SFMIPersonnel Academy12/6/11

Mentoring

Presenter

Michael Sheehan, CDF

What is mentoring?

Mentoring is a developmental partnership through which one person shares knowledge, skills, information and perspective to foster the personal and professional growth of someone else. We all have a need for insight that is outside of our normal life and educational experience. The power of mentoring is that it creates a one-of-a-kind opportunity for collaboration, goal achievement and problem-solving.

Who has a mentoring program in place now?

Some do

Some don’t

Wrong … you all do!

You just don’t know it.

The silent mentor

A Sign of the Times

GO BERSERK

Meaning: Go crazy or to act with reckless abandon.

Origin: Viking warriors were incredibly wild and ferocious in battle, probably because they ate hallucinogenic mushrooms in prebattle ceremonies. They charged their enemies recklessly, wearing nothing more than bearskin, which in Old Norse was pronounced "berserkr" or "bear-sark."

When a new employee starts and receives very little training, he needs to go to someone for help and guidance, you just better hope it’s not the wrong someone.

So maybe it’s time to develop a sound mentoring program!

Gone are the days when assigning an informal buddy to mentor a new employee meant going out to lunch. These buddies generally had no mentor training and they were clueless about their responsibilities. When making every employee successful as soon as possible became the new norm, formal organization needs from a mentor grew. A formal mentor relationship can jump start the learning curve and help a new employee succeed.

Use a Formal Mentor Process

The Formal Mentoring Process

With a formal mentor process, a body of knowledge and other cultural teachings are an expectation of the mentor relationship. You will also find that a small component of the mentor relationship is evaluative in nature. In the sense that your organization is expecting employees who mentor to assess the new employee’s fit within the culture of the organization, the role evaluates the new employee.

Do we really have time for such a formal process?

Sounds pretty time consuming!

Besides what kind of mentoring do facilities staff need?

The Informal Mentor

Employees also seek an informal mentor for each area of expertise the employee wishes to develop or explore. The person in this mentor role is purely a teacher with no assessment responsibilities.

Problem with the informal

approach:

Little or no control of who the employee seeks out and what kind of advise he gets.

CHARLEY HORSE

Meaning: A muscle cramp.

Origin: In 1640, Charles I of England expanded the London police force. The new recruits were nicknamed "Charleys." There wasn't enough money to provide the new police with horses so they patrolled on foot. They joked that their sore feet and legs came from riding "Charley's horse."

What options do we have?

So let’s find a happy medium.

One that’s not too time consuming or involved.

KISS Method.

I prefer a Formal Method

of Coaching

Coaching employees is not a loss of power; it is a process of communicating with and engaging employees so problems can be solved creatively; it involves recognizing people for their individual contributions for the good of all.  Employee coaching truly promotes a productive environment for an organization's team members, removing traditional barriers and boundaries to collaboration.  This new environment emphasizes both individual and team achievement of a common organizational goal.

The coaching leadership style builds personal and team morale, fostering a partnership where employees feel like they are genuinely contributing to the success of the organization.  It is for this reason alone that coaching should become a proactive process for top level managers. Building authentic relationships and collaborating with employees -- the essence of coaching -- is an investment in the long-term health of your business.  Just as important as capital technology and marketing strategies, coaching will benefit the organization in countless ways as employees increase their productivity and the quality of their efforts.

Coaching employees facilitates effective communication at all levels of an organization and provides a channel for feedback and productive dialogue. People learn how they can personally support the organization and gain this understanding in a positive way. Too often, managers alone define mission statements and organizational objectives, solve problems, and dictate solutions in a vacuum. Without being asked for their input, employees are prone to get lost in the shuffle. In a coaching environment, leaders and employees collaborate to do the following:

Coaching does have its challenges; it is not an automatic technique that works every time, but a process and an investment. Using effective coaching techniques, managers can build a successful organization based on the strengths and relationships of one of its every members. The ability to coach others will truly be one of the most important top-level leadership skills of the future. Top-tier managers must spearhead the effort, becoming beacons of light for middle-level and front-line leaders to follow.

Do we really need to mentor our facilities staff members?

Myth #1:

"Custodians and maintenance workers don't need professional development or mentoring."

Custodian and maintenance employees are "guardians of the school environment" for students, staff and the community. Their workloads continue to grow as new technology and equipment require specific skills, increased duties, and responsibilities. One of the most important responsibilities is to insure the proper indoor air quality, uniform temperatures, and proper ventilation. And often, with little, if any, specific or meaningful training, the custodian must also deal with dangerous materials such as laboratory spills, toxic materials, asbestos, lead and even bed bugs.

Custodial staff need professional development and a solid mentoring program to ensure they perform to the highest level.

Myth #2:

“Anyone can clean a school."

“School custodians play an important role in providing a properly maintained physical plant for today’s student. They need to be current with all applicable laws and regulations affecting student and staff health and safety i.e.: green cleaning, asbestos, lead, mercury, pcb’s, bed bugs, lock-out tag-out, etc.

They are also need to be computer literate-- having to control the buildings' new computerized heating and cooling system from a laptop and desktop computer. Some need to hold state certification in both commercial pesticide application and asbestos abatement, as well as a basic boiler operator's license. To maintain certification, many must take yearly refresher courses.

Myth #3:

“There is no relation between student achievement and work performed by the school facilities staff."

Several studies have indicated that a clean, well-maintained, and safe school building plays an important role in the students’ individual school achievements.

Yes, we do need to mentor/coach our staff.

CAUGHT RED-HANDED

Meaning: Caught in the act.

Origin: For hundreds of years, stealing and butchering another person's livestock was a common crime. But it was hard to prove unless the thief was caught with a dead animal ... and blood on his hands

Keys to a Successful Mentoring Program

•Align the coaching program structure to desired learning outcomes•Provide training to new participants specific to their roles•Effectively match the right mentors to mentees•Monitor participation and engagement•Coach and guide mentors and mentees throughout their experience

•Work together to develop goals and objectives•Give and receive constructive feedback •Recognize success and effort •Share information

A) Align coaching structure to desired learning outcomes

Having a program in place that does not address the needs of the employees and the district will result in a waste of time.

One area that needs to be covered is the importance of cleaning and it’s benefits:

i.e.: Coach explains to a new employee the reason for properly cleaning the restroom, so they understand how to prevent the spread of germs and bacteria, keeping the children safe.

B) Provide training to new staff members specific to their roles

Once the importance of the job is shared, then provide the training.

The coach should demonstrate how the district expects the restroom to be cleaned. Everyone must be on the same page.

The staff member should feel comfortable approaching his coach for advice and constructive criticism.

C) Match the right coach to the mentee.

Attributes of a Coach

•Wants to coach another employee and is committed to the employee’s growth and development and cultural integration.

•Has the job content knowledge necessary to effectively teach a new employee significant job knowledge.

• Demonstrates honesty, integrity, and both respect and responsibility for stewardship.

•Demonstrates effective communication skills, both verbally and nonverbally.

• Is willing to help develop another employee through guidance, feedback and, occasionally, an insistence on a particular level of performance or appropriate direction.

•Has enough emotional intelligence to be aware of their personal emotions and is sensitive to the emotions and feelings of the employee they are mentoring.

Would you pick this person as a mentor or coach?

Union Official Custodian with high absenteeism

rate Relative of the mentee 10 year staff member with good

evaluations, but keeps to himself The one everyone likes but is a

gossip hound Someone who takes a long lunch and

extended breaks

D) Monitor participation and engagement.

You, as the administrator, need a method in place to monitor the coaching program.

Hold regular meetings with coaches to get their feedback on the mentee and discuss pros and cons.

SPEAK OF THE DEVIL

Meaning: Someone appears after you mention them.

Origin: People once believed that you could actually summon the Devil by saying his name.

How To Coach a Problem Employee

Fortunately for management, problem employees are not the norm.

Occasionally, however, a newly-hired employee is not as they seemed to be in an interview.

Firing an employee for initial problems is not in anyone's best interest, as it then reopens the hiring process and takes more of your time and the time of the human resource staff.  You may find the "problem employee" is not a problem at all, but is having a difficult time with learning the new job and after providing some coaching, that same employee could end up as your star employee. The key is to offer some help so they can improve. Also be very watchful on their progress or lack of, and keep accurate documents.

The employee is habitually tardy

You can excuse employees for being late occasionally. Habitual tardiness should not be tolerated, especially for new employees. Continual tardiness is a sign of being unprofessional. If you have to report at exactly 9 am, the employee should be in at 9. If the employee shows signs of improvement, you can just let it pass, but emphasize the importance of timeliness. If the employee makes no attempt to be on time, then you need to talk with the employee and find out why this is happening so often. It could be as simple as the employee having transportation problems which should be resolved in the near future.

Understanding why the employee is late is important. Be proactive to work through this difficulty if you feel you have an employee with potential. Of course, after talking with/coaching the employee, you are still noticing tardiness, you will have to reprimand him and tell him that further offenses could cost his job. Make sure he understands he is a part of a team and is important to the overall operation of the school.

The employee has a negative attitude

Negative attitudes can be contagious and could further affect your staff. A negative employee tends to find fault with numerous people and school events. This is a difficult area to mentor as it normally is not a single offense, but rather a personality trait. This is a situation where, as a coach, you will need to be aware so the employee doesn't have the opportunity to affect the staff as a whole. The most important part of coaching a negative attitude is keeping factual records and not hearsay; most often the information is found through gossip and the coach must be mindful not to use gossip as facts to mentor an employee.

Remind the individual he is part of a team.

Discuss the important role the individual plays in the overall operation of the school.

Ensure the staff member knows the impact of even the smallest of jobs does affect the school population.

Make sure they understand their work is appreciated and noticed.

The employee is too aggressive

Usually, these employees are not new, but senior staff members who have not been promoted due to attitude problem. They do well in their own work, but cannot work well with others. They use their seniority as an excuse to act as a boss. Sometimes, they even feel superior to their boss and think they can do whatever they want and walk away unblemished. Typically, this is when management steps in to assist. This type of employee is going to need several sessions of mentoring before seeing that their aggressiveness is providing unneeded stress to other employees. When coaching, be able to provide specific examples of times you or someone in a parallel or supervisory position to you, has witnessed this aggressiveness first hand.

It’s RAINING CATS AND DOGS

Meaning: Torrential rain.

Origin: In the days before garbage collection, people tossed their trash in the gutter - including deceased housepets - and it just lay there. When it rained really hard, the garbage, including the bodies of dead cats and dogs, went floating down the street.

Creates a team effort. Staff retention. Trained professionals on staff available for

promotions. Keeping staff involved and increasing

awareness. Staff functions to a higher level. Pride in work. Staff feels appreciated. Assignments are completed to the same

standard at every school.

Benefits of Coaching

True or False?

If you have a mentoring program in place, there is no need to conduct training sessions.

False

Mentoring compliments a good training and in-service program.

“To mentor or not to mentor?”

That is the question.

Recently Hired Cleaner

Groundskeeper who is not performing according to time standards specific to his job tasks

Head Custodian whose staff is complaining he/she yells at them, uses inappropriate language and has “favorites” who get special treatment

Mentoring does not take the place of:

Training In-service Inspections Evaluations Discipline

YOU'RE NO SPRING CHICKEN

Meaning: You're not young anymore; you're past your prime.

Origin: Until recent generations, there were no incubators and few warm hen houses. That meant chicks couldn't be raised during winter. New England growers found that those born in the spring brought premium prices in the summer market places. When these Yankee traders tried to pass off old birds as part of the spring crop, smart buyers would protest that the bird was "no spring chicken."

Questions?

Teamwork