Is it necessary to have superpowers in order to communicate with spiritual guides? And is it really only about those mentors who “get in touch” with hereditary shamans or mediums?
In fact, everything is much simpler. You yourself can answer who our spiritual Mentors are and go out to communicate with them.
Maybe you have already communicated with the spiritual world, you just don’t realize it?
From the article you will learn what methods of communication can be used with the Spiritual World.
So, you have decided to get in touch with the Spiritual World. What is needed for this?
It is known that in life nothing is done for nothing; every event needs a reason. In communication with the spiritual world, such a reason will be your inner desire and readiness.
How to prepare for a meeting with spiritual Mentors?
Believe that you can see and hear your spiritual Guides! To communicate with spiritual Guides you do not have to be a psychic or a medium.
If you meditate and know how to stop the racing of your thoughts, this skill will help you achieve results faster. It is already inherent in each of us internal potential for contact with the Spiritual World.
Now it’s no longer a secret that you can train your extrasensory abilities. There’s just a time, place and readiness for everything. Therefore, we are all potential channels for communication with Mentors, we just forgot about it...
Try to first look at the events of each day a little differently.
How often does this happen? Half-awake in the morning, in a hurry - breakfast, or maybe without it, then work, study, chores, household chores. Everyone has their own list, but the meaning is often the same. And even if you come across something interesting, just pass by. Why think about it if you’re already full of worries!
What if it’s different? Notice everything that happens in your life every day? Perhaps you have already ignored it more than once.
Who is helping us?
There cannot be a consensus on who our spiritual Guides are. There are many views on who helps us. Everyone can
You can contact your guardian angel or Soul loved one. Each of us has our own spiritual friends; we should act as our heart says.
How to get in touch with a Spiritual Guide?
1. Letter
Automatic writing comes to you through channels of spiritual communication; it is not a product of your mind, your earthly brain.
Automatic writing is one of the effective ways connections with the Spiritual World. If you have a direct and specific desire to ask questions to your spiritual Guides, then this is exactly what you need.
To write, you need to get yourself in the mood to mentally allow yourself to write down everything that will come and what the hand (or hands on the keyboard) will write.
From the outside it may seem like communicating with yourself: asked - wrote down. But it is you who are a guide for answers from the Spiritual World.
Therefore, take a comfortable position, put thoughts and worries aside, and turn your attention inward. Watch your breathing to better tune in to the incoming information. And just start writing down everything that comes as knowledge or in the form of a kind of monologue.
2. Prayer
Do not try to control the process of prayer, it should flow freely, like any important conversation. Give yourself over to your prayer completely, accept any feelings and thoughts that come during it.
Doreen Virtue "Messages from Angels"
As already said, no consensus about the division of spiritual beings. The same applies to prayers and religion. Some people often turn to icons, visit churches and light candles, while others are completely far from religion and do not know a single church holiday.
Prayer can be called not only written texts that are read at services. Prayer is a message from your heart. And the order of the words you pronounce is not so important. The important thing is with what feelings and thoughts you will do this.
Mentally or out loud say your question, your gratitude or wish, and believe me, you will be heard!
3. Drawing
"IN kindergarten There is a drawing lesson going on. The teacher approaches a girl who is enthusiastically drawing something:
What are you drawing?
But no one knows what he looks like!
Now they’ll find out!”
Surprisingly, drawing can also be a way of communicating with spiritual Guides! Drawing can be used especially successfully to create images of our spiritual friends.
Also, if you wish and intend, mentally set a goal for yourself: depict your spiritual Mentor or Mentors in the drawing.
Maybe you want to answer a certain question with the help of a drawing - draw how some situation will unfold, and this is also possible!
Mentally ask for support in your business, so that spiritual friends can prompt you and lead your hand in the right direction. Often, from such a seemingly difficult task, entire works of art are born!
4. Sleep
In sleep we become closer to that universal, true and eternal Self that hides under the cover of night.
Carl Gustav Jung
Sleep and dreams are a part of every person's life. If someone does not remember his dreams, then it seems as if they do not exist at all.
In fact, brain physiology says the opposite: the brain dreams, but we don’t always remember them. And this is considered just a completely normal physiological process.
But those who can confirm that sometimes these “night films” can be very mysterious and wordy.
And all because dreams are a mirror of our subconscious and subtle mental processes. Consequently, this is the most favorable opportunity for communication with the Spiritual World.
Most people have at least once seen something in their dreams in their entire lives. interesting character who said important things...
As a rule, half of these important things are erased from memory the next morning... Someone, maybe, and maybe even with those who live now.
Now imagine that this is exactly how communication with the subtle world can take place. Sometimes it is easiest for spiritual Guides to communicate with us through dreams - most of us still believe in dreams.
You can do it yourself call your spiritual Mentor for communication in a dream.
When you go to bed, ask one of your close spiritual friends to come to you in a dream. This probably won't happen the first time. Perhaps the Mentors will get in touch in another way.
However, we fall asleep every night, so maybe it’s worth a try?
5. Meditation
The most important thing about meditation is that you become closer to your true essence.
David Lynch "Catch Big Fish"
The most profound way to communicate with the subtle world is meditation. This is not only a way to immerse yourself and understand internal mental processes, but also an opportunity to go beyond ordinary perception.
In a state of calm and turning off restless thoughts, we become closer to the Spiritual World and to ourselves.
You can independently engage in meditative practices and conscious breathing.
Before starting meditation, you should set an intention: to communicate with the Mentors or to understand the solution to some life problem.
You can also use special practices and lessons to connect with the spiritual world.
It’s so great to just allow yourself not to think at all and follow the voice of the one doing the meditation!
6. Reincarnation
We believe that every person has a Soul and it is eternal. That's why we study Past Lives and make their experience accessible to everyone.
Maris Dreshmanis
Reincarnationism can be distinguished as a special method of communication with the Spiritual World. It not only includes the above methods, but also opens up their more effective use.
It is with the help of reincarnation:
- open creative talents and the ability to see and recognize the signs of spiritual friends;
- you can learn to meditate quickly and efficiently - tune your “broadcast antenna” to the desired channel when necessary;
- many were able
Now you have learned how you can communicate with spiritual Guides. Of course, these are just some of the possible ways.
As much as each person and his communication channels are unique, so can the methods of such communication be varied.
These six steps are at the core of any well-designed learning process. At any age. In any training. It is suitable for parents who want to teach their child something and for him to like it. I use it as the basis for training, where expert employees with extensive work experience learn to become mentors.
The scheme is based on the psychology of learning, and skipping any step leads, if not to a lack of results, then to some “defect”: lack of motivation, negative attitude towards action, repeated mistakes, etc. The duration of a stage is easy to determine: as soon as what was supposed to happen at it happened, only then do we move on to the next one. That is, at the motivation stage you cannot say: “So, everyone has already understood how cool it is, let’s move on to the next stage!” No. It doesn't work that way. The learner really must feel and demonstrate this motivation. And then we boldly move on to the next stage.
So these are the 6 steps.
The first stage is motivation
In psychology, this stage is called “creating a motivational basis for action.” The task is simple and complex at the same time: to make sure that the one we are going to teach WANTS it. That's all!
I will give two examples.
When I youngest son motivated him to start training in swimming (this was just when he was expelled from school for poor performance), he was initially hostile to this idea. This is normal for an unsuccessful boy at 13 years old. But I showed him a video of the Bosphorus launch. Several times. And I told you how cool it was to fly there! A real adventure! Together we looked at where the Bosphorus is located on big map. Then, for a couple of weeks, we remembered how his trainer praised him when he was 8 years old. And how great he did it. We found some old medal for the 3rd youth category. Then we found out that there is a very cool swimming pool with sea water. And he will go there himself, without me, which is important for a 13-year-old boy. Also available with an adult subscription. We bought an encyclopedia about the most interesting swims in the world. They remembered how he loved the sea as a child and even when asked what his name was, he always answered: Zhenya the captain...
Believe me, it’s the same for adults. My coach came to Zurich a couple of days after he completed the Swissman race to ride the course of my first full Ironman with me. And since I was driving very slowly then, he spent five hours straight telling me about the race. About the Alps. About my impressions. About the fact that he will definitely go there again. About the fact that it is not far from my beloved Lausanne. And what a challenge this is! And then he sent me a link to a film that I watched to my heart’s content. I just couldn't tear myself away anymore.
It takes time and effort, personal energy and understanding the motivation of the other. And this stage is most often skipped. And then... “they don’t want to study.” What did you do to make you want to?
Stage two - show in general and in detail
In psychology this is called “creating an orienting basis for action.”
Imagine that you are driving using a navigator, and it only shows three hundred meters ahead. Suppose the “show entire route” function has stopped working there. That is, you don’t have a general picture in your head, you only see what’s in front of your nose. And you don’t even see how long to go. Just go where they show you and don’t think! This situation is unpleasant for a person. For training - unacceptable.
The one we teach must see the whole action. The whole process, the whole picture. Present and clearly know the evaluation criteria for each stage and the entire action. And realistic deadlines for mastering them. You can tell: first this, then this, and three months later - this. But it’s better to show it. When the coach texts me new program, then he definitely shows it. Paying attention to all the little things. Starting with the position from which we take the barbell, and ending with the angle of bend of each joint in each movement.
It is necessary for a person to have a general detailed picture of the action as a whole and its individual components sequentially. Even in learning a language or reading: what stages, letters, syllables, words, sentences, rhymes, fairy tales will be. And all with real deadlines!
The third stage is joint action
This is very important. When parents complain that their child doesn’t like to read, I always ask what and how much do you read together. Often this is also missed. Joint action leaves responsibility on the teacher - the student needs support. And communication is always very valuable in itself. Do as much together as you need to (without, of course, replacing learning with communication).
Play together. Read together. Fix the car together. And wash the dishes. And bake pies. And clean up together. And this is very, very important for the child when the mother gets on roller skates with him. Or swims across the Bosphorus. And not just in the process, but explains every step to the child. And we need to start not with the Bosphorus, but with this first joint step. Simple. Which will work out and bring joy to both.
I had a long period in triathlon, until the skills were automated and the technique was not established, when joint training with a coach took up 80%, gradually decreasing to a single digit.
The fourth stage - he does it under your supervision
This is the first independent attempt to do something. And your support in the form of presence, in the form of praise, in the form of correction along the way. You are there all the time. But not through action, but through words, support, and adequate feedback, you help him take the first independent step. Commenting. And asking to comment on it. And rejoicing at the slightest success. And suggesting what is better, what is more correct. You work as his mirror. A speaking and advising mirror. Get ready! Sometimes this stage can be long. Until the step next to you is done correctly - and not just done correctly once, but repeated three times without error! - then there is no hope that he will understand later and figure it out over time. Be patient!
The fifth stage is the first independent result
Stop! The result is not yet complete. You just don’t see him take this step anymore. But he can already take this intermediate step himself. And bring you some result. Very, very intermediate. This is why short first starts are so important in triathlon, with which a person will definitely cope well. It is important when planning this first task on your own to be confident of success.
How do mothers do it? They will find a mushroom in the forest. Then they will find the child. And they send him: go over there and look carefully under all the Christmas trees for yourself. Is there something there?!?)
For adults, things are not so romantic. But if you are a mentor, then such a task should be given not because it is critically important, and without it the entire multi-month project will collapse. No. This should be a task where a person is most likely to be successful, and possible failure will not be on a global scale. Then the next task for the next step...
Sixth stage - control by result
This too important stage. This is not yet a situation where a person has already begun to exist autonomously with the skill. No. You give him a task. Not even a task, but a goal. And the goal has a meter. And it’s no longer about HOW a person did something. And about WHAT – about the end result. And only if the result does not correspond to the standard (which, of course, was determined in advance, at the second stage), then we take a step back - to the individual stages. There may be an error at some specific step. And if there is disorder there too, then we rewind again... and so again it can come to motivation. After all, most often, at any business training, at any parent-child consultation, the same thing is said: “The reason for low results is low motivation.” I just want to say: “Well, we should have started with her!”
The good news is that it's never too late to start. Never. And the second good news is that not only the one for whom we took these steps will be motivated and effective. Our own motivation from the fact that someone we taught is successful is ALWAYS higher than when something worked out for us ourselves.
- Maria Kolosova - business coach, creator of two successful businesses;
- multiple Ironman endurance race finisher
- Author of the books "Transit Zone", "You Can Do More"
- a person who has spent his entire life professionally searching for an answer to the question of human talent and setting goals for himself that go beyond the boundaries of the ordinary.
“A mentor is a qualified specialist, professional or experienced employee from whom other employees can receive advice and recommendations.” (Dictionary of business terms. Akademik.ru. 2001.)
It would seem that in our time of availability of a wide variety of information there should not be difficulties in obtaining new interesting work, with the creation of a business project or with finding yourself in spiritual world, but that's not true. On various forums on the global network, from time to time you come across messages, for example: “I’m looking for a teacher”, “I need the help of an experienced specialist”, “how to find a millionaire mentor”. The word “Mentor” has many different synonyms. A similar term can be found in the vocabulary of a variety of peoples, but the meaning is essentially the same - a person who prompts, advises, and guides a newcomer in a certain field. As a rule, a mentor, in other words a teacher, is older and more experienced than his mentee.
The mentoring school itself appeared a long time ago. Mention of the practice of mentoring can be found in a variety of historical works. For many centuries in different countries The role of the first teacher was played by the father. After the child grew up, he was sent to study with a master. One such example of training is captured in Patrick Suskind’s novel “Perfume” - young Grenouille entered training with the master Baldini, where, through pain and humiliation, he learned all the intricacies of perfumery.
Of course, the medieval rules of training have long since sunk into oblivion, but similar practices are still used in many large companies. So, entering service in large organization, you almost immediately find a mentor whose task will be to help you adapt to your new job and reveal you as an indispensable employee. Will such a specialist contribute to your career growth? You can only find this out through experience.
If you decide to develop on your own, without WORKING for some business giant, you will have to look for a mentor on your own. Usually they become people who, in their development, are two or three steps higher than their ward, namely, who have reached certain heights in their field. However, meeting such people without proper connections is not so easy.
The situation is different when it comes to finding a mentor or teacher for spiritual development. Among those who are engaged in spiritual practices today, there is a prejudice - there is no need to look for a teacher, he himself will come to the student when the time comes. And while the student is waiting for his mentor, he must engage in self-development. For those who don’t want to wait, there are special forums where, by asking a more experienced user, you can find a temporary teacher.
Where and how to find a mentor
For those who continue to try to find their Mentor, various coaching publications give the following advice:
Take a closer look at your friends and family. Perhaps your future teacher is much closer than you previously thought. As a rule, a person who knows you well will be able to help you in difficult times with advice, based on his life experience, to suggest what you can do in the foreseeable future, for example, where to go to study, work, etc.
Pay attention to your immediate supervisor or colleague. As part of your planned work project, you will have a great opportunity to regularly meet with such a mentor right at work and discuss pressing problems with him, for example, how to increase sales and interest a potential client.
Choose a mentor among the new acquaintances you met at the conference, training personal growth or at an important business meeting for you. To establish personal contact with your future teacher, use the information from the business card you took in advance. After the conference, you will be able to call or write an email asking for support and assistance. As a rule, such requests are very flattering to self-respecting businessmen, business people, scientists, professors.
Seek help from the Internet. In this case, you choose a prompter/adviser by correspondence, namely, via mail, icq, skype. Such communication is more suitable for spiritual mentoring, for resolving the issue of correct meditation.
Find your mentor on your screen or bookshelf. By studying the biography of famous and not so famous people, by reading historical essays or novels, you can emphasize interesting thoughts for yourself and acquire the necessary motivation. And here it doesn’t matter whether you know your “mentor” personally or not. The famous Oprah Winfrey has become a virtual teacher for many women, but at the same time she hardly has time to communicate with each of her “students”.
But there is no clear definition here of what age, gender, rank, religion your mentor should be. The main thing is that you feel comfortable with him, and that he is interested in you.
Disease “search for a mentor”
Every now and then on the ITUC forum, topics arise about finding senior partners or mentors in business.
Therefore, I decided to write a couple of lines on this topic. And if you need a mentor in business or in life, this topic is for you.
There is a serious disease that affects those who are afraid to take responsibility (= teenagers, sometimes quite adults) - the search for a mentor. It seems like some smart guy lives in the world, he knows everything, and it’s important for me to find him in order to learn from him... :). And a person searches all his life.
This is another way to justify yourself to yourself for inaction, and to drown out that mental pain, which Vladimir Levi wonderfully said in his last newsletter: “Pain of the body is needed to survive, and pain of the soul is needed to succeed.” They say, I did everything I could: I have been looking for a mentor all my life.
You have probably met such “pale young men with burning eyes” who are looking for mentors... These young men of both sexes range from 14 to 60 years old.
Alas, such teacher-mentors (= big green pills) do not exist in nature, but such a disease exists, and it can be treated, and self-medication in this case is possible :).
How can you distinguish a situation when you really need a teacher from a disease of searching for a mentor?..
Very simple.
In a situation where a teacher is really needed, you immediately answer the following questions specifically:
- What SKILL do I want to learn?..
- What CRITERIA will I use to determine what I have learned so far?
- How long does it take to do this?..
So, SKILL, CRITERIA, TIME.
For example, last time I needed a teacher when I mastered the skill of driving a car, and I answered like this:
- I want to calmly drive a car around Moscow (precisely around Moscow - because I’ve been able to “not around Moscow” for a long time :)), straining, and causing those around me to strain no more than when I ride the subway.
- I will travel the path I need without outside help, without accidents, without creating emergency situations. As soon as I ride like this once, I’ll finish my studies with an instructor, and then I’ll continue my studies on my own.
- Duration: week - two.
If a person answers these questions, for example, like this: “I want to learn business!” is a disease. This person is not looking for an opportunity to learn, but an excuse on which to blame his failures, if anything. And in this case, “if something happens” will definitely happen.
Firstly, in this formulation of the question there is no SKILL that we learn.
Business is not just one skill, but a whole row skills. Moreover, some of these skills are needed in one type of business, and useless in another. And if I have 10% of the skills of an entrepreneur, but have not even heard of 90%, this does not mean that I am not an entrepreneur.
Therefore, you cannot learn business (there are no people who possess 100% of the skills required in 100% of types of business), but you can learn: to calculate balance sheets, negotiate, fire people... - SPECIFIC SKILLS, and not business in general.
Therefore, when answering this question, it is necessary to name a specific skill, and not an area of life consisting of a number of skills.
Secondly, in such a setting there is no CRITERION by which we will understand that we have learned.
Let's say, has Oleg Tinkov learned business?.. On the one hand, yes, he is a businessman. On the other hand, no, because Bill Gates is cooler. So, it turns out that you haven’t learned?..
Thirdly, there is no specific DEADLINE.
You can learn business throughout your life. Or you can not study at all, but just do it. And it turns out great :).
And, of course, when it comes to illness, the word “mentor” itself is not pronounced casually, but with special aspiration.
NOT LIKE “I need a driving instructor” or “an accountant to understand what they did with the funds in 2010.”
Not a teacher, no one could “explain”, but HE is a guru and mentor. Who will take you by the hand and lead you to new world. HE is a panacea. Everything in life depends on HIM. If I find it, I will become a great businessman. If not, I won’t be able to do business at all.
This is one form of abdicating responsibility. The same as a miracle ringing, like “There is no democracy and freedom of speech in the country!”
If I need a mentor and I haven’t found one, then the problem is not with me, but with the fact that there is no mentor.
And if I need a mentor, I found one, but it still didn’t work out for me - the problem is not with me, but with the fact that the mentor was bad.
And if there is no democracy in the country, it is not me who is to blame, but THEY.
For patients, THEY are always to blame.
So, be healthy and don't get sick!
It’s much more pleasant when absolutely everything in your life depends on you, and not on “about them” :).
Why you need a mentor, I think everyone understands. Let's now talk about how to find a mentor?
Let's say that you have to look for a mentor on your own, pay attention to those people whom you admire and respect.
This could be one of the employees of your company or a person not related to it - or maybe both: there may be several mentors (like mine, for example). Some people find instructors who meet regularly with the student at short intervals to be very suitable.
Think about what you expect from a mentor - what skills you yourself would like to develop with his help. Determine why you are choosing a mentor. What qualities would you like to see in him?
You may need to conduct some sort of "detective investigation" to develop a prospective mentor profile. What is his communication style? If you already have your sights set on a specific person, try to find out what his colleagues and subordinates think about him.
In principle, it is logical to choose a mentor who works in the same field as yourself and also has a similar value system. “Test” your chosen candidate by asking him for advice.
Be as clear as possible. Mentors tend to be more attracted to those who remind them of themselves. This is why you should never turn to a mentor when you are depressed or completely helpless.
Do not take your immediate supervisor as your mentor; It is better to enlist the support of a person with whom you feel more free and can openly discuss career and production issues.
Some prefer their mentor to be much older, more experienced, and in a much more senior position. They believe that this will make it easier for them to step up to the same level career ladder. Others, on the contrary, like to choose mentors equal to themselves. If anything, sometimes the best solutions to your problems can come from people who are currently going through similar difficulties themselves.
Some valuable advice to find a mentor:
There are many “natural” and “artificial” ways to find a mentor. But there is no best way. Sometimes the relationship between teacher and student develops on its own, and sometimes it takes effort. Let's look at some of the most effective ways to find a mentor.
Ask a colleague for solutions to specific problems. The easiest way to find a mentor is at work or in your educational institution- that is, where you rotate most. When looking at a potential mentor, think through your plans in advance. Do you want to meet monthly and discuss your work problems (for example, how you can make more money)?
Do you want to know how your mentor got to their current position, or are you more interested in talking about the future? The more clearly you define what you expect from mentoring, the more productive your conversations promise to be. And remember that mentors are not coaches (we’ll talk about the difference between them below).
Take a closer look at your family. You may find a great mentor in your uncle, sister, mother, or even godfather—you just haven't thought about it yet. A mentor helps you build personal and business plans, unobtrusively leads to acceptance right decisions and helps predict the future.
If there is a person in your family who has good health and strong will, then perhaps the mentor is closer than you think. After all, it is not at all necessary to invite the general director of the company or a doctor of sciences to this role.
Don't neglect mentors of the opposite sex. Don't get hung up on finding a mentor who is the same gender as you. Research shows that this is where mentoring is less effective.
Consider the possibility of communicating remotely. Emailing every few weeks is sometimes as effective as meeting in person. Your mentor may even live overseas or in another city (region), which will not prevent him from helping you set realistic, achievable goals. Long distances are not a hindrance to apprenticeship.
Talk to new acquaintances. If you met with interesting person at a conference or business lunch, ask him for a business card. If you don't have the heart to bring up mentoring right away, try making the request a little later in the email. Many people are even flattered by such requests: they understand how honorable it is to help others improve their affairs. In addition, many mentors know very well that the appearance of a student is beneficial to them in career and professional terms.
Consider “remote” mentoring. You don't have to personally know anyone you're looking up to. For example, Oprah Winfrey is a “virtual” mentor to millions of women - of course, she cannot meet with all of them and discuss her professional goals with each of them. Likewise, there are hundreds of famous and ordinary people, which can perfectly motivate you to Success. By studying their biographies and reading their books, you can already learn from them what will allow you to get closer to your goals.
Make your intentions known loudly. Tell your colleagues, friends, and family that you are looking to acquire a mentor or coach. Be clear about your goals—whether it's earning more money or earning a degree. How more people know your intentions, the more likely you are to succeed. (This rule works in all areas of life!)
Mentoring encourages people to achieve and rise.
Research shows that women who have mentors are more successful in their careers, earn more, and love their jobs. Those women who have the support of mentors in business have higher self-esteem and self-confidence.
So, the benefits of mentoring are obvious, and you don’t risk anything. If you have found a good mentor, then you have nothing to lose - you only gain from communicating with him. A mentor becomes for you not only a wise adviser, but also a friend and confidant.
This does not happen overnight - trust and personal interest do not arise out of nowhere. Initially, you set the tone by demonstrating a keen interest in communication. By showing mutual respect in your behavior and caring for each other, being with a mentor will benefit both of you—and be enjoyable for both the mentor and you.
An example of developing a mentoring system
Mentoring is a form of work in which a more trained and experienced person is assigned to a younger and less trained person so that the latter, working in tandem with an experienced friend, grows and develops professionally. It's not that simple. It is not enough to attach one to the other. If this is done thoughtlessly and forcefully, purely mechanically, without taking into account many specific points, then the result will be very disastrous. How to make pairs - decide for yourself. There can be two methods: formal and informal.
An effective mentoring program should consist of the following components:
1. business plan;
2. characteristics and descriptions of the work of mentors and students;
3. strategy for finding mentors;
4. training of mentors;
5. search (recruiting) of students;
6. training of students;
7. appointment of a coordinator and description of his responsibilities;
8. selection of the necessary professional skills for which training will be conducted by the student’s mentor;
9. methods for tracking the stages of program implementation;
10. methods of assessment and regulation;
11. methods for assessing final results and their impact on the business as a whole, methods for assessing mentors and students.
Let's look at each point in more detail.
Business plan
As with any area of business, you need a plan to maximize your chances of success. And this is especially important in the field of human resources. Interestingly enough, this is the area where we make plans last. Perhaps this is due to the fact that this is a difficult task, the dynamics of work with human resources are much more diverse than the dynamics of work with material resources, so many companies choose a more (in their opinion) path - to lure an experienced employee from somewhere.
Characteristics and task descriptions of mentors and mentees
Not every person is cut out to be a mentor, and not every person can become a student in this program. You need to carefully consider their characteristics, understand what exactly you want to see in mentors and students. About the mentor. What will you ask him to do? You will ask to transfer his knowledge and experience to someone who does not have it and who needs it. In other words, you will ask him to be a teacher. This mentor, of course, will be one of those already working in your company, one of the most experienced and knowledgeable. But not all, even the most literate and qualified workers, will be able to be teachers. Think carefully about what you want from mentors and mentees and create a job description for them. When the mentor and student clearly understand their tasks for the period of their participation in the program and management can see and control the process, it means you are on the right track.
An approximate professional and psychological portrait of a mentor:
able to take leadership;
is part of the team and is loyal to the employer;
demonstrates patience and willingness to work with others;
is proactive;
ready to take on the responsibility of a mentor;
ready to help the student set work goals;
takes part in the development of other employees;
has extensive experience in his work;
understands that changes may be necessary during the learning process, that is, does not consider the original plan as dogma;
has a sense of tact and diplomacy when working with others who may be from different age and cultural groups;
takes a personal interest in the student and helps him successfully complete the program;
helps the student gain self-confidence;
patient;
organizes clear, open two-way communication;
understands the differences in learning styles and personal qualities of students;
Provides support or constructive criticism when needed and helps improve during the program;
Helps develop creative thinking and problem solving skills;
understands the importance and responsibility of the role he plays and receives satisfaction from this work;
gives the student information about the employer that will help him adapt to this company and this industry in general;
teaches by example;
Helps the student acquire life skills such as time management, work-life balance, counting money, taking on new responsibilities, coping with stress, giving constructive criticism and accepting criticism.
It is clear that a person possessing all these qualities is extremely rare specimen in nature, and if you find it among your employees, then you are incredibly lucky. However, if your mentor candidate answers at least two thirds of the above, that’s already good. It is also advisable to choose a candidate for mentors from those who themselves once walked this path as a student.
So, you and I have found a mentor. Now we need to choose someone who will become a student. From the very beginning, you need to answer the main question: do you plan to take on the role of an apprentice to anyone (for example, everyone who comes to work at your company) or only to a select few (those who, due to their abilities, are most deserving of it)?
If you select students specifically, you need to pay attention to their aptitude for this particular job, interest in what you produce or sell, and willingness to learn and work in this profile. When choosing this approach, you may have to search for students for a long time, and this must be done constantly. But this is still better than taking the first one who comes along, who will ultimately fail the job.
We understand perfectly well that not every person is able and wants to learn.
Therefore, below we present a number of criteria for assessing the suitability of a particular employee for the role of a student (if targeted selection is carried out for this role):
he must be purposeful and somewhat ambitious;
take responsibility for your professional growth and development;
actively seek new responsibilities;
be receptive to learning;
show initiative and willingness to learn;
demonstrate a sense of tact, diplomacy, and empathy when working with other people who may be from different age or cultural groups;
perceive participation in this program as an opportunity and a privilege;
meet the expectations of the mentor and management;
show initiative and willingness to listen and heed instructions;
use the time and advice of a mentor;
understand that he is at the initial level;
understand that you will have to study all your life.
These are the desirable requirements for an ideal student. Very few people have all of these qualities, but again, if your candidate meets most of these requirements, then he is good to work with.
Mentor Search Strategy
The experience of American companies suggests that in many companies a mentor is chosen from those who work the fastest, because they want them to have as many of the same people as possible. In others, mentors choose their most qualified person. This is not entirely true. Sometimes companies hold a company meeting and ask staff for help in developing a program. Tell us about the content of the work and the characteristics of the mentor; perhaps there will be volunteers. Select the candidates you think have the best characteristics and explain to them the role they will play. Not forgetting that mentoring will become an additional responsibility for them, a job that needs reward in one form or another.
Mentor training
Mentors must be familiarized in detail with the description of the upcoming work. They need to know what they will teach, how they should teach it, and how to evaluate students' progress. They need to know how to report to management on program performance.
The training program for preparing mentors should include the following points:
the goals of the program are explained;
the roles of mentors and students involved in the program are defined;
an understanding of the selected knowledge and skills that need to be taught is given;
Provides an understanding of the steps required to teach effectively.
Example of a training program for trainer-mentors: Effective manager-mentor (conducted by MTI).
Student training
When hiring a student, you should correctly orient him regarding the role that awaits him. Show him everything that people in your company do. Show him different workshops, divisions, departments, areas, invite him to choose the work that he would like to do and which would be most interesting to him. Give a brief introduction to the basics of your company, at least to ensure that the newcomer understands that there are rules and procedures for everything. Then introduce the student to the mentor and show him what skills he should learn during his studies. It is important that the student understands that their relationship will be two-way.
Selection of the necessary professional skills that will be taught by the student’s mentor.
You need to determine the types of work that the student must master during the mentoring process. Once you have determined this, you need to structure your mentoring program in a way that does not interfere with the production process. In other words, the student should do not only what is interesting to him, but also what you need. His interest can be maintained through careful selection various types jobs for which he will be trained. You also need to develop the personal qualities necessary for normal work: a positive attitude towards work, work ethics, communication skills, teamwork skills, punctuality and a desire to learn more.
Monitoring the results
Evaluation of the final result, adjustment and repetition. You want the student to consistently demonstrate how much they have mastered certain knowledge and skills. This allows you to track the effectiveness of working with it. A mentor can motivate a student to learn faster. In order to permanently monitor the progress of the learning process, we will need such a figure as a mentoring program coordinator. This person may be general director, HR employees or even an office manager (depending on the size of the company). The coordinator must ensure that the program is operating correctly, that the mentor and student are communicating effectively, and that they have all the necessary tools and equipment to complete the work. As the program progresses, you must evaluate how it is working. It would be a good idea if the facilitator, mentor and student met every week to review what has been accomplished and set goals for the next couple of weeks. You should also deeply analyze everything and make changes if you feel they are necessary. During each such meeting, work on mistakes, figure out what works well and where there are problems. Work through these issues with the mentor and mentee.
…. They are also called mentors. This topic is now very popular in Russia. Typically, a mentor in ordinary life is an entrepreneur who has achieved some real success in business and scored a lot of big shots. These “rakes”, “bumps” and other life hacks are the most valuable things for you. You will know what not to do and what to do first. This is very important.
You can also invite an expert to mentor you if you have an idea that requires specialized industry knowledge. In any case, we recommend starting with this step. Then you cut your path to the first million by at least half. And the start-up costs will be significantly lower. We have done this from our own experience.
Important! A mentor helps you for free. The main motive for him is to achieve success with you. What are the benefits of having a mentor? In moral satisfaction and in the opportunity to create an environment for self-expression around yourself.
HOW TO SEARCH FOR A MENTOR?
There are several options here. There are various state and semi government agencies, developing mentoring in Russia. Just type the words “mentoring” or “mentoring” into a search engine. But there is also best way– find a mentor based on your personal needs. Consider whose experiences and buildings might be valuable to you. Look real stories entrepreneurs, evaluate their experience. Select several people and find their contacts. The easiest way is social media. Don't be afraid to write to the person you need. Write that his experience is valuable to you and you would like him to become your mentor. As a rule, people love to share their experiences. Even if the entrepreneur refuses to become your mentor, you can communicate and ask questions that interest you.
We are sure that you will definitely find your mentor and he will help you create your business.
IN last article We have discussed with you the process of creating an internship program and figured out the key roles and focuses. Today I would like to pay attention to how to structure the learning process and what are the basic principles of this learning.
In life and work, we often have to start something new, learn something. The ultimate goal of training is knowledge, knowledge about the models and principles of embedding skills in experience, which allows you to quickly and effectively achieve professional growth. Learning is a continuous and ongoing process of absorbing new information and adapting existing knowledge to this new information.
So, in the figure you see a coordinate system with axes awareness - competence.
These are four states in which we can be in relation to any knowledge or skill. Let's take a closer look.
- Unconscious incompetence. The person is incompetent, and he is not aware that this is so. He doesn’t know that such a field of knowledge even exists. For example, when an intern comes to us for an internship, he doesn’t even know what awaits him there. Perhaps even 10 minutes ago you did not know anything about the existence of a learning circle. And accordingly, they did not know how to use it.
- Conscious incompetence. I know I don't know how to fly a plane. I realize that I am not sufficiently trained in the awareness of airplane control. This is awareness of the limits of your current capabilities. Sometimes this is a reason to expand them. Sometimes there is a hint that it is better to entrust this matter to a professional.
- Conscious competence. The skill is already there, but good results still require full conscious attention. In fact, any new business for us requires extreme composure. I consciously study different techniques HR management to be the best expert in this field. I want to grow professionally!
- Unconscious competence. Something you can do without thinking. Walk, run, eat, read, speak your native language... Write poetry, ski or snowboard, drive a car or ride a bike. Everything we do is so good that sometimes we don’t even remember that we ever learned it. But there was a time when we couldn’t even focus our eyes. In the first days of life. And now it’s okay - we can cope. Once built-in skills allow you to do everything without thinking and competently, that is, without concentrating all your attention on the process.
As you know, it takes 21 days to develop a sustainable skill. In the process of mastering a new skill, we always go from the first state to the fourth. We are not disrupting this process.
However, understanding the learning process itself is not enough to build effective interaction between beginner and master. So, in order to help a beginner in the process and in the transition from stage to stage, according to the circle of training, there is a wonderful technique. It's called the 5 Steps of Mentoring. This technique allows a beginner to develop a new skill/ability.
- 1st step.“I’ll tell you, listen.” Here it is necessary to motivate the trainee to master the skill. Tell us what you will do now and what you can use what you will teach him for, how it can be useful to him.
- 2nd step.“I’ll show you, look.” You need to demonstrate to the trainee what you want to teach him. When doing this, try to give the opportunity to see the process as a whole. The mistake here is when they start demonstrating the process from the middle of the work. When people see the task completed correctly and completely, they will be able to try to repeat it.
- 3rd step."Let's do it together." Here you need to tell in detail about your actions and why you need to do this. Step by step, do not skimp on detailed explanations. Try to make your educational story not only detailed, but also entertaining. Inspire by teaching!
- 4th step.“Do it yourself, I’ll tell you.” The student completes the task. The mentor helps and corrects. It is important here not to criticize, but to encourage, i.e. give feedback correctly. This motivates the learner to strive to do their job better. You need to work until the student gains self-confidence.
- 5th step.“Do it yourself, tell me what you did.” Ask your trainee to teach you how to do what you taught him. Control and consolidation of skills.
It's that simple, 5 simple steps to help you teach any skill to anyone J And remember, when we learn something, we always make mistakes. And if what we learn is worth learning, then don’t be afraid to do it poorly at first! We only learn from our mistakes.
Today we have figured out how to structure the learning process and what are the basic principles of this learning. I, in turn, wish you good luck in mastering new skills. And I will continue to welcome your feedback here (email).
In my next article, I will share with you my experience on how to give corrective feedback to interns in a way that is also inspiring. See you again!
The term “coaching” was first introduced into the business lexicon in the early 90s by John Whitmore; it is literally translated into Russian as “to instruct, prepare, train,” but has a broader understanding.
The coaching method is based on behavioral feedback, this is its key difference from mentoring. The coach’s task is not to directly transfer knowledge to the person being coached and develop a certain list of skills, but to activate the processes of self-learning and self-development. This occurs by providing continuous feedback during joint analysis of situations or problems.
We can say that the effectiveness of coaching is achieved through the use of the effect of defamiliarization, when a person who is “inside” a certain situation or problem gets the opportunity to look at it from the outside, through the eyes of another person - the coach. Due to the capabilities of the method, coaching allows you to find solutions complex tasks interdisciplinary and interpersonal in nature, therefore most effective when working with middle and senior management.
Mentoring
It combines the features of both coaching and teaching activities. The teacher teaches, and the coach provides effective feedback. Together, these two processes contribute to both professional and personal development trainee. Mentoring can be used to identify and develop a person's core values and beliefs. Thus, with the help of mentors, it is possible to adjust the system of internal motivation and a person’s behavioral model. Within the organization, mentoring is seen as mentoring mentors. That is, mentors are the same mentors, but more high level who can
Mentoring
This is a form of on-the-job training that emphasizes practicality. In the process of mentoring, a more experienced and qualified employee of the organization transfers to his mentee (mentee, trainee) the knowledge and skills necessary for him to effectively perform his professional duties. In other words, mentoring is aimed at developing applied professional competencies person and, unlike coaching, is addressed to line-level specialists.
On-the-job training of personnel is an important part of the corporate personnel development system. It deserves special attention, since it is one of the most effective methods today, time-tested and proven by many generations. It is wrong to understand mentoring as a procedure for adapting new employees. Mentoring involves solving a narrow, purely professional range of tasks, while adaptation implies inclusion in the corporate system of relations. Duration of adaptation and mentoring also have an indirect relationship with each other. You can easily imagine areas of activity in which the process of developing the necessary skills could take one or two weeks, but there are others in which you can learn long time or even permanently.
Ideally, mentoring should be ongoing, providing constant development employees.
However, there are two limitations here.
First: the knowledge and skills of a mentor are not unlimited; sooner or later the student may “outgrow” his mentor. In this case, the mentoring process loses practical meaning. To ensure continuity of the process, if required by the specifics of the field of activity (for example, the high-tech sector), it is necessary that the mentor is always one step ahead of the mentee, either through external training or through self-development during an intensive exchange of information with the mentee.
Here lies the second limitation: mentoring in this case is no longer just a process of developing practical skills, but a component of a knowledge system that requires a fundamentally different approach to management, the so-called “knowledge management”. The mentor is integrated into the information flow between the manager and the employee, ensuring effective vertical and horizontal exchange of information and management of transferred knowledge, skills, and technologies.
In a global understanding, it is logical to perceive mentoring as one of the key elements of the concept of a self-learning organization.
Flexible, practical and cost-effective, mentoring can work equally well in companies of any size, in any industry and at any stage. organizational development. Its use is especially effective in the following cases:
- with high staff turnover, when operational training is necessary large quantity new employees;
- in areas of activity with high degree professional risk, when in order to fully enter a position and minimize professional errors, time is required to develop the necessary skills;
- in some start-up and actively developing projects, the success of which depends on the presence of a number of unique skills among line-level employees that are unique only to a given field of activity or even to a separate enterprise (here it is necessary to make a reservation that the organization must have a master with an expert level of proficiency skills, who is ready and able to carry out mentoring work, and has no more than 2-3 people being trained);
- in areas of activity and enterprises where technological and technical platforms develop faster and change more often than the knowledge system is updated.
Mentor by vocation
A well-structured and properly functioning mentoring system allows an organization to achieve the following effects:
- reducing the time required to reach the planned level of labor productivity and achieve compliance with corporate standards;
- increasing the professional level and skills of all employees without exception involved in the mentoring system, including the mentor himself;
- reducing staff turnover by strengthening the professional component of motivation and providing additional opportunities to improve professional status;
- reducing the risk of professional burnout of key, most experienced employees, carriers of knowledge, skills and a system of corporate values;
- providing experienced employees with opportunities for career growth both horizontally and vertically;
- increasing the economic efficiency of the personnel training system;
- strengthening team spirit, increasing the loyalty of company employees to its value system.
The main challenge of mentoring lies in the dual role of the mentor. It does not apply to management personnel, whose official status is formally enshrined in the hierarchy of the organization. At the same time, his professional status and authority in the team is a priori higher than that of his ward.
A mentor is a role that can be played by any employee of the company who has the necessary competencies, as well as knowledge and skills that need to be transferred to the mentee. Who exactly will take on the role of mentor depends on the specifics of the tasks. This could be the employee’s immediate supervisor, a colleague, an HR employee, a specially trained mentor from among the company’s employees, or an external invited specialist.
Each method has its own pros and cons, so their choice should be approached carefully, clearly correlating the scope of tasks with the possibilities and risks of using one or another method.
Interconnection system
The effectiveness of a mentor’s work is directly related to how well the system of relationships is built between him, his mentee, other employees and managers. They must establish a unified vision both in the perception of reality and in behavior in situations requiring solutions. Only in this case the transferred knowledge and skills will have a practical implementation.
A shared vision of the situation is achieved when both parties have a system of motives that encourage them to act together, for example:
A candidate for the role of mentor must have three core competencies:
- expert knowledge of transferable professional skills (technical, manual, etc.);
- excellent communication skills - the ability to find a common language with people, build vertical and horizontal connections;
- good administrative skills - the ability to formulate and set tasks, organize and monitor the implementation of work, analyze results and make adjustments.
In the context of the possible application of the concept of a self-learning organization and a more comprehensive understanding of the role of the mentor, two more competencies can be added:
- self-learning, allowing the mentor to draw new knowledge, skills and experience from mentoring work; the mentee should not be perceived as blank slate paper on which you can only write a new text, each person is a bearer of certain experience and knowledge that can be useful for the organization as a whole and for the mentor in particular, they need to be able to discern them in time and use them correctly;
- ability to work with information; all information that the mentor accumulates during his work must be analyzed and correctly interpreted by him.
Ideal candidate
Compiling a detailed profile of a mentor position that describes the ideal candidate for this role requires the development of a system of formalized criteria, which subsequently serve as a metric for selecting candidates. Unlike the competencies mentioned above, these can be specific to each organization.
When creating a mentoring system, you should remember that this is a systematic type of activity that is subject to the same principles as any business process. It works most effectively only if there is feedback between the design task at the input and the result at the output. In other words, to achieve maximum impact, all stages of the process must form a closed loop corresponding to the Deming quality cycle.
The fulfillment of this condition is necessary if we are talking about a self-developing organization, since it is the analysis of the results and actions to adjust the system that allow it to develop in a spiral, and not move in a closed ring.
Despite its apparent simplicity, the mentoring system is a multifactorial process. It may not be effective enough and may not bring the expected results if errors were made during preparation and implementation.
Method inconsistency. Mentoring as a training method is not suitable for a given organization or for a given employee, for example, in the field of creative activities.
Incorrect goals and objectives of mentoring . Mentoring, like any process, must have specific, achievable and measurable goals and objectives, otherwise it will have a destructive function and contribute to the rapid development of emotional “burnout” syndrome in all participants.
Organizational methodological errors
Naturally, we can highlight methodological errors that may occur when developing a mentoring system:
- an incorrectly formed pool of mentors (an erroneous system of mentor selection criteria, competency requirements, errors in the selection procedure itself);
- lack of necessary training for mentors;
- incorrect implementation of the mentoring system (incorrect positioning of the system, lack of understanding by employees of its tasks, lack of positive perception and shared vision, resistance to change);
- incorrect positioning of the mentor (there should be no relationship between the mentor and the student in the “superior-subordinate” format, only relationships on the principles of equality and mutual interest in the result);
- improper motivation of mentors (there is no consensus on how and in what form to motivate mentors, and whether it is worth doing at all; obviously, this issue must be carefully considered at the preparation stage, taking into account corporate principles of motivation).
Errors in the mentoring process can be a consequence of improper training and motivation of mentors, lack of a clear plan, regulations and standards, as well as:
- lack of feedback between mentor and mentee;
- “teaching” theory that is not supported by practical skills;
- “do as I do” (the mentor forces you to simply copy your actions without explaining the reasons why this or that action should be done one way and not another; in this case, any emergency situation that goes beyond the template can lead to a failure of the main process);
- professional burnout of a mentor;
- lack of interest in the fate of the mentee and in the results of one’s work as a mentor, formal performance of duties;
- excessive switching to mentoring activities at the expense of core production responsibilities.
Final stage errors
- incorrectness or lack of criteria for analyzing the results of the work being carried out;
- irregularity or complete lack of control;
- there is no opportunity to adjust significant project parameters.
Common mistakes
The most typical and common errors are the following:
- underestimation of the degree of discomfort of the conditions in which the mentor’s mentee has to work. This mistake can be avoided by creating an environment of trust and attentive attitude to the learner;
- imposing one's opinion on the student. You can avoid mistakes by asking questions about assessing the results of a particular action, without first expressing your own value judgments. That is, the analysis of the situation must begin with feedback, and not with expressing one’s own opinion;
- overloading the mentee with comments and recommendations on a wide range of issues. You can avoid mistakes if you highlight key issues and focus on them, without overloading the ward with an abundance of heterogeneous information;
- insufficient attention to setting tasks and subsequent monitoring of their implementation. You can avoid mistakes by following two rules. Tasks for the mentee should be formulated according to S.M.A.R.T, that is, they should be (S) specific, (M) measurable, (A) achievable, (R) relevant or relevant to the activity, (T) with a clear time frame. Control should be systematic and not carried out in the form of random checks. Based on its results, it is necessary to analyze the situation with the ward and, if necessary, adjust the initial tasks in accordance with the changing situation.
I win - you win
Before introducing a mentoring system into a company, you need to weigh the pros and cons, carefully assess how much the organization needs it, whether it can be effective and whether the organization is able to implement and support it. Most of the difficulties described above can be avoided if the formation of a mentoring system in an organization is actively supported by the company’s management, and the personnel service and line management are involved in it and take a proactive position.
And, perhaps, one of the main factors of success is the paradigm based on the philosophy “I win - you win.” Small personal victory the student is the success of the mentor and, ultimately, the success of the entire team as a whole.