Mentors Online made its 8th and final email contact with participants today – Week 14 of 14.

This email formally closed down the e-mentoring partnerships.

Participants were directed to further resources and services available from Connect – APESMA’s Network for Independent Contractors and Consultants, and were asked to complete an evaluation form. Mentees were invited to make a list of learning outcomes and compare them with the goals and milestones they defined at the outset of the program.

Where Mentors choose to maintain ongoing contact with their Mentee/s, Mentors Online assists with the redefinition of the partnership. Mentors were invited to put in place arrangements for ongoing contact which is likely to mean a transition to a more unstructured communications schedule and greater flexibility to provide for mutual schedules and business and consulting commitments.

Certificates of Participation will be posted to Mentees when their evaluation forms are received.

And finally, Mentors Online expressed its appreciation for the cooperation, commitment and enthusiasm shown by Mentors and Mentees in this program, and for showing the flexibility and adaptability required for the program to be effective.

Mentors Online made its 7th email contact with participants today – Week 13 of 14.

This email message focused on the redefinition and conclusion phase of the mentoring process. Mentors Online is structured so that continuing contact is at the initiative and discretion of the Mentor with participants advised on how to redefine their partnership if both parties wish to continue contact. Participants were advised that they should assess their progress towards the program goals and were provided with a final set of discussion topics to work through if they wished.

Mentees were invited to provide feedback to their Mentor on their mentoring skills against the following criteria so the Mentors could consider professional development in these areas:

• engage the mentee in non-judgemental discussions
• use appropriate language (non-sexist, non-racist, non-technical, non-jargon)
• encourage the mentee to develop their own response rather than advising directly on what they should do
• provide the mentee with options
• set an example with ethical and professional behaviour and demonstrate personal integrity
• show concern for the mentee’s welfare
• work with the mentee to define the parameters of the mentoring relationship being clear about what is and is not being offered
• employ a flexible, open and confident style
• listen carefully and ask open questions which evoke responses
• be encouraging, accepting and reinforce the mentee’s expression of feelings, perceptions, concerns, beliefs and suggestions
• be clear, articulate and direct in your communication
• establish goals and milestones to work towards within and beyond the mentoring relationship
• refer the mentee to other sources of information
• develop a feeling of trust and intimacy between yourself and your mentee.

Participants were again invited to contact Mentors Online with feedback or if they had any concerns.

Next update: 2nd November, 2009

Mentors Online made its 6th email contact with participants today – Week 11 of 14.

Mentors were advised to check that they had:

• flagged and discussed any possible blind spots in the Mentee’s outlook or approach
• given pats on the back
• asked lots of questions and made an effort to provoke or encourage insight
• recognised effort as well as results
• given their e-mentoring partner the opportunity to raise personal as well as business issues
• made their feedback specific, constructive, timely and supportive
• helped their Mentee to identify barriers or situational constraints
• asked their Mentee “What am I not doing which you’d like me to do, what am I doing that you’d like me to stop, and what should I keep doing?”
• asked their Mentee “What motivates you?”
• discussed with their Mentee where you see their areas of improvement potential.

Mentees were directed to Exercise 4 on Professional Development.

Participants were provided with further discussion topics including leadership, effective meetings, motivation, negotiation skills, problem solving, productivity, report writing, speeches and presentations, and stress and time management.

Participants were again invited to contact Mentors Online with feedback or if they had any concerns.

Next update: 26th October, 2009

Mentors Online today made it's 5th formal contact with participants today – Week 9 of 14.

This email reminded Mentees and Mentors that they should now be working on the program goals on the basis of the relationship they have established with their Mentoring partner in preceding weeks.

Mentees were directed to Exercise 3 on Networking.

In response to the difficulties some participants had with establishing personal program goals, participants were reminded of the significant program outcomes which would result if they chose to simply complete each of the exercises provided by Mentors Online as part of the structured program. Participants were given examples of personal program goals which some of the e-mentoring partnerships had put in place either to replace, or work on in conjunction with, the structured exercises.

Mentees were advised to try to avoid the tendency to make the e-mentoring separate to their business activity. By integrating the e-mentoring process with their business – that is, by ensuring the e-mentoring is a work-integrated learning activity – the chances of obtaining benefit from the e-mentoring process at a sophisticated level are maximised.

Participants were also reminded that in the closing stages of the program, Mentors Online would provide an opportunity for Mentors to receive structured feedback on their e-mentoring skills – this is so that Mentors can pursue further professional development in this area if they wish. The program explained to participants that the program provides a process for e-mentoring partners to exchange personal references if they wish. They were also advised that Certificates of Participation were being prepared for circulation Mentees on return of their Evaluation Questionnnaire at the conclusion of the program.

Participants were again invited to contact Mentors Online with feedback or if they had any concerns. They were provided with possible discussion topics and again invited to view feedback on the program via the website.

Next update: 12th October, 2009

Mentors and Mentees were contacted again today, 14th September 2009.

This email contact included a Partnership Status Checklist which asked participants to self-assess against six criteria to check that their partnership was on track. The rationale behind this is to provide a Structured Evaluation Point which will prompt contact with Mentors Online if necessary. It provides an opportunity for Mentors Online to intervene in the e-mentoring partnership if the basics are not yet in place.

Message 4 reminded participants that the focus of the program is goal-setting and undertaking work towards these goals – not on actually achieving the outcomes by the end of the program. This is intended to relieve any pressure Mentees and Mentors may be feeling.

Participants were reminded that the Mentors Online program is sufficiently flexible for them to ask for some flexibility while still remaining committed to the program. A 2-3 day flexibility factor is suggested as an option to help deal with competing commitments and what are inevitably very busy schedules.

Participants were reminded that the structured exercises built into the program are entirely optional and that no discussion or activities should be undertaken for their own sake – rather Mentees should bring the issues to the table and the focus should be on issues and activities which will directly benefit them and progress their business operation. It was explained that the more the mentee and mentor adapt the program, the greater the chances of an effective partnership with strong outcomes.

Participants were again provided with possible discussion topics, referred to APESMA’s Business Info Series as a potential information resource, referred to Rob Tonge’s How to Become a Successful Consultant in Your Chosen Field, and invited to view feedback on the program so far.

Next update: 28th September, 2009

In line with the planned fortnightly contact with Mentors Online participants, Mentors and Mentees were emailed again on the 31st August. We are now into our 5th week of the 14-week program.

Participants were again reminded to ensure that they had set their program goals to work towards and established a regular communications schedule.

Mentors and Mentees were advised on how they could best engage with the potential sophistication offered by e-mentoring, and reminded that the program was not simply an opportunity for mentees to avail themselves of a quick fix, a free consulting service or directive advice. Rather, it was suggested that the mentoring exercise should be a collaborative one, a chance to set and begin working towards longer term goals, and very much a two-way process. Participants were directed to supplementary modes of communication such as online chat and telephone hook-ups where appropriate and feasible.

Program participants were directed to Exercise 2 – a SWOT analysis.

Participants were reminded of the online tutorials for help with sustaining their partnership and were referred back to the Questions to establish rapport if their discussions needed some further impetus.

Participants were again invited to provide and view feedback. Feedback can be found on the website at http://www.apesma.asn.au/mentorsonline/program/feedback.htm.

Next update: 14th September, 2009

In line with the scheduled fortnightly contact with Mentors Online participants, Mentors and Mentees were emailed again today.

Mentees were provided with tools to assist with crucial strategic visioning and goal setting. These tools aim to assist with developing specific goals to help make a general vision a business reality, and to assist with moving the mindset of a contractor across to a consultant.

Mentees were asked to finalise a set of particular skills or goals they would work on with their Mentors. This guidance is given to help sustain the mentoring partnerships by keeping email exchanges focussed, specific and goal orientated.

In an effort to ensure participants expectations are in line with the Program goals, Mentors Online reaffirmed its commitment to working with Mentors to assist Mentees move their business operations forward by working on some key business skills.

Mentees were advised to take full advantage of their Mentor's commitment to investing time and effort to develop their business operation or career, and were encouraged to be proactive in their discussions with their mentoring partner. They were also advised not to become "e-lurkers" which, in e-mentoring terms, means hanging back and letting the mentor drive the discussion agenda.

Further discussion topics were provided by the host in an effort to support the mentoring partnerships and provide additional momentum if email communications were plateauing, or still laboured or stilted.

Mentors were reminded to:

• ask questions to help the Mentee think about new possibilities
• provide background information
• suggest other sources of information
• challenge the way the Mentee is approaching a particular area
• suggest journals the Mentee may be interested in reading or websites of interest

Next update: 31st August, 2009

The Mentors Online program kicked off today, Monday 3rd August.

The 14-week program began with Mentoring partners being introduced and advised of the business skills areas in which they share an interest. It was suggested that e-Mentoring partners should make contact and to establish a regular communication schedule including a once or twice-weekly exchange. Participants were referred back to the website or to their manuals to re-read the online tutorials and guidelines on electronic communication. Mentees were referred to a Startup Questionnaire to help them frame questions and topics to discuss with their Mentor. They were also referred to their first of four web-based exercises – an exercise to help them consider their business plan.

Mentees were invited to discuss with their Mentor why they registered with Mentors Online and what they hoped to get out of participating in the program. Mentors Online advised partners to consider setting tangible and measurable goals to work towards during the life of the program – offering the choice of adopting those of the program or setting their own.

Among other things, Mentors were reminded to engage in non-judgemental discussions, to use appropriate language (non-sexist, non-racist, non-technical, non-jargon), to encourage the Mentee to develop their own response rather than advising directly on what they should do, to set an example with ethical and professional behaviour and demonstrate personal integrity, to work with the Mentee to define the parameters of the Mentoring relationship being clear about what is and is not being offered, to listen carefully and ask open questions which evoke responses, and to be encouraging, accepting and reinforce the Mentee’s expression of feelings, perceptions, concerns, beliefs and suggestions.

Participants were also reassured that the program offered sufficient flexibility to accommodate brief absences due to travel, business or family responsibilities. It was suggested that if an absence is to occur, participants should make arrangements directly with their e-Mentoring partners.

Next update: 17th August, 2009