Published in Kingstown College Coaching Magazine 2019/2020
In some cases, a mentor may act as an independent sounding board while the mentee explores issues and decisions; in others they want to share knowledge and experience; in others to help tease out issues and explore possible solutions.
There are almost 29,000 non-profit organisations in Ireland. Most organisations are very small with very few paid staff who are on modest salaries. Adrienne Collins introduces us to Carmichael, a registered charity which supports these small organisations, giving an insight into the day to day operating of their Mentoring scheme.
Being mentored can be invaluable for people, both individually and in their role in their organisation. It is particularly important for leaders in the non-profit sector. The Carmichael Mentor Scheme provides mentoring free of charge to chief executives of non-profit organisations in Ireland. Chief executives are often in a difficult position, trying to show they are in control and doing a good job to the board of directors and trying to lead the staff. External support from someone who is independent, impartial and who has personal knowledge and experience of relevance to their situation can be a significant support to them in their role.
Carmichael and the Carmichael Mentor Scheme
There are approximately 29,000 non-profit organisations in Ireland. Most organisations are very small with low levels of paid staff on very modest salaries, delivering significant public benefit for society. (Benefacts, 2018).
Carmichael, (itself a registered charity), supports these small organisations and works to build capacity within the sector by promoting best practice and supporting boards in their governance role. It is one of the leading specialist training and support bodies for non-profits throughout Ireland, providing services such as
- Office accommodation to 48 non-profit organisations
- Support services and facilities
- Training and support services, including the Mentor Scheme
Coaching or Mentoring?
Much has been written about the differences between coaching and mentoring but in my view the Carmichael Mentor Scheme combines the best of both – a non-judgemental independent support using coaching skills; and insight from experience in management or in the non-profit sector. In the context of this programme, the mentor’s role is to share their knowledge, to listen and provide context to issues and problems, to act as a sounding board, to aid in exploring consequences of potential decisions, to provide information and feedback, to facilitate self-discovery, to challenge, to encourage exploring new ideas. Mentors need a range of skills, the most important one being to be an active listener. Others include coaching, being a critical friend, a role model, providing a “guiding” rather than a “doing” hand.
The Carmichael Mentor Scheme started as a pilot in 2012 in response to ongoing concerns about the difficulties faced by chief executives of small voluntary and non-profit organisations and the lack of support for them by initiating a pilot mentor scheme.
Volunteer mentors were recruited by the Co-ordinator of the Scheme (currently the Chief Executive of Carmichael). The feedback from the pilot was so positive that the board of Carmichael made a decision to continue it on a long-term basis – it is now an established support to the sector. The board decided to bear any costs involved – staff time, administration and other overhead costs – and to provide the Scheme free of charge to mentees. Two rounds of mentoring are organised each year with an orientation session for mentees. A total of 62 people have been mentored to date (July 2018). The mentoring assignment lasts approximately nine months.
Experienced Mentors
Mentors come from a range of backgrounds from for-profit, public and non-profit sectors. Some want to support the voluntary sector by using their corporate experience in accounting, finance, human resources, governance and business consultancy. Others are professional coaches who want to do some pro bono work to support leaders of small voluntary organisations. Other mentors bring their experience and understanding of the non-profit sector to the relationship. While some mentors are working, others have retired and want to share their knowledge and skills. Mentors only need to commit for one assignment – the Co-ordinator checks once or twice a year to see if they are prepared to take on a new mentee. Sometimes mentors are not available due to work or other commitments or due to continued involvement in a mentoring assignment that ran on longer than expected.
Mentees
Mentees to date have come from a very diverse range of non-profits – telephone support helplines; community groups; support groups for a range of physical and mental health conditions; development organisations; organisations dealing with issues including homelessness, enterprise, social services, sport, legal. Most work in organisations with less than 10 staff.
In some cases, a mentor may act as an independent sounding board while the mentee explores issues and decisions; in others they want to share knowledge and experience; in others to help tease out issues and explore possible solutions. Mentoring is very useful in helping someone through an important transition in learning, coping with a new situation, career or personal growth. Sometimes people come to mentoring because they feel stuck and want to change the way they are working or to think in a new way.
They found it very helpful to have someone neutral to speak with who was not linked to either the board or the staff and who could be objective.
Mentoring Topics
Popular topics for mentoring in this Scheme include strategic or business planning; governance, board relationship management; financial management; human resources; grant applications; fundraising; communications, PR, marketing, social media; service delivery; introduction to non-profit sector or a sub-sector within it. Some mentees have come to work in the non-profit sector for the first time, for example, moving from business consultancy to heading a small health charity, and they want some grounding in the sector. Others have changed from one area within the non-profit sector to another, for example, from poverty relief in Ireland to development work overseas.
The Co-ordinator matches mentees with mentors after the orientation meeting, taking into account what mentors are available and the specific needs of the mentee. A small number of mentees decide not to go ahead following the orientation session or when they are offered a mentor, for personal or work-related reasons, including a change of job.
Mentors have suggested that the first meeting should be seen as an introductory meeting to scope out the needs to be addressed, the readiness of the mentee to engage and the compatibility with the mentor. It is important to spend some time building a rapport at this meeting so that both parties feel comfortable. Both mentor and mentee review and sign the memorandum of understanding which includes a confidentiality agreement. The mentee decides the level of confidentiality about involvement in the Scheme. Some mentees tell their boards they have a mentor and have full support for that. In a few cases, the mentor has met with the board. Other mentees have reported that they felt their board might judge them as weak for seeking a mentor and therefore did not tell them they were involved.
Mentoring Sessions
The mentoring assignment usually involves six to nine meetings over a period of seven to nine months at times and dates agreed by both parties, but this varies depending on the needs being addressed and the nature of the relationship. It should not last more than a year except in exceptional circumstances. Many mentors suggest meeting for approximately an hour on a monthly basis for 6 sessions initially, reviewing at that stage if further mentoring is required. If so, up to 3 additional sessions can take place. Some spread the sessions over a longer period to suit work or other commitments of both parties or because of geographic distance. Some mentors arrange to meet mentees for six 2-hour sessions. In cases where a mentee is seeking help with something specific, a smaller number of sessions may be agreed to, in a tighter time-frame. Some use skype for some sessions, but all agree that it is best to have a face-to-face meeting first to establish the relationship.
The Carmichael Mentor Scheme has been evaluated on an ongoing basis since it began. All mentees and mentors are asked to complete an evaluation form following the final session and submit it to the Co-ordinator. They are asked to provide high-level feedback on the process and the relationship, they are not asked about the content of the meetings. Mentors are invited to an annual review meeting or to submit feedback in writing in advance of the meeting.
Six Years of Success
The feedback over the last six years has been overwhelmingly positive and indicates the value of the Scheme. Feedback from mentees indicates that the Scheme makes an important contribution to the individuals being mentored in three areas – the importance of the relationship with the mentor, the expertise of the mentor to support their development in their role; the benefit to the mentee’s organisation. Some mentees realised they needed more support from their board or needed to influence the make-up of the board to ensure the skill set required for good governance. Others had staffing issues which they did not want to bring to the attention of the board. They found it very helpful to have someone neutral to speak with who was not linked to either the board or the staff and who could be objective. Mentoring provided an opportunity to explore strengths, weaknesses and ambitions in confidence; was a source of challenge to assumptions about the job and how it should be done; enabled growth in self-confidence and self-awareness; was a sounding board for new ideas and approaches, before presenting them to the Board or the staff; provided the chance to learn from someone else’s mistakes; and provided insights into the politics and decision-making processes and structures in other organisations. Mentees commented on the confidential support in a trusting atmosphere, feeling empowered, having the space to think “outside the box” to discuss issues that can arise between boards and CEOs, the benefit of having open and challenging discussions, the experience of the coach, of the “wise non-intrusive response”.
Challenges for mentees include allocating time and energy to the Scheme, exposing themselves to critique; taking the risk to try out new ways of thinking and working.
In addition to supporting mentees to do their work more effectively, some mentors commented on the expertise being of direct benefit to the mentee’s organisation (in many of these cases, the boards were aware of the mentoring programme and in some engaged with the process to review how they operated as a board). Many mentors were surprised at the lack of governance skills at board level in some organisations. In some cases they supported the mentee to bring new people with greater governance skills onto their boards or to move their boards’ focus from operational to strategic issues.
Clutterbuck notes that “The golden rule seems to be to have a relatively formal structure for the programme, but as much informality as possible within the relationship.” This is one of the key successes of the Carmichael scheme, with a formal process (application, rounds of mentoring, documentation) and an informal and flexible relationship between mentees and mentees.
The Scheme is increasing executive capacity within the sector, albeit on a relatively small basis, by providing an opportunity for learning and development for the leaders, the organisations they work in and the organisations that mentees may move to in the future. The Carmichael Mentor Scheme is dependent on the commitment of mentees to engage in the Scheme and is indebted to the goodwill of mentors to make the Scheme possible and to providing this invaluable service.
If you would like to join the Scheme as a mentor, please contact Diarmaid Ó Corrbuí, Chief Executive,Carmichael, North Brunswick Street, Dublin 7. Tel 01-8735702. [email protected]; www.carmichaelcentre.ie
About Mentoring
According to Clutterbuck, good mentors mix challenge and stimulation with empathy and concern. Mentors need a range of skills, the most important one being to be an active listener. Others include coaching, being a critical friend, a role model, providing a “guiding” rather than a “doing” hand. The mentor’s role is to share their knowledge, to listen and provide context to issues and problems, to act as a sounding board, to aid in exploring consequences of potential decisions, to provide information and also feedback, to facilitate self-discovery, to challenge, to encourage exploring new ideas.
The programme works best where the coachability of the mentee is high – where they are committed and motivated to improve and/or change. Mentors engage in asking provoking or powerful questions to create movement in the way the mentee thinks.
By Adrienne Collins
Adrienne Collins is a Social Policy & Research Executive with the Citizens Information Board. She has also worked in the HR & Governance and Training teams in CIB. She worked previously for Carmichael Centre for Voluntary Groups, Irish Council for Overseas Students and Co-operation North. Adrienne has sat on boards of Irish Refugee Council and Voluntary Service International. She has done short term voluntary work in India, Sri Lanka and Ghana and performed a range of other volunteer roles. Adrienne has a Degree in Economic & Social Studies, a Master of Equality Studies, an Advanced Diploma in Personal & Executive Coaching, a Certificate in Corporate Governance for Not For Profit Organisations and an Advanced Facilitation Skills certificate.
