The Problem with Mentoring
Source: Golden Practices Michelle Golden, Golden Marketing, Inc., has some refreshing insights on the mentoring process.
Mentoring in accounting firms is challenging, especially if the mentor is assigned by the firm. The mentoring process requires a relationship in which two people connect with each other. The protégé must be mentored by someone he or she respects and trusts, and the mentoring process will be better if the mentor respects the protégé. Trust is necessary for the protégé to be candid. The protégé will not be candid with someone who might not respect his/her confidence. Mentors must be sincere.
Protégés may fear that candor will jeopardize their opportunities for success. This fear can be eased by selecting a mentor outside the firm.Most “mentoring programs” are not valued within the firm. Replacing them with a program of knowledge transfer might be better. Golden suggests:
- Establish a mentoring program, but with mentors outside the firm, or, alternatively,
- Establish an “apprenticeship program” to help people learn skills and good judgment.
For the complete entry, visit www.goldenmarketing.typepad.com/ and select "Internal Mentoring Programs: The Wrong Approach."
From Golden Practices, the blog of Michelle Golden, president of Golden Marketing, Inc., http://www.goldenmarketing.typepad.com/.
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