John Hersey Leadership Blog

Permission mentoring is the habit of ripening aspiring contagious leaders.  It is a crucial step in becoming such a leader, who literally learns from example, and one that must be tackled correctly to be able to get the best out of the person being mentored.

According to a top leadership speaker, here’s how to get into the permission mentoring habit successfully:

Ask permission

Always ask people if they are interested in being mentored.  Never assume everyone wants to become a leader, because this is not true.

Some individuals are not interested in becoming contagious leaders, and some others may not be interested in being mentored by you, and this is fine, everyone is entitled to choose what works best for them; thus, it is only wise to make sure you are investing your time in people who truly want what you can offer them.  

The good thing is that a very powerful force is activated when you ask and someone says yes, a new level of commitment arises, and the results are remarkable; in other words, a new individual is born.

Create parameters

Your mentoring must have well-defined and approved boundaries.  If the goal is for the employee to become a contagious leader, focus on the habits such a person requires and reach an agreement as to what is expected.   

Before beginning the mentoring program, ask the employee to self-assess each habit, and compare it to your assessment.  Talk about the progress you both expect to see, and establish time limits for each session and for the totality of the program in a way that lets you both get the best out of it.

Focus the parameters on activities and behaviors instead of on results, because the first are the ones that will guide the person towards the desired result, while many outside circumstances can affect the second. 

Schedule uninterrupted time

There should be a time exclusively devoted to discuss, review, measure, and offer feedback.  Honor the process, and your commitment to being a contagious leader and a mentor, by giving it meaningful time.  Never allow the person to feel forgotten or neglected.

Employ involved recognition

A mentoring program is a great opportunity for you to practice the habits and qualities of a contagious leader.

Keep an eye on your attitude, focus on the person’s strengths, and employ involved recognition as much as possible.  Pay attention and identify as many opportunities as you can to recognize the actions and behavior of the person you are mentoring.

This is key to strengthening the confidence in their ability to become contagious leaders, and will teach them how to use it themselves.   

Never stop measuring

Your job as a contagious leader is to develop many other contagious leaders, and you have to make sure the persons you are mentoring are moving in the right direction. 

You must keep track of how each one of them is doing and of how many you have at a certain stage of development, so as to be able to control and anticipate when these individuals are ready to move on.

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This entry was posted on Monday, June 21st, 2010 at 7:31 pm and is filed under Behavior, Coaching, Commitment, Culture, Leadership, Success.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.