4
Additionally, she has no major questions unanswered ... no fears
or confusion are evident.
But, for other environments, where safety or secrecy issues are
of special concern, written tests may be necessary to answer this
question to the satisfaction of all. Your role as a mentor is to
mentally and physically ready her for greater performance.
What Level of Competency Will Be Adequate?
What specific things must occur for you to feel satisfied that
the associate has truly mastered the job? Are these specific things
time related? Quality related? Quantity related? If answers to these
questions are critical to proper job performance, they should be
formalized and made known to your associate in advance. Making
sure questions like these are answered positively will affect the
amount of time you spend modeling a task for her, as well as the
sense of urgency associated with the mentoring process.
How Much Inaccuracy Will Be Allowed?
People make mistakes when first learning a job. How many
mistakes are acceptable? What kind? No person or book (outside
your own organization) can answer these questions for you — but
they must be resolved. Otherwise, the teaching process is an
independent, irrelevant exercise for all involved. Without some
performance benchmark, however minimal, words like “quality”
and “improvement” become very subjective.
When Will Unsupervised Work Be Allowed?
When will you lessen your supervision of the person and
allow her to be more independent? What is the price of letting the
associate work unassisted? Can you afford it? With mentoring, the
associate should control the relationship.
Again, these questions demand the development of general
guidelines for every organizational task attempted by your
associate. The form shown here is one way to enable that process.
It is an excellent job aid for you.
The Mentoring Role: Instruction by ExampleIf at first you don’t
succeed, you are in
the majority.