Certified Life Coach.org & Coach - Mentoring With A Mission...

Mentoring is a challenging skill that requires more than just training on communication skills. Before you send your Supervisors to leadership training, coaching training or a course in Management 101, put these processes in place first in order to truly drive change for your business and create Mentors that have a mission.

1. Provide A Mentoring Mission Statement.
Just like travelers need a map to know where they are going, Mentors need a mentoring mission statement to know their direction and understand whether they are approaching their destination. Implement this Mentoring Mission Statement so that all of your Mentors know their direction and have a gauge of whether they are all achieving the desired goals: Mentoring Mission Statement: "Inspire others to continually strive for higher levels of performance through creative and strategic methods that are always focused to achieving your goals."

2. Expand On The Mission.
Now that you have a mentoring mission statement, you don't want it to be just a sign on the wall. You want to make sure that everyone truly LIVES and BREATHES the mission. Put a standard in place that all of your Mentors spend five minutes at the end of every day evaluating their daily performance as a mentor. They must ask themselves 4 questions:

Was I inspiring?
Was I focused to higher levels of performance?
Was I creative and strategic in my mentoring methods?
Was I focused to achieving the goals of this company?

3. Focus On The Mentors' Behaviors.
What does inspiring mean? If I just tell the mentors to "be inspiring", they may all have a different opinion of what that means. Brainstorm with them on the words and phrases that are inspiring and the actions that are inspiring. Here are some examples:

4. Hold Your Mentors Accountable.
Just like front-line employees are held accountable for doing their job, Mentors must also be held accountable. Once you have the list of inspiring words and actions, be sure to observe their daily communications with the employees to see if they are doing what they are supposed to do. Do you see your Supervisors in their offices all day? Are your Supervisors constantly in meetings? Are Supervisors reading and analyzing reports rather than meeting with employees? Be sure that your Supervisors are spending time with their employees in order to drive change for your business.

5. Spend Time Mentoring Your Mentors.
Watch and listen to your Mentors communicating with your front-line employees. Is the word choice positive and passionate? Is the tone inflected to show enthusiasm? Is the body language positive to show interest and engagement? (Smiling, nodding head, open arms instead of crossed arms, etc.) Are there probing questions being asked to show concern and involvement? These are key behaviors that must be demonstrated in order to be inspiring and help others succeed.

6. Meet With Each Mentor.
Once you have observed each Mentor coaching the employees, sit down with each Mentor individually and come up with a mentoring plan. Each of your Mentors has strengths and opportunities for improvement. Some of your Mentors may not be using inspiring words. Others may not be modeling the desired behaviors. Others may not feel comfortable communicating with employees regarding behaviors that need to change. Communicate with each Mentor what the focus behavior is that you would like to change. Set a time frame for changing that behavior and hold each one accountable for making those changes.

The success of your business is hinging on the skills of your Mentors. If your front-line Supervisors are simply checking time sheets, participating in meetings or reading reports, you are not gaining the greatest return on investment from your Mentors. Your Mentors are the key to driving change in your business. Help you Mentors to learn how to mentor with the mission of driving change and producing higher performance!

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Economic Growth Continues - More Than 5.3 Million Jobs Created Since August 2003
On June 2, 2006, The Government Released New Jobs Figures – 75,000 Jobs Created In May. The economy has created about 1.9 million jobs over the past 12 months – and more than 5.3 million since August 2003. The unemployment rate fell to 4.6 percent – lower than the average of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

Revised Report Shows Fastest Real GDP Growth In Two-And-A-Half Years. Real GDP grew at an annual rate of 5.3 percent for the first quarter of this year. This follows our economic growth of 3.5 percent in 2005 – the fastest rate of any major industrialized nation.

Productivity Increased At A Strong Annual Rate Of 3.7 Percent In The First Quarter.

Real Hourly Compensation Rose At A 3.2 Percent Annual Rate In The First Quarter.

Personal Income Increased At An Annual Rate Of 6.7 Percent In April. Since January 2001, real after-tax income has risen by 12.9 percent, or 7.3 percent per person.

Real Consumer Spending Increased At An Annual Rate Of 5.2 Percent In The First Quarter.

Employment Increased In 47 States Over The Past 12 Months Ending In April. Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 41 states in April.

Industrial Production Increased 4.7 Percent Over The Past 12 Months. Over the past 12 months, manufacturing production has increased by 5.5 percent.

This Week, President Bush Nominated Henry Paulson As Treasury Secretary. Paulson has an intimate knowledge of financial markets and an ability to explain economic issues in clear terms. For the past eight years, Paulson has served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Goldman Sachs Group, one of the most respected firms on Wall Street.

The President Has Expanded Tax Relief And Is Working To Make His Tax Relief Permanent. Two weeks ago, President Bush signed into law a bill that extends the tax cuts on dividends and capital gains. This legislation also contains an Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) patch enabling millions of middle-income families to avoid paying higher taxes in 2006.

The President’s Tax Relief Has Helped Spur Growth By Keeping $880 Billion In The Pockets Of American Taxpayers. The Administration reduced taxes for every American who pays income taxes, doubled the child tax credit, reduced the marriage penalty, created investment incentives for small businesses, and put the death tax on the road to extinction.

Growing The Economy And Reducing The Deficit Depend On Controlling The Spending Appetite Of The Federal Government. Every year since the President took office, the Administration has slowed the growth of discretionary spending that is not related to the military or homeland security. The President's last two budgets cut discretionary spending that was unrelated to the military or homeland security, and we are on track to cut the deficit in half by 2009.

If The Emergency Supplemental Bill – Which The President Has Requested To Help Fund The War On Terror And Hurricane Recovery – Includes Non-Emergency Or Wasteful Spending Or Exceeds The President's Set Limit Of $92.2 Billion Plus Funding To Prepare Our Nation For A Pandemic Flu Emergency, He Will Veto It.

In The Long Run, The Biggest Challenge To Our Nation's Budgetary Health Is Entitlement Spending On Programs Such As Social Security And Medicare. We call on members of both parties to join us in a bipartisan commission to address this critical issue.

The President Will Continue Working With Congress To Restrain Spending In Other Ways, Including Passing A Line-Item Veto. A line-item veto would allow us to cut needless spending, reduce the budget deficit, and ensure that every taxpayer dollar is spent wisely – or not at all.