantile Bank. Sechele believes that women-to-women mentoring is important as female mentors have a better understanding of the difficulties women face in the workplace. What are the benefits of women-to-women mentoring?
The case for coaching in a business environment
- Published on 24 Jun 2014
- Sue Welman
The news of Lindiwe Mazibuko's departure from the DA, and the subsequent press storm, quickly became a PR nightmare for DA leader Helen Zille. Then again, it's not as if the newspapers have been any kinder to her political counterparts. Each of these leaders would've benefited from the input of a business coach. This might seem a contrary statement: after all, coaching is usually seen as a tool for people hoping to improve their performance, something that's most suited to junior or mid-level employees. In reality, those at the top of their game are just as likely to benefit.
The value of power hour sessions for mentors
- Published on 23 Jun 2014
- Nomhle Kula
For mentoring to be successful, an environment needs to be created where mentors can identify learning opportunities and encourage knowledge-sharing. Various tools and methods help to translate the classroom experience into something more tactical and engaging for the recipient. Another technique that can be used is called a "power hour session for mentors". Read on to discover more about this methodology.
How to use gamification to accelerate the bond between mentors and mentees: Part 2
- Published on 14 Apr 2014
- Sandra Schlebusch
Last week, I spoke about how some mentoring programmes can be quite costly. I also spoke about how having mentors - in senior positions in the organisation - away from the office at the same time creates problems. An alternative has to be found. Today, I'm going to give you the solution that we came up with, which uses gamification.
