The Mentor Newsletter April 2012

In this issue:

April 2012

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Me

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The Mentor

Mentoring Scheme Launch at Whiston

HospitalYour First Year as a Mentor:

What every new mentor needs to know!

Network Learning Event:

Appreciative Inquiry for Mentors

Understanding Motivation

www.nwmentor ing.nhs.uk

mailto:[email protected]


2 Mentoring for innovation, integration and leadership

Welcome & News in Brief

Welcome to The Mentor! We are delighted to share the news that the Scheme will continue to be hosted by Greater Manchester West until April 2013. It is testament to the success of the Scheme, commitment of our staff and loyalty of our members that we continue to grow. It is also indicative of the how the benefits of developmental mentoring are extending across the region.

This year we will be publicising our commitments to you, our members, and letting you know what you can expect from us. We are also promoting our development and learning opportunities for the next year. This will include a number of free workshops and masterclasses that you will be able to access in venues across the region. As always we are really keen to give you the development opportunities you want and so we really would encourage you to get

in touch with your ideas and suggestions.

I hope you have had chance to take a look at our brand new website. I think it looks fantastic – it’s so much more user friendly and links seamlessly to Mentor Net. Thanks to everyone for their endeavours to get it working so well done. Let us know what you think!

Finally I’d like to announce a new member of staff, Michael Almond. Michael will be providing administrative support to the team and our members. Michael has been with us for a couple of weeks now and we are delighted to see how well he has settled in. We hope you will extend him a warm welcome into the Scheme.

Thank you for your continued support of the Scheme and enjoy your newsletter!

Rob

Contact The North West Mentoring SchemeGreater Manchester West NHS Foundation TrustHarrop HouseBury New RoadPrestwichManchesterM25 3BLTelephone: 0161 772 3608Email: [email protected]: www.nwmentoring.nhs.uk

Scheme Update March 2012

880 mentors registered 1592 mentees registered

Rob Booth, Scheme Manager

In this issue...Welcome & News in Brief.Scheme Update.Launching with the ILM.Mentoring Scheme Launch at Whiston.Network Learning Event.Appreciative Inquiry.First Year as a Mentor.Understanding Motivation.Social Construction of Coaching.Mentor Net Tools.Coaching Skills for Development for GP’s.Quote Bank.Calendar of Events.

3www.nwmentoring.nhs.uk

On 21st February 2012, St Helens & Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust launched its Mentoring Scheme, in partnership with the North West Mentoring Scheme, to an audience of in excess of 150 STHK staff from all disciplines across the organisation. This was an exciting event that marked the start of a valuable supportive intervention for the Leadership Development Programme that is currently being rolled out through the Trust; as well as generally offering the opportunity for one-to-one developmental support for all Trust staff.

The Trust Learning & Development team recognised some time ago that to continue to provide development for staff, in times of change and budget cuts, we need to think differently. Utilising the expertise and experience of staff to support the development of others is a practical way forward as it means we share the responsibility for development across the organisation. This forms the start of our Trust becoming a learning organisation as well as promoting knowledge transfer and retention and sustaining the teaching ethos of the Trust.

The launch event, which took the place of Grand Rounds that day, was introduced by Consultant Paediatrician Laweh Amegavie - whose original proposal paper to the Trust Executive Board and Leadership Bursary from the Mentor Exemplar Award in 2009 has been instrumental in the adoption of the NW Mentoring scheme across the Trust. Laweh gave an inspirational introduction on the influence of mentors in his life and his vision for mentorship in the Trust.

Trust CEO Ann Marr then gave her keynote speech, supporting the implementation and development of the Trust scheme. Ann emphasised the importance and value of developing our staff from within and stressed that our staff would be given protected time to support registered Mentoring relationships.

Emma Porter, of NW Mentoring Scheme, wrapped up with a presentation outlining the Scheme’s processes and benefits. Emma and Amanda from the NW Mentoring Scheme were also available to answer questions before and after the presentations, along with colleagues from Learning & Development and our Library & Knowledge Services.

This event is just the beginning - we believe the investment in our Trust Mentoring Scheme will demonstrate the value we place on staff development as a Trust, as part of our corporate identity and our culture – going forward we want staff to be confident in saying; “this is how we do things around here.”

Victoria ShoreHead of Leadership and Organisational Development

St.Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals Trust

We are delighted to announce that the Scheme has partnered with the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) to offer accredited learning opportunities to support you in your mentoring role.

This year we will be launching our new Level 5 Certificate in Coaching & Mentoring together with a separate programme in developmental mentoring which is also endorsed with the ILM. Both programmes aim to provide practising coaches and mentors with the knowledge, skills and confidence to perform effectively in the role, whilst giving you the opportunity to achieve a formal qualification.

We have written the qualifications with you, our members in mind, and the themes follow our developmental model closely.

The programme is delivered by subject experts who are experienced in offering the support you need to thrive with your learning and successfully achieve your goals.

We are currently producing a full calendar of events including master classes and workshops, network learning events, and accredited and internationally recognised programmes providing the tools and techniques required to successfully mentor and to reach your potential as a mentee. Look out for our email campaigns!

If you have any questions, please get in touch with us at the Scheme on 0161 772 3608 or by email at [email protected].

Launching with the ILM

Left to right: Emma Porter,NWMS, Laweh Amegavie,Consultant Paediatrician, Ann Marr, Trust CEO, Victoria Shore, Head of

Leadership and Organisational Development, Sandra Edwards, Practice Education Facilitator

Mentoring Scheme Launched at Whiston

Laweh Amegavie gave an inspirational introduction to

the launch

Why not formalise your mentoring knowledge and skills with a recognised national qualification?




Network Learning Event February 2012

It was great to see so many people attend our latest Network Learning Event which was held at the Woodlands Conference Centre in Chorley on the 23rd February 2012.

The theme for the event was ‘Appreciative Inquiry’ and we were delighted to welcome Gaby Marcon Clark as our guest facilitator. Gaby is the Founder and Director of Shine People and Places based in London.

Gaby delivered an engaging presentation which introduced the principles of Appreciative Inquiry and how these could be applied in the mentoring role. Much of what she said fitted perfectly with our developmental mentoring model and we hope you will get the chance to put these skills to the test in your own relationships.

The session was very interactive with Gaby encouraging the delegates to participate in a number of Appreciative Inquiry techniques which certainly prompted a great deal of interaction and discussion!

As with all our Network Learning Events there was the opportunity for our members to spend time together, networking and sharing their reflections of their own mentoring experiences.We know that this is one of things that our members find increasingly valuable about our Network Learning Events and is something that we will continue to build into them.

Finally, thank you to everybody who contributed ideas for the Annual Conference, which will be held on Tuesday 19th June 2012 at the Barton Grange Hotel near Preston. The content of our events are always steered by our membership and we are currently planning the day to incorporate as many of your ideas and suggestions as possible. We will be publishing a full programme in the very near future and it would be wonderful to see all of you there – save the date!

Photography by David Greenwood 07505400728

Photography by David Greenwood








Gaby Marcon Clark (main picture top right) engages delegates with activities

to practice appreciative inquiry involving story telling and interactive discussions


Appreciative Mentoring stems from Appreciative Inquiry (AI), a strategy for change and development based on the idea that focusing on what works within organisations, communities and individuals instead of what is not working, represents a very powerful way of making change happen, grounded as it is on reality rather than wishful thinking.

I came across this theory a few years ago in an effort to make my coaching and mentoring practice more effective and I have been using it in many different situations and environments. By singling out those elements that have been essential for past and/or present successes, be they assets, strengths or indeed potential and by bearing in mind how they change over time and according to different circumstances, individuals can move forward as they become aware of the solid base they are working from. The recalling and the understanding of real examples of past successes set the scene for visualizing what could be a possible future and for acting in order to achieve it. Through a guided process of appreciation and inquiry, individuals shift their attention from analysing problems to affirming their own strengths, successes and values, those of the organisations they work for and of the communities they belong to.

Practicing appreciative mentoring means helping your mentee to define and work with their unique talents and develop skills and knowledge that will become outstanding strengths. However, appreciative mentoring is not a natural style for most, as lots of mentors rely more on a telling versus a facilitative approach and ground their practice on the belief that the first step in a development process is awareness of how bad things are. Furthermore, many mentees tend to downplay or underestimate the things they have done/accomplished / achieved. Having said this, adopting an appreciative approach to mentoring is hugely rewarding for both mentors and mentees as things tend to happen quicker, generating more energy and more alignment with the organisation.

All I can say is, give it a try and share your findings! Gaby

Focusing on talents and strengths

Appreciative MentoringGaby Marcon Clarke, Director of Shine People and Places

Discover

Envisioning What Might Be. How do we want things to be for the future?The greatest opportunities for growth and improvement are represented by our strengths and passions.

Determining What Should Be. How can we move from where we are now to this vision of the future that we have created? How can we put the ideas into practice? Who will be involved?The key is to identify natural talents and hone them into strengths with knowledge and skills. Discover people’s strengths and use the momentum and energy generated to build a vision and action plan.

Deliver (or Destiny) - Innovating What Will Be. In this phase, practical strategies or projects are put into practice and space is created for ideas to flow and develop. There is an emphasis on empowering and encouraging people to take action and carry forward their own ideas.

Appreciating and valuing the best of what is. Make use of story-telling and personal reflection to gather information about what is working well. We achieve new levels of performance by weaving new growth strategies from the context of

our existing abilities.

Dream

Design

Deliver

Appreciative Mentoring 4 “D” cycle:


You’ve done your mentor development and it all made perfect sense on the day...now what? Assuming that you still want to be a mentor...remember that you have most of the skills already. The mentor development day will have been a reminder, and also given you the opportunity to refresh the basic skills of mentoring, as well as, hopefully, giving you some pointers and tips to help you get started.

Really it’s all about the golden rule - treat others how you would like to be treated: with positive intent, interest, respect and courtesy. If you’ve already been a mentee, think about what worked for you. Pursuing this a little further, you could become a mentee if you are not one already. This is a good way of seeing mentoring first hand - warts and all!

A mentee may not find you immediately, so seek opportunities to practise your mentoring skills in the meantime, to keep your skills sharp and your enthusiasm and confidence levels up and indulge in some people-watching:

If you are lucky enough to be found by a mentee early, please remember that you are not expected to have all the answers: the mind that contains the problem mostly contains the answer. As mentor, you are facilitating your mentee often first to define the problem and then discover the ‘solution’. When you have your first mentoring encounter, have a structure

by all means, but be prepared to depart from it if the magic starts to happen. Reflect upon your own behavioural preferences...and remember that people differ, and what works for you may not work for them. Be willing to experiment and grow as a mentor, and be honest with your mentee, especially if you’re trying something out for the first time: it’s a two –way learning process after all.

Members of the Scheme and also your original mentor trainer are always ready and prepared to help out with queries and also make suggestions, all you need to do is ask.

Dr Lyn Williams

First year As A Mentor Dr Lyn Williams, Clinical Senior Lecturer in Public Health (The University of Liverpool) and Honorary NHS Consultant in Public Health (Liverpool PCT)

Did you know?...Lyn was the Mentoring Scheme Mentor of the

Year 2010!

Keep a Journal:

(This can be as formal or informal as you like - only you have to see it! )Consider writing yourself some (achievable) mentoring objectives at the start of the year...putting them in an envelope, and then looking at them 12 months later to see how far you’ve come, and what, and who, helped you on your journey. Develop an appreciation of questioning, and try to work out why one question works and another doesn’t work so well. How do you know that a question has worked? If you hear or read good question, jot it down for later use.

Observe Others:

Television, if watched with the eye of a critical friend provides lots of good (and not so good) examples of mentoring skills: Look for extremes eg try to identify someone who listens well and then use them as a role model - they don’t need to know, unless you choose to tell them. Conversely, identify someone who doesn’t listen at all, and then notice how the other person reacts. How about looking for examples of questioning techniques eg Jeremy Paxman or Kirsty Wark [BBC 2 Newsnight presenters)], or John Humphrys [BBC Radio 4 Today programme presenter] or Kirsty Young [BBC Radio 4 Desert Island Discs interviewer]. Master Chef [BBC 1] provides some good examples of how to give feedback with positive intent, delivered with warmth, humour, kindness and attention to personal growth.

Observe Yourself: Look at interaction styles...and work out yours. Example - imagine you’ve run out of milk and you want someone else to get it, are you more likely to say ‘(Please) go and get us some milk’ (directive) or ‘We’ve run out of milk…’ (informing). Listen out for differences.Consider which of your current work and home relationships already contain elements of mentoring. How could you use these existing relationships in a win-win way to strengthen and practise your mentoring skills?

Practise:

Try breaking mentoring down into its key skills and practising them separately eg, you could try focussing on your deep listening and/or questioning one day in your day-to-day activities at work, and even perhaps at home. You might buddy up with another (fledgling) mentor and try your hand at co-mentoring - you could use mentoring as the topic to work on – remembering, of course, to practise your feedback skills on each other, and appreciate each other’s efforts....and, above all, remember to breathe in, because that way at least you’ll know that you’re not the one speaking!


The motivational meta-programme is constructed of six distinct components that blended together give us our individual outlook around motivation; triggering and maintaining our interest levels and, conversely, acting to demotivate us.

This article looks in more detail at the component that considers the direction of motivational energy (Toward or Away From). The component assesses whether someone is motivated by moving towards improvement goals, or away from a problem / issue that they would like to avoid.

Our level of motivation is prompted by whether we take the initiative ourselves or wait for others to act. The criteria of our motivation is linked to what we value driving the direction of motivation, which provides our energy. The source of our motivation comes either from within us or from external stimuli and the reason for our motivation is associated with how we work with established procedures or look for alternatives. Finally, decision factors affect our motivation by how these underpin our response to change and the frequency of change. Rodger Bailey determined that people who have the same behaviour patterns generally use the same form of words. Our personal evaluation and perception direct our thoughts, our behaviour and the words that we use. His work on meta-programmes has been further developed by Shelle Rose Charvet in her book “Words that Change Minds”. Our directional component of motivation is deep-rooted into a natural work-based focus.

Toward - a focus on specific goals. Words used are to have, get, achieve or attain. People motivated this way will be clear in terms of what they want. They will be good at managing priorities and sometimes have trouble recognising what should be avoided or identifying problems.

Away From - a focus on what should be avoided, removed or fixed. Words used are to solve, avoid or fix a problem. People motivated this way are good at trouble shooting and identifying possible obstacles because they are focused on what is wrong. They may set goals but respond to negative situations dropping everything to fix something. They can have difficulty managing priorities.

Within a work-based context, the distribution is broadly:-The way to determine a person’s motivational direction is relatively straightforward. It is directly linked to the criteria of their motivation. Begin by asking them what criteria are important to them at work and then, more specifically, why having those criteria is important to them. The language used to answer the question will give you the information you need about their direction of motivation.

It is interesting to note that medical practitioners tend to focus primarily on what is wrong with patients – they move away from sickness and dying scenarios – wholly appropriate in treating and curing illness. If this is their motivational direction in a work context, then coaching towards goals to attain certain outcomes will not have the same impact as fixing things or solving problems.

Subtleties and nuances of listening are paramount in working with another person’s meta-programmes to understand the complexity of the communication process linked to motivation.

Understanding and focusing on the direction of a person’s motivation enables the use of appropriate words to support their meta-programme that will enhance coaching or mentoring. Utilising specific, influencing language, empathetically, will also help build rapport and trust more easily and avoid misunderstandings meaning that successful conversations are more readily attainable.

Robin Hills & Doug Hayneswww.ei4change.com

Understanding MotivationRobin Hills & Doug Haynes, EI4Change

A person’s motivation is a complex construct incorporated into a multifaceted meta-programme. Operating at an unconscious level are our deep-rooted mental processes, which automatically filter our experience, guiding and directing the way we think. Known as meta-programmes, they result in significant differences in thinking and behavioural styles between people.

For example, “Promotional opportunities give me a chance to development and earn more

money” is Toward, whilst, “A good home / life balance means

I am not travelling a lot and I have less pressure“ is Away

From.


After recently reading about social construction I continued to research this further and realised it is as complex as it is interesting. To define the term ‘social construction’ I would say it is ‘a response, reaction, attitude or behaviour towards something, because the group or ‘society’ agrees to respond or treat it that way.’

I was intrigued to look at how todays challenging and demanding work environments are stretching us and our staff, many of which are leaning towards coaching rather than mentoring. Organisations are frequently implementing coaching schemes and coach training programmes, very often paying large amounts of money in developing a coaching culture. This makes me wonder: Has society constructed the status of coaching?

Often we hear that potential scheme members are not as interested in becoming part of a mentoring scheme because they want a ‘coach’ or to become a ‘coach’. Even though we have a vast membership and hundreds of successful mentoring relationships taking place, we are still battling the misconception that a mentor might not give you the same kind of support that a coach could. As a successful scheme we would like to challenge this viewpoint. We continue to promote the scheme using the developmental mentoring model and this is now greatly established in our mentoring community.

Most people can think back to times in their life and careers, when they have had someone they can talk to, maybe pass ideas

by or even ask advice from. Without formally naming them a mentor, many people have had mentoring support in some capacity, whether it was a colleague, a manager or a friend. Support networks are what keep us going and performing at our best.

Whilst traditional mentoring is still out there and many people still value this kind of support, it is fading out of today’s society. Large organisations such as the NHS need innovative leaders: we need managers and staff to be able to positively lead through change and develop not only ourselves but others also, which will enhance the overall service and care we provide to patients.

The NW Mentoring Scheme

offers that much needed

support in today’s challenging

public sector, in a way that

empowers and invigorates

our members using the

developmental model of

mentoring.

A key similarity between coaching and the developmental model of mentoring is that they both work without the need for the coach/mentor to have any shared work experience with the coachee/mentee. At the scheme we encourage cross-organisational, cross-

professional and peer mentoring relationships. It is the questions asked, along with the challenge and support a mentor provides, that allows mentees to re-examine and re-evaluate their work, very often their attitudes and behaviours, in order to decide the best way to move forward in achieving their goals and reaching their potential.

“A mentor does not give advice, rather helps the mentee to weigh up situations, through a process of reflection, questions, challenge and feedback, allowing the mentee to come to a decision themselves. It is crucial to remember that in any mentoring relationship it is the mentee who drives the agenda, not the mentor.” (www.mentoring.londondeanery.ac.uk)

Looking at both mentoring and coaching, there can be differences in the support that is offered, however, many people are unaware of the similarities, something that must be shared, especially when we should be empowering our staff and obtaining the opportunity to take charge of our own development. The European Mentoring and Coaching Council acknowledges the similarity between the two, and promotes the preferred term of ‘coaching/mentoring.’ www.emccouncil.org.

Taking into account the skills our mentors develop, the knowledge that is shared within our training and learning events, along with the idea of social constructed coaching, are we now in a position to convince those who once wanted a coach to take up an excellent mentor instead?

Mentoring Discussion:Social Construction of “Coaching”by Emma Porter, OD Practitioner, North West Mentoring Scheme

There are numerous authors who talk about mentoring and coaching; people who offer their opinions and publish their views of the differences between the two. Eric Parsloe (1992) defines mentoring as “to help and support people to manage their own learning in order to maximise their potential, develop their skills, improve their performance, and become the person they want to be.” Megginson and Clutterbuck (1995) defines coaching as “Off line help by one person to another in making significant transitions in knowledge, work or thinking.”


Get better matches and more results than before!The North West Mentoring Scheme are happy to announce that the search functions within Mentor Net have been updated!

1. Filter your results to remove mentors who are at full capacity. Or leave this unchecked and go on a waiting list for a specific mentor.

2. Filter your results by work type.

3. Type in a keyword to even further filter your results - for example you could type in the keyword for a region, an organisation or a name.

If you have had any difficulty searching for a mentor, or have not had the expected results in your initial searches, we would encourage you to try your search again. You can invite up to 3 mentors at any one time or even go on the waiting list for a mentor who may not be currently available.

You can check the status of all your invitations in your profile by logging into Mentor Net and in the ‘My Mentoring’ Tab, view ‘My Mentoring Requests’. This will show the status of any invitations you have sent out. You can also choose to cancel an invitation at this stage.

As a mentee you really are in control of your invitations to potential mentors, but please remember to give a mentor at least 4 weeks to respond to your invitation before you withdraw it.

Good luck and do get in touch with us at the scheme if you experience any difficulty using the search tool or in finding a mentor.

Mentoring Tools:New Search Features within

Mentor Net

Do you have any questions about MentorNet? Email us at [email protected]

Want to know how many mentors are available in your region?

Can we still keep in touch with you?

If any of your details have changed: Simply log in to Mentor Net and from the

‘My Profile’ Tab, update any information that has changed and then ‘Update now’ to save

your changes!


The ability to mentor and coach is often associated with good leadership and the

intervention of both coaching and mentoring can be very powerful, even for the most

senior and experienced members of the NHS. Dr Hitesh Kothari reflects on how

undertaking a Coaching Skills Development Programme has added another dimension to

his leadership style:


Quote Bank

If you have a favourite quote that you would like to donate to our “Quote Bank” please email [email protected].

“Life is like riding a bicycle, to keep your balance you must keep moving.”

Albert Einstein

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Mahatma Gandhi

“Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly.”

Anonymous

New Mentoring Scheme Website Launch April 2012

We are delighted to announce the launch of a brand new website designed with a fresh new look and easy to use links directly to Mentor Net.

The new website will allow visitors to find information about joining and for existing members there are updates of events and news.

There is a new area on the homepage so we can let you know Scheme news and stories as and when they happen!

We hope you enjoy the new website, drop us a line to give us your feedback at [email protected].

www.nwmentor ing .nhs .uk

Calendar of Events

Hundreds of Free Calendars at CalendarCorner.net

April 2012 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1Palm Sunday

April Fool's Day

2 3 4 5 6 Good Friday

7Passover Begins

8Easter

9 10 11 12 13 14

15Income Tax Due

16 17 18 19 20 21

22Earth Day

23 24 25 26 27 28

29 30

Mentor Development

Day9.15am - 4.30pm

WhistonMentor

Development Days

9.15am - 4.30pmPrestwich &

Whiston

Mentor Development

Day9.15am - 4.30pm

Liverpool Community Health

Mentee Awareness

Session1.30pm - 4.30pmGMW,Prestwich

Mentor Development

Day9.15am - 4.30pm

Tameside

Mentee Awareness

Session1.30pm - 4.30pm

Alder Hey Hospital


May 2012 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1May Day

2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

13Mother's Day

14 15 16 17 18 19 Armed Forces Day

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

27 28 Memorial Day

29 30 31


June 2012 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11 12 13 14 Flag Day

15 16

17Father's Day

18 19 20 21 Summer Begins

22 23

24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Mentor Development

Day9.15am - 4.30pm

Alder Hey Hospital

Mentor Development

Day9.15am - 4.30pm

University of Liverpool

Mentor Development

Day9.15am - 4.30pm

Liverpool Women’s

Mentor Development

Day9.15am - 4.30pm

Woodlands,Chorley

Mentee Awareness


De Vere,Liverpool

Mentee Awareness

Session1.30pm - 4.30pmGMW,Prestwich

Mentor Development

Day9.15am - 4.30pm

De Vere Liverpool

Mentee Awareness


Woodlands,Chorley

Annual Conference

9.30am - 4.30pmBarton Grange,

Preston

NLP Practioner

(Day 1 of 15)9.30am - 4.30pm

Park Inn,Leigh

NLP Practioner

(Day 2 of 15)9.30am - 4.30pm

Park Inn,Leigh

NLP Diploma

(Day 1 of 4)9.30am - 4.30pm

Park Inn, Leigh

NLP Diploma

(Day 2 of 4)9.30am - 4.30pm

Park Inn,LeighIn association with

The North West Mentoring SchemeHarrop House

Bury New Road

Prestwich

Manchester

M25 3BL

Telephone: 0161 772 3608

Email: [email protected]

Documents

The Mentor Newsletter April 2012