Welcome to Month 10 as a New Employee!

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 This Month: Mentoring

As you continue to grow and develop in your new position, mentoring may become an important aspect of your career. Whether you currently have a mentor or not, practice these tips that make a great mentee:

• Take initiative. While both mentors and mentees benefit from quality mentoring relationships, it’s ultimately focused on your development. Be clear about what you want to accomplish, proactively schedule meetings and generally make it easy for your mentor to guide you.
• Follow through. If you say you are going to put your mentor’s advice or guidance into practice, do it! You want them to know you are as committed as they are to development.
• Seek out a variety of mentors. Historically, mentors were older, more experienced employees within the organization. Today’s form of mentoring is much more inclusive and can connect you with those in and outside of the organization, peers and those with skills you’re interested in developing, regardless of their rank.
• Don’t forget to say thank you. Show that you appreciate the time your mentor is committing to you and let them know the positive impact they have had on your career.

Remember that mentoring is a relationship between two people. Mentees have just as much responsibility to build a productive relationship as mentors do. If you’re in a position to provide mentorship to others, consider these tips:

• Set time aside for mentoring. It is easy for daily work to get in the way, so do your best to stick to the time you have established. Try meeting outside of the workplace to minimize interruptions.
• Establish boundaries. There may be topics you do not want to speak about in order to avoid conflicts with your role as a supervisor. Be clear about what those topics are in advance.
• Encourage employees to have multiple mentors. There may be aspects about their jobs that direct reports would rather not discuss with you, and that is perfectly normal. Use your connections to help them find someone to go to for guidance.

For more tips on being a mentor, check out the Becoming a Mentor resource.

You are supported, valued and empowered.

The University of Missouri System supports a culture of health. Review the easy action steps for the five priorities (be active, eat well, find work-life fit, work healthy and empower and appreciate) to make positive changes.

Learn, discover and innovate each day.

Learn more about seeking a mentor or mentoring others. Log into Percipio with your normal university ID and password and access these resources:

• Getting the Most Out of Mentoring resource

For Supervisors

• Mentoring and Coaching (3 minutes)
• Before You Become a Mentor (2 minutes)

You work in a safe, inclusive, transparent environment.

Most people have good intentions when they engage with their colleagues. Comments, questions and jokes are often efforts meant to build genuine connections. Sometimes, though, a comment or action may have unintended consequences. These small, often repeated offenses are called microaggressions, and learning how to avoid them can ensure your colleagues and others feel a sense of respect and belonging when they interact with you.

Questions?

If you have any questions, contact us at learningdevelopment@umsystem.edu.