PODCAST

How We See a Future for Mentoring (Thinking Inside the Box | December 2020)

Lisa Fain is a mentoring expert, speaker & coach based in Seattle, Washington.

A practicing lawyer in a major multinational firm for almost ten years, Lisa counselled employers on creating inclusive policies and practices. And recognizing that the best kind of inclusion comes from understanding others’ needs & interests, she became certified as a mediator through Chicago’s Centre for Conflict Resolution. She’s since used her counselling skills to help clients understand and proactively prevent conflict.

A practice that got much more difficult in our increasingly digital world. How do you bridge the gap using a technological medium? What makes an effective mentoring relationship? What are the differences between virtual & physical mentoring?

These are a few of the questions we tackled in our discussion.

We closed our discussion by looking into the future. How can we capitalize on the disruption of 2020 & make mentorship more-inclusive? It’s an important question & one Lisa is uniquely qualified to answer.

 PODCAST

Lisa Fain, CME (Doing Good Business Podcast | December 2020)

How do mentoring and DEI intersect? We’re glad you asked! Our guest today, Lisa Fain, CEO of Center for Mentoring Excellence, has the answer. If you or your organization provides or wants to provide mentoring, you need to listen to Lisa (and read her book)!

HUGE takeaways:

• Mentors doesn’t have to have the answers! What they do need is good questions – the goal is to move away from the sage on stage model to being a guide on side

• A recent study shows that mentors have improved leadership skills in self efficacy, cultural competency & more

• If your organization is talking about a career ladder, it’s time to shift that to a career lattice

• How to start? Have conversations in relationships to determine what is working and what can be done better – take baby steps to create psychological safety FIRST

• 3 important inclusive behaviors for mentors & mentees: my normal may not be your normal, name the dynamic, constantly stay in relationship with one another

PODCAST

Having a Mentor is More Important Than Ever (Here’s Something Good | November 2020)

Mentoring may have changed during the pandemic, but it remains a key component of success, says Lisa Fain, CEO of the Center for Mentoring Excellence and author of Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring. She reveals what to look for in a mentor right now, and how to go about finding one.

PODCAST

How to Find a Mentor: 3 Steps to Forming the Relationship (NPR Lifekit | September 2020)

Imagine this: Someone you admire sets aside time to meet with you. They share how they accomplished their goals. And over time, they cheer you on and give you feedback and advice. Sounds pretty great, right? That is what we call a mentor.

PODCAST

Why Mentoring Should Be an Organizational Strategy (People at Work | September 2020)

Mentoring is well known for helping individuals pursue career and other personal development goals. Unlike coaching, which is often driven by the coach, mentoring is mentee-led and focused on their long-term growth.

The benefits of mentoring are many and varied—interpersonal skill development, greater self-awareness, and fine-tuning of life skills. So why not think about mentoring as an organizational strategy, that can be scaled from the individual, to leadership, to the company as a whole?
Lisa Fain believes that mentoring is a critical strategy for some of the key outcomes that businesses strive for: attracting and retaining outstanding talent, gaining trust and contribution at all levels, and building healthy and productive workplace cultures. Lisa and I talk about this idea and how to achieve it in the latest episode of People at Work.

Embracing mentoring as a leadership competency across the organization creates an environment of individual self-empowerment and accountability. It builds workplaces where people are trusted, enabled, and supported. It’s here that ownership is rewarded, recognized, and celebrated. And where all sorts of other key performance indicators are realized.