3.6 A mentoring mindset: preparing future principals to be effective  (Page 4/10)

Adapted from Daresh&Playko, 1995; Mullen, 2005; Portner, 2002; Searby&Tripses, 2006; Zachary, 2000.

Developing Knowledge for Protégéship

In the area of knowledge acquisition, the students in this course gained an overview of the various mentoring models, an awareness of the potential benefits and pitfalls of mentoring relationships, and“how-to”information for approaching someone to be a formal mentor. Dr. Mark Searby, whose expertise is mentoring in the business and non-profit sector, delivered the initial overview lecture. He covered the history of mentoring, the need for mentoring, the crucial dynamics of mentoring, what mentoring is and is not, the challenges to protégés, and an overview of the mentoring process. This lecture set the stage for the course (Searby, 2007). In an online discussion on Blackboard following this introductory lecture, students almost unanimously said that they had not previously considered their need for a mentor until this lecture, but afterward nearly all expressed a change in perspective and an awareness of their need for a mentor.

Subsequent class sessions focused on gaining additional knowledge of the mentoring process and the nuts-and-bolts of mentoring. Students learned how to set ground rules for the mentoring relationship, how to identify when a mentoring relationship has become dysfunctional, and how to accomplish closure to the formal arrangement. They prepared a mentoring agreement that would be signed by their mentor and themselves. As mentioned previously, material from Zachary’s (2000) book, The Mentor’s Guide: Facilitating Effective Learning Relationships, provided helpful activities for preparing for the process of mentoring.

Developing Skills for Protégéship

Skills necessary for becoming an effective protégéinclude goal setting, communication, the capacity to seek and act on feedback, and reflection (Searby&Tripses, 2007). Special attention was given in class to the development of these skills.

Goal setting was an important component for the students preparing to enter a formal mentoring relationship. Before setting their personal and professional goals, students practiced their reflective skills as they conducted two self-assessments. They took the DISC personality inventory and reflected on how it compared with a Myers-Briggs personality inventory previously taken in another course. They conducted a personal strengths and weaknesses inventory and discussed it with their peer partner to bring forth areas that could be addressed in the future upward mentoring relationship. After these activities, they composed their goals for the mentoring relationship that they were about to enter.

Several class sessions focused on learning the skills of Cognitive Coaching (Costa&Garmston, 1997) which emphasizes active listening and giving reflective prompts. Students practiced these skills with their peer mentors in class using structured scenarios, and offered feedback on the effectiveness of one another’s coaching skills. This exercise provided additional practice with the skills of seeking feedback and refining communication skills.