Perhaps the most famous instance of mentoring comes from Homer’s Odyssey.  The mythical adventurer Odysseus asked his friend called Mentor to guard over his household and act as surrogate father to his son Telemachus while Odysseus was away at the battle of Troy, hence the use of the term mentor.  The one being mentored is technically known as the protégé (protected one) though normally referred to as a mentee, trainee, candidate or student; depending on the context. Source: “Beyond the Myths and Magic of Mentoring”, Margot Murray, [2001 Jossey-Bass – San Francisco ISBN 0-7879-5675-9] p7.

A mentor can be a role model, a sponsor, an introducer and teacher.  When you use mentoring from macneill consultancy you can get a mentoring solution which fits your needs and your personal and business aims.  You’re recommended to consider a facilitated mentoring process where the mentor can fulfil many of the roles listed above but where the candidate and mentor develop a programme to accelerate the learning and development of the candidate.  You should monitor and review the mentoring process from 3 points of view: the candidate, the mentor and the organisation.  It’s also important to set down at the outset what the end of the mentoring will look like and how you will know it’s effective.  The exit strategy is therefore included in the overall mentoring programme.

Mentoring services you have access to include:

Improving the effectiveness of people, products and processes
Identifying opportunities for growth in communities and locations as well as organisations
Improving performance, identifying and reducing stress.
Innovative audit and diagnostic processes with effective unfreezing and refreezing strategies
Improved personal, product and organisational performance leading to enhanced profitability and service
Confidential (covert) mentoring is available although an open (overt) process is recommended

Do you recognise any topics from previous mentoring projects we’ve completed?  If yours isn’t listed ask and we’ll provide a proposal.

To coach sports attire company’s Marketing Executive in auditing skills
To shadow a Marketing Manager in the creation of a marketing action plan
To monitor the creation of performance monitoring and evaluation of marketing and sales performance in a large printing company
Act as honest broker for CEO of plastics company introducing new systems for export sales team
Provide a sounding board for CEO of technology company to challenge their assertions about sales opportunities – also to act as liaison with investors
Developing the skillset of a CEO in the area of written / verbal communications
Personal development training programme for education facility covertly aimed at conducting initial stress risk assessments. Note: secure web-based service now available