Winter 2017

Mentoring

Systematic steps to support system-wide changeThis newsletter series is sponsored as a service for the value analysis, contracting, and materials management professionals by C. R. Bard, Inc.

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Dear Reader:

If we could learn everything we need to know from books, we wouldn’t need mentors. They teach

us the “how” and the “why” of the way things work – or don’t work. Mentoring is a process as old as

mankind, and especially valuable to Value Analysis Professionals looking to expand skills and enrich

lives – theirs and those of others.

That’s why this issue of the newsletter is devoted to mentoring, what it takes to be a mentor or

mentee, and how to go about it. Inside we give you a brief rundown, along with tips, tools, and ways to

get started. In addition, we’ve included the mentoring Viewpoints of our board, professionals like you.

Among them, you’ll note a new name, that of Jeannie Vaughn, MHA, RN, CVAHP, Clinical Resource

Director at Mission Hospital, Mission Health System, Asheville, NC. We welcome Jeannie with this

issue. You can read more about her on Page 3.

Not everyone is cut out for mentoring, but if you have an interest, we hope this helps spur you along.

As always, if you know of others who might enjoy this issue -- and subsequent newsletters on a regular

basis -- please email me at carol.stone@crbard.com and we’ll add them to our mailing list.

Carol StoneVice President Corporate MarketingC. R. Bard, Inc.

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changes, contact information, and product categories, it’s a handy guide to all that is –

as well as that which was – the BARD family you know and love.

And may the New Year be your best one yet!

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Share your view as a Viewpoint Guest! If you – or someone you know – would be willing to share your viewpoint on the topic of one of our up-coming newsletters, please contact Editor Wendy

Lemke at wendy.lemke@crbard.com.

? What’s Your View ?

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Mentoring Practical PersPective

“Mentoring is a joint venture. Successful mentoring requires that both parties share responsibility for

learning and sustaining the relationship.” Mary Abbajay, The Working Life: The Importance of Workplace Mentors

“It takes time to build a mentoring relationship. It takes time to add value to other peoples’ lives.” Tony Dungy, The Mentor Leader

The first thing to know about mentoring: it is not a science. Like most “soft” skills, it relies heavily on instinct and intuition. People have different goals and different life experiences. Some seek answers, some confirmation. The art of mentoring lies in knowing not so much of what to say, as how and when to say it. [Peddy]

Which doesn’t mean that mentoring comes without guidelines. It is, after all, a process, though not an altogether linear one. Peddy boils it down to three steps:

1. Lead – show through modeling, experience, or example.2. Follow – advise and counsel when asked.3. Get out of the way – withdraw while leaving the door open for a more collegial relationship.

Getting startedSome organizations have formal mentoring

programs. In others you must seek out a prospective mentor or mentee on your own based on complimentary background, chemistry, or talent. Maybe a peer, maybe a new member of your Value Analysis team. Age is not a factor; reverse mentoring is a norm these days, especially where new technologies are concerned.

Initial meetings are for laying out ground rules: frequency and method of contact (ideally monthly in-person but not a given), goals (of each party), expectations (be specific), duration (six months the norm, renewal an option), boundaries (time, space, and confidentiality) as well as milestones, methods of feedback, and a plan for disengaging.

How to open the dialogue? Look for common ground, reveal something about yourself, ask open-ended questions, particularly those that give one permission to speak honestly. Do you both come from nursing? The military? The same part of the country? Your goal is to know your protégé – and vice versa. It’s a relationship built on trust.

Roles and rulesThe second thing to know about mentoring: there is no single right answer. Start with an update: “How’s it going?” As a mentor, your role is to help your protégé find solutions.

Some may be to problems or behaviors he or she may not be aware of: frustration over a miscommunication, friction within a team. The role of the mentor is to actively listen, share like experience, help review the options, then offer advice ONLY IF ASKED. The key question: How do you want things to come out?

There may be some teaching involved: how to listen, how to present, how to write a report. When giving feedback, always ask for permission, focus exclusively on the situation at hand, and explain your recommendation without philosophizing. If you mess up, apologize, acknowledge their right to be angry, and make amends. Avoid counseling on personal problems, except as it may affect performance; you may want to refer to a professional.

Saying good-byeThe goal of the mentoring relationship is for it to gradually diminish until the needs of both parties have been met. By definition, mentorships are developmental relationships, and when development has occurred they need to end. This can be hard for both parties, who ideally have formed a bond over time.Over the course of the relationship, you will have revisited goals and milestones; this should have been one of them. To ease, hold a formal time of recognition.

Mentoring theoretical PersPective

“M entoring is an act of generativity- .a process of bringing into existence and passing on a

professional legacy.” Johnson & Ridley, The Elements of Mentoring

“Everyone needs mentors to help them grow and excel – even after they reach upper management.” Shepard, Stimmler & Dean, Breaking into the Boys Club

Who was your first mentor? Your mom? A sib? That big kid down the block? They showed you the ropes, taught you what’s what, helped you grow, move on, move up. If you’re like most Value Analysis Professionals, you’ve had someone in your working world who’s acted in much the same way. Formally or informally, mentoring helps us make our way through the unknown territories of our lives.

A mentor is a mix of teacher, coach, counselor, and/or advisor – all to a group of one. [Peddy] In the workplace, a mentor can let you in on the unspoken rules that can make or break your day, your way, or even your career. Who

to enlist, who to avoid, how best to get projects approved. Shared experiences that build on a network of knowledge and enrich all parties as well as the organization.

That’s because mentoring is a river that flows both ways; the mentee is not the only one who benefits. In addition to personal satisfaction, mentoring can provide the mentor with the opportunity to expand his or her own knowledge base: new perspectives, new ideas, new organizational contacts, perhaps some insights into new technologies, along with the chance to hone existing leadership skills.

All this may seem a little old hat to Value Analysis Professionals who, through their clinical backgrounds, are familiar with analogous “preceptor” programs widely used in many medical settings. Mentoring programs work especially well in healthcare environments where evidence-based curriculum is supplemented with one-on-one and small group discussion and role modeling among cohorts and peers. [Todaro]

So what makes a good mentor?• Genuine interest• Desire to help others• Commitment• Active listener• Relevant skills/knowledge• Up front about own failures• Open to learning • Supportive• Confidential• Skilled in coaching and feedback

Likewise, mentees need to be willing, receptive, committed, and open to change, with a good sense of self and a genuine interest in personal growth. Change is a deliberate process. Mentoring is a protected relationship, a professional friendship, in which learning and experimentation can take place through listening with empathy, sharing experience, and developing insights through reflection and trust.

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VA PeoPle

Viewpoint

Bard Winter 2017

A RoundtAble on MentoRing

Sharing their views with longtime Editorial Board members Dylan Lawler, Terri Nelson, and Gina Thomas is newcomer Jeannie Vaughn. The topic: mentors, mentees, and mentoring in general.

Q: Who was your first or most memorable mentor?Dylan: My high school wrestling coach. Wrestling is a lot about knowing yourself, your flaws and weaknesses, how to address them, figure them out. He was my model, always looking for teaching opportunities. I’ve carried that experience over, using it both at work and in my coaching a Little League team.Gina: My first? My mom. She was a nurse, but never pushed me in a specific direction, when I was trying to decide my own path, but listened and provided me with opportunities so I could make my own decision. She’s still the standard I measure others against personally and professionally.Terri: My first director of nursing at Mayo. She hired me and worked with me in a number of roles. She had a presence, but was approachable, gave good feedback that was character building, not deflating. Jeannie: I’ve had a couple. One was a leader who taught us to be proactive, to look and move forward, the importance of not staying stagnant. The other, when I was a new manager, was a CFO/Controller who taught me finance from a hospital aspect while she’d ask me questions about the clinical side. We helped each other.

Q: Were you ever in a mentoring program at work?Gina: Yes, as a mentor, with two or three people a year typically from other business segments with monthly check-ins, goal setting and a formal agreement signed around expectations. Dylan: In the Army it was mandatory mentoring, but in more of a group setting with open discussion. Not really my idea of mentoring.Gina: There’s a difference between coaching, mentoring and advising. For instance, mentoring is a two-way activity where the other two are one-way and may not be requestedTerri: I was a mentor in a program through our department of finance, though it was a fit with my nursing/nurturing background. But my mentee was focused on the balance sheet, not communication; she had specific goals and objectives. Short story: I directed her toward another mentor, but that’s part of being a mentor too.Jeannie: In an assigned program, you have to be open minded, but there needs to be a “fit.”Dylan: It has to be mutual for both parties, a willingness to share history, knowledge, learning from another’s experience. There’s always an opportunity to learn.

Q: Would you do it again?Jeannie: Absolutely. It’s in my nature.Gina: Definitely and continue to do so. Overall, because I enjoy helping others, not just toward a job but a goal. And I find it rewarding for myself since I’ve learned a fair amount around other perspectives and additional knowledge. If there isn’t an existing relationship, the mentoring could be awkward if expectations aren’t outlined and agreed upon at the beginning. Terri: It can be a positive experience for both parties. Like seeing your staff develop to another level. You feel proud, a sense of accomplishment.

Q: How can being a mentor or mentee benefit the Value Analysis Professional?Jeannie: Often people are dropped into Value Analysis not knowing the resources. It’s not clinical, it’s not supply chain; there’s a different thought process. You need to know where to go to for information.Terri: When people start in Value Analysis they want the tools, but that’s not the meat of the job. You need to know the organization, what’s the culture, who are the stakeholders? That’s what mentoring can offer.Dylan: How to navigate the politics and pitfalls. It’s a process. And there’s

always something you can learn.

Q: Any tips or caveats?Dylan: Know the person. When starting up, it’s about open communication, not just being told a bunch of things.Terri: Whichever role you’re in, see both sides and learn from it. Every opportunity is a learning opportunity.Jeannie: You have to know your own communication style. I tend to be pretty straightforward; it can be off-putting. You may have to modify it for your audience.Gina: Be clear about expectations. Prioritize goals and communicate them. Speak up, but not confrontationally. A mentor doesn’t have to have all the answers but can help find the resources.Jeannie: Have fun. This is why people got into healthcare; they’ve got that service gene. It all flows naturally from there.

Meet Jeannie VaughnThe newest member of our editorial board, Jeannie Vaughn is the clinical resource director at Mission Hospital in Asheville, NC, responsible for development of product utilization and standardization strategies and collaboration within clinical service lines and supply chains. Jeannie, who always knew she wanted to be a nurse, is a registered nurse with a nursing background in Medical and Surgical areas, Women’s Surgical Unit, ICU, SSS, PACU, and served as Director of Admitting before launching into value analysis in 2001. Recognized for her work within value analysis, she has presented on value analysis at numerous national and regional meetings. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from St Leo’s College in St Leo, FL and a masters in healthcare administration from St. Francis University, Joliet, Illinois. She is a member of AHVAP and AHRMM and recently achieved her certification in value analysis.

For More on MentoringApps• ShaperBooks• The Manager as a Mentor by Michael Marquardt & Peter Loan • Mentoring 101 by John C. MaxwellPrograms• AHRMM Mentor Program, Association for Healthcare and

Materials Management, ahrmm@aha.org• AHVAP Preceptor/Protégé Program, Association of Health-

care Value Analysis Professionals, info@ahvap.org

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*Dylan Lawlor, MT (ASCP) Manager, Value Analysis Greenville [SC] Health System

*Terri Nelson, RN, BS, MA Value Analysis Manager, Supply Chain Management Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN

*Gina Thomas, RN, BSN, MBA, CMRP, FAHRMM Chief Development Officer Procured Health

*Jeannie Vaughn, MHA, RN, CVAHP Clinical Resource Director

Mission Hospital, Mission Health SystemAsheville, NC

Carol Stone Editor-in-Chief Vice President, Corporate Marketing C. R. Bard, Inc., Murray Hill, NJ

Wendy Lemke Editor Manager, Corporate Marketing C. R. Bard, Inc., Murray Hill, NJ Katherine Hause

Editorial Services, Hause & Hause

Laura Bell Graphic Illustrator Corporate Marketing C. R. Bard, Inc., Murray Hill, NJ

EDITORIAL BOARD

Sources for this issue include:1. Abbajay, Mary, The Working Life: The Importance of Workplace Mentors, Cornerstone Group LLC, cornerstonegroup.com.2. Cottrell, David. Monday Morning Mentoring, Harper Collins, New York, NY, 2006.3. Davies, Patrick Fritts. The New Managerial Mentor. Black Publishing, Palo Alto, CA, 1998.4. Dungy, Tony. The Mentor Leader, Tynddale House, Carol Stream, IL, 2010.5. Johnson, W. Brad & Ridley, Charles. The Elements of Mentoring, Palgrave MacMillan, New York, NY, 2004.6. Mentoring Program Documents, AHVAP, 2016.7. Moore, Karl. The Modern Mentor in a Millennial Workplace, Forbes, forbes.com, 2014.8. Mosley, Pixie Anne. Staying Successful as a Middle Manager, Libraries Unlimited, Westport, CT, 2009.9. Peddy, Shirley. The Art of Mentoring, Bullion Books, Houston, TX, 1998.10. Shepard, Molly; Stimmler, Jane; Dean, Peter. Breaking into the Boys Club, Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, MD, 2009.11. Todaro, Julie. Mentoring A to Z, American Library Association, Chicago, IL, 2015.12. Wellington, Sheila. Be Your Own Mentor, Random House, New York, NY, 2001. 13. What Is Workplace Mentoring? Workforce Development, das.nh.gov.

Effective EmailsReview goals and achievements, acknowledge intangible gifts and lessons learned. Then focus on how to apply these to the next level, finally suggesting how or whether the relationship is to continue, and identifying ways to keep in touch.

As with anything, a successful mentoring relationship depends on the dedication of the participants. The principles of mentoring are simple; the success is up to you.

What’s that Mean?A Brief Glossary of Terms

Coaching – Method of directing/training/instructing to develop skills or achieve goal.

Counseling – Process of giving advice, recommending action or correcting performance.

Hard skills – Ability to carry out technical/professional job requirements.

Institutional knowledge – Facts/concepts/experiences/insights of an organization acquired over time.

Knowledge transfer – Process of transmitting organization/process knowledge gained through experience.

Mentoring – Developmental relationship between one more experienced (mentor) and one less experienced (mentee) to share technical information, institutional knowledge, and/or insight about an occupation/profession/ organization/endeavor.

Organizational culture – Attitudes/experiences/beliefs/values of an organization that defines the way in which members conduct themselves.

Preceptor – See mentor.

Protégé – See mentee.

Soft skills – Ability to interact effectively, obtain acceptance, build consensus and provide assistance and leadership.

Stakeholder – Person/group/organization/system that can affect or be affected by the actions of an organization.

Ref: What is Workplace Mentoring?

Mentoring Practical PersPective

• Be on time for meetings, both real and virtual • Come prepared, ready to work• Give your undivided attention; put away the

cell phone• Follow up on commitments and goals• Give and accept criticism gracefully• Be loyal, don’t criticize your partner publicly• Introduce your partner to colleagues and

contacts• Thank your partner for their time

ETIQUETTE

AHVAP Adds Mentoring ProgramThe Association of Healthcare Value Analysis Professionals (AHVAP) has launched a new mentoring program, one specifically designed for members of a very specialized community, the Healthcare Value Analysis Professional. It’s a move that fills a need, according to Wanda Lane, Clinical Value Analysis Manager for Regional One Health in Memphis, TN, and AHVAP mentoring program leader.

“Value Analysis is, in actuality, a relatively young profession,” says Lane. “Once solely a product committee, it’s now more about process.”

That’s where the mentoring comes in – only at AHVAP, mentors are referred to as preceptors and their mentees as protégés. The reason, says Lane, is because many in the profession come from the clinical side, where the concept of a preceptor is both familiar and understood.

Developed over the past six months, the AHVAP program has already enlisted 50 participants, equally split between mentors and mentees. Pairing will be determined by geography (so participants can actually meet), personal request, and personalities (including background, goals, and skill sets). Intended to be intensive learning experiences, the mentoring relationships are designed to last only six months, with six-month renewals an option. While AHVAP offers guidelines for both mentors and mentees, details are left to the participants, who are only asked for feedback at the end of the mentoring period.

“There’s a sense of excitement in helping people to connect in this formal/informal way,” says Jeffiny Shutts, Director of National Accounts MedAproved and Chair of AHVAP Marketing Committee, developed the mentoring materials for the AHVAP program.

AHVAP is still looking for participants, to serve on the committee as well as mentors and mentees. For more information, contact Wanda Lane at wlane@RegionalOneHealth.org.

* These healthcare professionals have been compensated by C. R. Bard, Inc. for their time and effort in contributing to this publication. This newsletter series is sponsored as a service for the value analysis, contracting, and materials management professionals by C. R. Bard, Inc. Comments or suggestions on newsletter format or topics of interest may be forwarded to Wendy Lemke, wendy. lemke@crbard.com or (908) 277-8491. CORP 17-11

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