The day began with a session conducted by Helen Berry from CILIP. The differences between coaching and mentoring were discussed, and then we shared our experiences of being mentored. Looking at my own Chartership experience, from being mentored I gained support and reassurance that I was on the right track. Things that my mentor did to facilitate this included listening and providing practical advice to help me along the way. I also enjoyed being mentored as it was an opportunity for me to catch up with an old line manager (my mentor was my line manager in a previous sector that I worked in). As a result, I have also benefited from networking with some of my mentor’s current colleagues as well.
The session also discussed learning styles and how you may end up mentoring someone who works in a completely different way to yourself, and as a result you may end up adapting your style to accommodate your mentees. For example, some mentees may require more contact than others. We also discussed how to build rapport, the mentoring contract and confidentiality. Powerful questioning was also something else that we spent time discussing – the who, what, where, when, why and how. Asking these questions of your mentees helps them to explore their situation in more detail, encourages them to be more reflective (rather than just being descriptive) and to develop their personal awareness and responsibility. Constructive feedback is also important, as this is helpful feedback rather than destructive feedback which can be undermining. Thinking about the qualities that you need as a mentor also made me reflect on myself, having integrity, being honest, reliable and adopting a non-judgmental attitude are vital. Overall, the mentor’s role is to enable, encourage and enthuse.
I realised that being a CILIP mentor is a two-way process, and that just as the mentee can feel that things might not be going right, so too can the mentor. Several times it was stressed that the mentor also needs to be learning and benefitting from the experience. Mentoring therefore is a great opportunity for continuing professional development.
The afternoon session was conducted by a current mentor who is also an assessor. She provided an overview of how CILIP Professional Registration works before moving on to the finer points of the Mentoring Agreement and the First Formal Meeting between mentor and mentee. Establishing an Agenda when you have meetings is also important, as it gives you a focus and helps to ensure that progress is made. When I was completing my Chartership, my mentor and I always had an agenda and I found that this kept me focussed and I’m sure that as a result, I got my portfolio finished much quicker! Within the training session we also spent some time looking at the PKSB and how to use it, along with how to go about helping a candidate to write the Evaluative Statement and selecting material to submit as evidence. The session concluded with the stages involved in submitting a portfolio and how the assessment process works.
The day itself was also a good networking exercise – a couple of people on the training were also known to me as they work in libraries that I visited as part of my Chartership. It was also nice to meet other library and information professionals from the wider region and to hear about their experiences, as some of them are already mentoring and attended the training as a refresher.
This week I have updated my profile on the CILIP VLE and sent CILIP my completed Mentor Application form. As I am based in the South West, I am happy to mentor at a distance. When I completed my Chartership, this is how I communicated with my mentor, as she was based in the Midlands. About once a month we would have a telephone conversation, and in between these I could email her if I had any problems/questions. This method worked for me, although I appreciate that some people might miss the face-to-face contact, however, with things like Skype and Facetime, this could address the feeling of isolation to some degree.
So, if anyone out there is looking for a mentor…feel free to contact me!