Building Team Through Mentoring

Want a great way to retain staff and build team? Make sure you're being a mentor!

According to the Center for Leadership Development's "MENTORING, The Next Generation of Nonprofit Leaders: A Practical Guide for Managers," there are 12 "Best Practices" for mentoring, whether it takes place in larger or small organizations. They include:

1. Improving or Supplementing Employee Orientation
2. Appreciating and Developing Character
3. Developing Specific Skills or Competencies
4. Discussing Issues, Ideas, Challenges, and Current Events
5. Offering Developmental or “Stretch” Assignments
6. Expanding the Mentee’s Network
7. Identifying Other Learning Opportunities and Recommending Resources
8. Managing Risk-Taking and Identifying Dangers or “Minefields”
9. Exploring Career Options and the Long-Term Future
10. Seeking Reciprocity and Defining Mutuality
11. Identifying More than One Mentor as a Resource to the Mentee
12. Developing a Learning and Mentoring Action Plan and Formalizing a Written Agreement Outlining Goals, Terms, and Boundaries

Read the full 48-page report here.