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If you’ve been to my webinars or workshops, you’ll have heard me I say: “a failed mentoring program is worse than no mentoring program”. Harsh I know, but a poor result leaves people wary of a second attempt.

So, what if you are tasked with a re-launch?

Well, the good news is it can be done! The black cloud of failure does have a silver lining, if you know where to look for it. That’s why today’s article is Help! The Mentoring Didn’t Work!

If you are planning a new program or want to enhance an existing one, this article is for you too, because very often a critical first step is missed. The full potential of mentoring is not achieved, even if the program is deemed a success.

You’ll also want to explore the theme in more depth in our next webinar: How to Ensure Mentoring Meets Their Needs details and registration here.

Help! The Mentoring Didn’t Work!

The mentoring program failed. Results did not live up to expectations. People are disappointed. What do you do?

The black cloud of failure does have a silver lining. If people are saying mentoring failed, they must have some idea of the flip side: what would success have looked like? You need to ask, ideally:

•  What positive outcomes would be produced?
• What would participants be saying about mentoring?
• What would they be doing?
• How would they be feeling?
• What would be happening differently?
• Are there tangible results that would indicate success?

The first and most basic step in implementing a mentoring program is often missed and it’s this:

Get very clear about why mentoring is needed and the specific objectives of your mentoring program.

 As you begin to explore what was expected of mentoring and how previous efforts did not match expectations don’t be surprised to find mentoring was introduced without real thought about the outcomes intended. Sometimes mentoring is introduced because it seems like a good idea and everyone’s doing it. Or, there’s an assumption that mentoring will fix a problem without any analysis of the symptoms and causes of the problem.

So if you are planning a mentoring program, and especially if you’ve been tasked with a re-launch of one that previously failed, do not even think about starting without a needs analysis and specific objectives. Because, to paraphrase what the Cheshire Cat told Alice in Wonderland, if you don’t know where you want to go, it won’t matter which path you take.

Get very clear about why mentoring is needed and develop specific objectives for your mentoring program, then you can begin to plan the way forward. That’s when mentoring works.

Find out how, join me on our live webinar: How To Ensure Mentoring Meets Their Needs. Friday 6 March 2015