Have you had a great mentor? It was really helpful right? And if it was helpful to you, wouldn’t it be powerful for organizations?

So, finally, I have covered mentoring – and with a global leader in mentoring! It’s been on my list for quite a while and so I was delighted to talk to Dr. Laura Lunsford. She wrote the book “Handbook for Managing Mentoring Programs” and she was a pleasure to talk to! She knows it inside and out and some of what she shared includes:

🌱🤝 We think mentoring needs to be organic, but programs DO work. Even when you artificially link two people who might not have formalized a relationship otherwise, you can have great results. The caveat: you must be clear about the purpose! See the video below.

🗣️🤔 There’s more debate around mentorship than you’d think. If you and I tried to define mentoring we would likely get different answers!

❌ Mentoring and coaching aren’t the same thing.

🙏 Back to my first point: There is a reason young professionals want a mentor: it’s because they know how powerful it can be for their career. Take note HR: helping a career will help the organization.

Dr. Lunsford’s Book: The Mentor’s Guide: Five Steps to Build a Successful Mentor Program

Other resources:
The International Mentoring Association: www.mentoringassociation.org.
The European Mentoring & Coaching Council: www.emccglobal.org.
Brad Johnson: Athena Rising
The Center for Mentoring Excellence: www.centerformentoring.com.

I (Andrea) am available for HR consulting in Western Canada. Email me at .