Development of a Mentoring Plan
- The Mentorship Plan
A mentoring plan provides a road map for both the mentor and mentee. It explains and outlines the expectations. It provides a structured approach to mentoring. A good mentorship plan explains and formalises the relationship between a mentor and mentee. Once the meeting has taken place, you can set the guidelines to define the relationship. Points such as the frequency of meetings, the place and times can now be set. Furthermore, through the co-operation of both (MBO – Management By Objectives), attention can be given to the structure and formation of the goals, objectives and actions plan. Pay attention to the mentees development growth areas and supervision needs and skills. Plan for networking possibilities and introduce the mentee to contacts that may benefit them. Ensure that the mentoring plan is visited at regular intervals to ensure changes are made and is carefully maintained.
How to prepare a mentorship plan for my up and gumming mentorship engagement
- Steps to follow in creating a Mentorship Plan
- PART 1 of 3. Establishing a meeting and roles and guidelines
Note: Please refer to the section in the course dealing with meetings
- Meeting for the first time
Your first meeting, the time you get to know each other and to build a relationship before you start working together. This meeting is arranged by the mentor. He or she determines whether it will be a more formal or more relaxed (Informal) first meeting. The choice is yours. A formal meeting will be held in your office or in the conference room, an informal meeting is the recommended meeting for building relationships between the mentor and mentee in the agricultural environment. This meeting can therefore take place at the farm, in the house, barn or even under a tree or outside in the garden, served with a cup of coffee or tea.
Make sure the meeting is well planned and that the mentee knows exactly where and at what time it will take place. Create a positive atmosphere. Make sure that the first hour or so of conversation, creates a pleasant atmosphere in which both of you feel comfortable and relaxed. To ensure this keep the questions simple and relaxed. Here the mentor should take the lead in comfortably sharing information about themselves. Be open about who you are, where you went to school, where you come from, what sport you like and how you keep yourself busy in your free time, because this is the information you want from the mentee. Remember though, it’s about the mentee in the relationship you’re building with them. Listen actively and remember the things you know are important to him or her. This knowledge in turn provides the skill to easily secure a starting point for your next conversation.
- Agenda for a first meeting:
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AGENDA – FIRST MEETING TICK SHEET |
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Stages |
Actions to be taken |
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Arrival |
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Introduction |
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Share and discuss the mentoring process |
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Discuss and set ground rules |
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Determine expectations |
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Responsibilities for the mentee and mentor |
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Roles for the mentee and mentor |
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Determine the growth areas – goals, objectives, outcomes and milestones Determine the development areas |
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Complete the mentoring partnership AGREEMENT and all applicable documentation TEMPLATES |
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Future meetings |
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End |
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- Mentor and Mentee future meetings
How often does the mentor and mentee meet?
The more often you meet, the more you communicate, recap, get feedback, solve problems, make decisions, set new objectives and this will therefore lead to successful progress, especially in the beginning of your relationship. A good guideline is to meet about 3-4 times with every project stretching over a 3-6 month period. There can be more regular meetings to ensure that the set goals are achieved and that the progress is as desired.
Development areas must also be addressed so that the mentee can attend courses to gain the necessary knowledge, for this suitable times must be planned and thus form part of the mentor plan as well as mentee action plan.
Things to consider for the meetings.
- Where the meeting will take place
- The level of formality of the meeting
- What is on the agenda?
- What will be the main items covered in this meeting?
- Operational skills
- Development skills
- Supervisory opportunities
- Problem-solving issues
- Decision-making actions
- Evaluated feedback on individual tasks to mentee
- Feedback on the progress
- Questions and Answer session
- When you will meet again
- Etcetera.
- Identify each person’s responsibilities
With the broad goals set in the previous step, first find out what your relationship will be, that is, specify what you and also your mentee will be responsible for with respect to each goal. Put these responsibilities clearly in writing so there is no doubt about each person’s role.
Responsibilities
Mentor:
As a mentor I am responsible for:
- Being a role model to the mentee
- Working on a list of skills the mentee wants or needs to work on.
- Working on a list of development needs the mentee might need.
- Being available when needed.
- Provide support and encouragement to the mentee.
- Provide guidance, advice and regular feedback on the progress of the mentee.
- Provide specific insight and information to enable the mentee’s success.
- Provide a safe space for the mentee to require the skills.
- Show the mentee how it is done. (Get MY hands dirty)
- Share knowledge and my expertise with the mentee.
- Facilitate learning opportunities and assure understanding.
- Provide emotional support.
- Meet with them on a regular basis or as stipulated on the plan
- Maintain and improve on our relationship.
- Challenge the mentee with open-ended questions.
- Build trust through engagement.
Mentee:
As the mentee I am responsible for:
- Respecting the mentor
- Taking the initiative to work with the mentor.
- Communicating regularly with mentor.
- Seeking out the opportunities and experiences to enhance my learning.
- Preparing a list of goals and objectives to share with my mentor.
- Being proactive and take initiative.
- Being proactive in meeting the mentor’s schedule, settings and agendas for the meetings.
- Working together and to be successful in what you both want to achieve.
- Taking part in the feedback process
- Being proactive in seeking help, advice and support
- Creating an action plan for my short, medium and long-term goals.
(Short-term = immediate tasks – Medium-tasks = per season – Long-term = year) - Being open and truthful with my communication.
- Asking relevant questions to gain knowledge.
- Reviewing my progress and bring it to the attention of my mentor where I still experience gaps.
- Assisting the mentor in developing my Mentor Agreement.
- Committing to meet with my mentor on a regular basis or as stipulated on the plan.
- Making the most of this opportunity.
- Increasing the speed at which learning takes place and to achieve competency.
- Behaving with integrity and to recognize that hard work and sacrifice pays dividends down the road.
- Fostering leadership development
- Reducing stress
- Etcetera.
Setting Goals, Objectives and an Action Plan.
- Part 2 of 3 Discuss desired outcomes needed for success
Outlining Goals and Objectives
Be very specific in discussing the desired work related outcomes. Once you start working together as mentor and mentee, start a conversation to discuss the basic goals. First, set broad goals that are later narrowed down to more specific goals. Now write down the mentor’s and mentee’s long-term goals, medium-term and short-term objectives. Action plan the activities and discuss the evaluation process.
These basic goals include things like:
- Increase the speed, the mentee learns their role and achieves competency
- Discuss problem and risk areas to be taken care of
- What farming operational activities needs to be taken care of
- To carry out farm operations with more care.
- Manage machinery, tools and materials better.
- Store procedures
- Increase in motivation and job satisfaction
- Reducing stress and preventing the consequences that arise from it.
- Promoting leadership development
- Increase production
- Crop or animal farming, irrigation or other farming activities
- Financial issues
- etcetera
Both the mentor and mentee now had the time to get to know each other better and thus establish their relationship before starting their activities. Furthermore, they also have a good understanding of the desired outcomes of their relationship, thus what their roles and responsibilities are. Both will understand the importance and necessity of the meetings and when, where, what, why and how it should be done. This in turn will help them to do the outlining and planning of their goals and objectives for successful completion.
Benefits of Goals and Objectives.
The mentee will benefit directly from clearly defined goals.
What are the benefits of clearly defined goals and objectives?
Goals and objectives provide a sense of direction.
The importance of clear and meaningful goals for a team or individual will have a significant effect on their performance, engagement and motivation if they are well documented. Goals give direction to each team member or individual, allow them to understand where they are now, define where they want to go, and unify each individual’s effort to get there.
What are the three most important benefits of clear goals and objectives within the agricultural environment?
The three key benefits of clear goals and objectives:
- Provide a significant direction in which to move
- Improvement in measuring of success
- Promise better decision making to ensure value addition to the product.
Kind of goals to set for the mentee
- Examples of activities needed to be done on the farm
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The above examples, and/or if you break them down into smaller goals or objectives, can be used to compile long, medium or short term goals.
- Long-term goals
Write down the mentee’s Long-term goals (1+ years).
During the mentorship meeting discuss the skills that your mentee needs, now discuss the needs that he or she wants to work on, as a long-term goal. You as mentor can also suggest possible skills that might be beneficial to the mentee as principal goals.
- The mentor and mentee now determine the primary long-term goal for the mentee, this will be helpful to create clear as well as specific goals and objectives to work towards.
- As the mentor, discuss the mentee’s specific goals and objectives with them to help them develop their ideas and then help them to turn these ideas into definitive statements for long-term goals to emerge. First allow the mentee to come up with ideas before you assist in guiding and supporting them towards it.
- If the mentee discusses their specific goals and objectives with you, you can continue to communicate your ideas and procedures, up to the point where the main outcomes and or actions can be taken, to achieve the set goals. This must now be reflected on the mentoring plan, to ensure successful completion.
- As you progress, write them down as measurable goals, objectives and activities.
Example:
– My ultimate long-term goal is –
- To become a seed farmer with a gross income of “x” amount at the end of this mentoring period of 1+ years.
- Layout a new land in sections and do the preparation of the soil for planting in the next year to come.
- These milestones can now be converted / broken down into specific but manageable goals or objectives, each with their own activities. Actions to be taken and the time / period to completion.
- Goals and objectives must reflect on an Action Plan.
- Must adhere to the S-M-A-R-T principals.
- Medium-term goals
Write down the mentee’s Medium-term goals
(Seasonal goals per season or work to be done in less than a year).
These are the goals or objectives you want to achieve during the seasons of this year.
Example:
– Delivery of 100 liters of milk per week, as stated on the contract, until the closed date that reflects on the contract within this year.
- The goal can now be transformed into specific but manageable objectives each with their own number of activities.
- Goals and objectives must reflect on an Action Plan
- Must adhere to the S-M-A-R-T principals.
- Short-term goals
Write down the mentee’s Short-term goals (Near future / Objectives per season)
These are goals you want to accomplish within the near future.
The near future can mean today, this week, this month. A short-term goal is activities you want to accomplish soon or still within this season.
Examples:
– Improve leadership performance. Attending any development course.
– Become a licensed tractor driver within the next 4 months
- This goal can now be transformed into specific but manageable objectives each with their own number of activities.
- Goals and objectives must reflect on an Action Plan.
- Must adhere to the S-M-A-R-T principals.
- Make a list of Operational growth areas the mentee wants or needs to work on
These are the mentee’s normal daily work activities that are expected of him or her and from which he or she will benefit if he or she is given the opportunity to produce work of a more advanced quality. It can also take the form of planting new or different crops that he or she has not been exposed to before. These are chances of development or improvement of their skills that can lead to greater productivity or income. ROI.
Examples:
- To increase the speed, by introducing better and more effective ways or new inventions to their working activities, the mentee learns their role and achieves competency
- The introduction of fertilizers and the correct use it, in their activities during soil preparation or planting time and afterwards.
- This goal can now be transformed into specific but manageable objectives each with their own number of activities.
- Goals and objectives must reflect on an Action Plan.
- Must adhere to the S-M-A-R-T principals.
- Identify Development needs and or behavioural need that need to change.
In the same mentorship meeting discuss skills or behavioural needs that your mentee needs, and suggest possible skills that might be beneficial to the mentee as development needs. (Growth)
Include in the plan any training, workshops or professional development opportunities that may benefit the mentee, also include when these events will take place as well as important deadlines such as documentation or pre-work that must be submitted before the event begins.
Note:
Always make sure that your development-areas is part of this planning. Courses must be booked in advance for you to have the required knowledge and skills to do future long-term goals.
Development needs, are skills like:
- Management, Leadership or Supervisory course
- Communication course, Time management,
- Problem solving and Decision making skill course
- Etcetera.
- Identify and plan for Supervisory needs and skills to be performed by the mentee.
Discuss in the meeting where you can provide the mentee with the opportunity to perform supervisory tasks in which he or she must take charge of other workers, tools or materials and to report on it or to give feedback on the state of affairs. This then gives the mentee the opportunity to enjoy exposure and to stockpile his or her skills for when he or she is exposed to such a position.
Examples of Supervisory skills:
- Being the leader of the team
- Check that all tools that was used during the day are returned and in good working condition
- Taking control of a small project
- Act in a supervisory position during an activity on the farm.
- Prepare a survey for a special project.
- Act as chairperson for the next meeting.
- Make a presentation at the next community gathering.
- Plan for introductions to contacts that may benefit the mentee
Plan to introduce the mentee to people that may be important to them for their development.
Make a list of these skills, information needed and or experience needed and identify ways how the mentee can be exposed to the expert in their daily work activities.
Introduce the mentee to other similar farmers or commercial farmers in the region, this is to expand the mentee’s social circle, you may also introduce them to other professions which will be important for their development and help them to achieve their goals.
Skills that flow from networking relationships:
Examples:
- To meet up with professionals
- Arrangement to work together on a project with the expert within the mentees work environment
- Release him or her from their work and allow them to associate with the expert for a period of time outside of the mentees environment
- Etcetera.
- Example of a completed Action plan
Assessment and Evaluation
- Assessment and Evaluation to ensure good progress
Assessment and or Evaluation is a combined term for the measuring of processes set up by the farmer or institutions such as companies like AGRIFOODSA, GRAIN SA, greater Commercial farmers of different commodities in South Africa like, Government agencies, International organisations and NGOs, and others, with the goal of improving their work and production and for the management of outputs, outcomes and impact
Assessment methods are the gathering of information, evidence and/or data to determine the extent to which the mentee is achieving their specific goals and objectives. So use the right method to ensure the right outcome. The method used must be quick and easy to implement, resulting in positive and good practical or behavioural changes
Assessment is the systematic basis for making inferences / conclusions about the learning and development of mentees. It is the process of defining, selecting, designing, collecting, analysing, interpreting, and using information to increase the mentees learning and development.
5 Essential Types of Assessment for work
- Diagnostic assessment.
A diagnostic assessment is the most preferred type of assessment of learning to check a mentee’s current knowledge. It involves a series of questions given at the beginning of a program or mentoring process to identify a mentee’s strengths and weaknesses before any work begins - Practical assessment.
A practical assessment consists of practical farm activities that are assessed in order to observe the mentee’s practical skills and to determine how it compares to preset standards. It is a performance-based assessments to identify whether or not a mentee meets the standards-set or qualifications needed to deliver. - Skill assessment.
Skill assessment are used to evaluate a person’s soft or behavioural skills to determine if he or she can take charge of their work area. - Interim or Continuous assessments
Interim or continuous assessments are general assessments applied throughout the mentoring process to monitor growth and performance, as the program progresses, against specific goals and action plans measured against pre-set standards. - On-the-spot assessment
On-the-spot assessment is a quick assessment, usually done on-site or in the moment by gathering information when the mentee is observed and performing the activity
Monitoring and Evaluation
Monitoring is observing, listening and checking or testing the progress or quality of work done by a mentee over a period of time. It is therefore a systematic review that is done to make a judgment of the quantity, number or value of work in progress or completed / delivered, and to give feedback on it to the involved mentee, and to report on it and file it for possible later use.
Evaluation should be easy to understand and easy to do, but it should still be able to be applied effectively and bring valuable information to point out to the mentee where the standards have not yet been met or where the mentee has already achieved success.
Part 3 of 3
Ensuring good progress
- Evaluate the mentee to check on their progress. This is to ensure good progress.
Ensure that you visit the mentee on a regular basis to ensure that they are making good progress, make sure that these schedules is part of your mentorship plan. (Reason, date and time). During the review sessions visit the mentorship plan, goals and objectives to see what the mentee has achieved and what they are still working on, their progress thus far.
Remember! Celebrate all their achievements.
- Make adjustments to the mentorship plan and goals as needed
Make the adjustments as needed, such as changing goal completion dates, modifying goals or adding now goals. If the mentee has experienced any problems or complaints, see how the mentoring plan can be adjusted to accommodate the situations and eliminates the possibility of reoccurring.
- Review the plan and have both parties sign it.
Once you are happy with the newly revised plan, and that you both agree to the newly set goals and objectives and period, you can both sign it to make it official.
Make copies of the plan for both the parties
Becoming a good mentor (Conclusive summary)
FOUR PHASES IN THE MENTORING PROCESS
Following the 4 steps will help you to become a good mentor.
In summary
4 Steps in the mentoring process
1. Prepare myself for readyness
- To prepare myself to act as a mentor, I must assure myself that I fully understand what the mentoring job entails and what I am letting myself in for.
- I need to assess my readiness and motivation to handle the entire process.
- Doing self-examination regarding my self-image, values and attitude can be determining factors in the way I build the relationship and also the success of the mentoring process.
- Socialise the concept of how you will approach the mentoring process and how you will plan and establish the relationship with the mentee, with others, during these discussions, be open for critical feedback from them. (Mentee)
Make the necessary changes to ensure greater success. - Contact the person I need to mentor and arrange for the first meeting with them.
- Allow the mentee time to prepare himself or herself for the meeting and if there is any preliminary work that needs to be done, allow them time to do it.
- On the day ask open questions to start knowing the mentee.
- Deal with the expectations and needs of the mentee as the discussion progresses throughout the meeting.
2. Negotiate and agree on goals and objectives
Start the mentoring relation in an open, direct and collaborative way.
- This is the phase to set and agree on the boundaries for the mentoring process, boundaries have to do with expectations, accessibility, frequency, duration, format, personal needs, limitations responsibilities and time. Discuss things like, who will do what, when, why, where and how during all circumstances of the program.
- Clarify the roles, responsibilities and expectations of each party, and how you will handle any issues or conflicts.
- Negotiate an agreement that benefits both.
- Agree on learning milestones, goals and objectives and clearly define what both the mentor and mentee aim to achieve.
- To identify your goals and needs as mentee you must know what kind of support from the mentor, you need.
Do you want to develop a:
Specific skill, explore a new field, know more about farming techniques or methods, increase your productivity, or gain more visibility and recognition, etcetera.
Be very specific and realistic about your goals and needs and how you want to align them with what you want to achieve. Know exactly what you want from your mentor - Understand what is expected of you as mentor and mentee in this mentorship undertaking.
3. Commitment (Guide – Support – Share – Care)
- Focus on being supportive
- Follow through (To continue an action or task to its conclusion, don’t promise a reward and then not “follow through”)
- Good mentors should be committed to these values:
- Open yourself up to your mentees in a caring, enthusiastic, confident and positive manner.
- Have a respectful and positive attitude and eagerness to invest in the mentee.
- Guide, support, share information and experiences with your mentee in an ongoing and constructive way
- Express care and concern for the mentees profession as farmer and their personal welfare.
- Be committed to share relevant expertise and knowledge.
- Give honest and direct feedback and practice active listening with empathy.
- Discuss the importance of constructive feedback and how it will be done. The methods used must feel comfortable to both the mentor and mentee and clearly ensure the growth and accumulation of knowledge and skill.
- Constantly seek ways to deepen your relationship. Assess the quality of your relationship and identify any areas for improvement. It must always be a Win-Win for both parties.
- Be flexible and adapt to any changes or challenges that may arise during the process.
- Evaluate and adjust the agreement as you go along.
- Track your progress and outcomes, by comparing them to your initial goals, expectations and standards.
- Ways through which performance can be observed include:
- Direct observation and feedback
- Specific work results or outcomes
(tangible, observable evidence that can be reviewed in the mentees absence) - Records and reports
(attendance, safety, inventory, financial records, action plans, reviews) - Constructive and/or critical comments made by other workers, farmers or community members must be taken seriously and where necessary, must receive your full attention.
- Celebrate all successes.
- Closure – Feedback and Conversation on progress.
- End the agreement when it is no longer beneficial or relevant to either party
- The conversation during closing is focused on the learning and progress the mentee has made during the mentoring relationship. The following can be highlighted, some feedback can be discussed in general and others in more depth as long as it is relevant to the continued growth and progress of the mentee.
- Remember, most of the feedback and discussion will be in a general format.
- Make sure the closing experience is on a level that brings energy and positivity to the mentoring relationship.
- Celebrate again, all successes you both have experienced throughout the mentorship period.
- Finely, focus on becoming the most effective agricultural mentor
5 Best practices
No matter what type of mentor you are, some best practices help you be effective, such as:
- Storytelling is one of the best ways to highlight lessons from your experiences in your own farming career to bring learning and understanding home to the mentee. Share these experiences to help the mentee gain wisdom. Emphasise in your stories what you learned and how you learned it. Storytelling creates the opportunity for the mentee to visualise your experience to bring reality home to him or her. If possible make as much use of practical examples, material and equipment so that the story takes the form of a demonstration. Use as many senses as possible during your explanation to explain the concept. (Hearing, Sight, Taste, Smell and Touch)
- Seek understanding before providing advice.
Allow the mentee to come up with their own ideas and solutions before offering your ideas or advice. Make sure you fully understand the mentee, this will show that you care and understand where they are coming from, to ensure you are addressing the real problem rather than the symptom of it. - It is essential to pay full attention to what is being discussed.
Be focused and listen actively to what is being said, this not only ensures that you both enjoy a successful experience, it also ensures clarity about what is being said and leads to the strengthening of the mentee’s self-confidence. By offering them the first opportunity, to bring their ideas forward, ensures positive growth. After their contributions you can share your thoughts in order to come to a final conclusion together. It also strengthens trust in your mentoring relationship which can lead to solving more difficult problems in future projects. Collaboration will ensure that you both make the right decisions that hold many valuable lessons for the mentee. - Emphasise the areas of growth you see and give them positive feedback.
Celebrate every goal the mentee achieves. Remind them of their progress and what areas of development you have seen. This will enhances their experiences and gives them the confidence to tackle more challenging activities on the farm. - Show empathy!
Always be empathetic towards the mentee’s challenges, this could be their first time being confronted with this activity, the way you handle it will definitely lead to a strengthened relationship between them and yourself. Practicing empathy will make you a better leader with better mentoring abilities.
- Conclusion
Concluding thoughts
Ultimately, engagement, interest, inculcation, investment and inspiration are the pillars of mentoring, but most important and must enjoy the highest form of inculcation is caring deeply for your mentee. If you care enough to mentor someone, most mentees will care enough to plough back and soon repay their investment in knowledge and skill with extraordinary success. Through their experience of the mentoring relationship and the benefits they have enjoyed from it, they will also transfer the investment to others and thus repeat the cycle of mentoring. Mentoring is surely the highest form of leadership in so many ways.
The mentors are now equipped with the fundamental knowledge and skills necessary to apply these newly learned skills in such a way as to bring about a meaningful mentoring program in the agricultural environment and therefore to build better and stronger relationships with the mentees who will be assigned to you.
The mentees can now cultivate a cultured mentorship relationship, of growth and sustainability leading to community sustainability, which in turn contributes to food security in the rural community.