Mentors
What is a mentor?
A mentor is a role model who helps facilitate and foster the development of a mentee through teaching, coaching, guiding and championing.
- A mentor develops in his/her mentee's technical skills, transferable skills such as communication, leadership, motivation, organisation, as well as information about NZISM organisation and culture.
- A mentor coaches through comments, support, encouragement and even criticism about the skills, talents, behaviour and career of the mentee.
- A mentor provides guidance with advice on how to confront difficult situations at work, ways to advance, approaches to improving professional skills.
- A mentor champions the mentee by showcasing their talents eg. through introductions to senior staff safety practitioners across the institution, creation of opportunities to carry out new assignments and "be seen."
A mentor may play one, some, or all of these roles. The balance will differ even for an individual mentor who supports two mentees. What is important is that the mentor shows a positive interest in helping the mentee develop and grow.
Mentor skills and qualifications
All mentors must be accredited members of NZISM and must act in accordance with the NZISM Code of Ethics.
Critical mentoring skills
- Be a good listener and know how to give effective feedback
- Know how to help with goal setting and planning
- Understand when to give and when not to give advice
- Have the ability to instil confidence and motivate people
What makes a good mentor?
A mentor must want to give their knowledge and experiences freely and be committed to the process of self improvement of the mentee. Not everyone will have the time or ability to give the level of commitment required for the improvement of others.
A good mentor will be able to identify the learning opportunities for a mentee. Mentors must realise that failure is often a natural part of a learning experience, and may need to be able to cope with helping their mentee overcome failure. There are just as many learning opportunities to be gained from an unsuccessful experience as from a successful one. Hence the mentor must also have a dogged determination to help the mentee succeed. Indeed, the mentor may have to learn individual strategies for their own purposes to help his/her mentee overcome initial failure without becoming too directive.
It would not be possible to list all the qualities the perfect mentor may need here, indeed it is arguable that there is no such entity as a perfect mentor, as human beings we all have failings, and it is highly likely these failings will occasionally emerge in any mentoring relationship. The secret of being a good mentor is to identify potential failings and have strategies in place to minimise or eliminate them.
A good mentor will display the skills listed below and many more. In addition, as NZISM members they will need a good background in safety management.
A good mentor
- Will always treat others with respect
- Is tolerant, non-judgmental, and accepts personal differences
- Is self-confident
- Is able to establish a comfortable environment for discussions
- Enjoys watching a mentee develop
- Demonstrates sensitivity to mentees needs
- Trusts others and can be trusted
Few mentors have all of these characteristics. They are skills that can be developed, practiced and refined through the mentoring programme. It has been said a good mentor can be likened to a farmer:
"You plant the seed, you nurture it, you remove the weeds, you provide the best possible climate, and do everything to promote growth. Like a farmer you also accept that you cannot always control all the external factors or variables." Fry, B. 1999
A mentor is:
- A good listener
- A motivator
- A coach
- A guide
- A supporter
- A communicator
A mentor is not:
- A saviour
- A foster parent
- A registered advice giver
- A provider of all solutions at all times
- A psychiatrist
- A model of perfection
A mentor coaches through comments, support, encouragement and even criticism about the skills, talents, behaviour and career of the mentee. They guide with wisdom and sound advice on how to confront difficult situations at work, ways to advance, and other approaches to improving professional skills.
Once accepted as an NZISM mentor you will be able to help prepare members not only for their own career but also for development and progress within the Institute.
Interested in becoming a mentor?
We would love to hear from you. Please email cpd@nzism.org and we can start talking.
Starting the mentoring relationship
If your application as a mentor or mentee is approved, the mentee will be paired up with an appropriate mentor. Before the mentoring relationship begins, both parties must read and sign the NZISM Mentoring Agreement.
Duration of the mentoring relationship
The initial term is for 18 months OR however long the mentee requires to complete the MyCPD process for grading. At the end of this term both parties must complete the mentor and mentee review forms and submit it to mentoring@nzism.org.
There is no obligation or expectation to mentor after the agreed initial term. However, when both parties are willing, successful mentor/mentee relationships can continue past this term.
Terminating the mentoring relationship
The mentor/mentee relationship is based on open and transparent dialogue and communication. Should the mentor/mentee relationship not successfully develop either party may terminate.
Both parties are to complete their respective reviews and submit it to mentoring@nzism.org.
The mentee will be free to request for another mentor to be assigned to her/him.
Support for NZISM mentors and mentees
NZISM will provide ongoing support to NZISM mentors and mentees through:
- Providing guidance material for Mentors and Mentees
- Providing a Mentor Forum at National level to enable Mentors to support each other
- Providing a means for mentors/mentees to feedback any concerns they may have about the programme.
NZISM Mentor Programme evaluation
The NZISM Mentor Programme will be evaluated annually to ensure the programme outcomes are met.
Key Performance Indicators will include:
- Feedback received from mentors.
- Feedback received from mentees.
- Number of NZISM members participating in programme.
Mentors must act in accordance with the NZISM Code of Ethics at all times.
Any concerns either from the mentor or mentee should be emailed to mentoring@nzism.org.
