Spring is on its way and a lot of people are thinking about their gardens. Gardens can be small or large and be done for many different reasons. Gardening is the activity of growing and maintaining the garden. The same thing can be said about mentoring programs. Mentoring is the activity of growing and maintaining employees. Therefore, it can be said that both mentoring and gardening are very similar. The gardener is the same as a mentor while the seeds are the same as your mentorees. Here are a few steps needed to successfully create your crops:
1. Select your seeds – Select your mentorees
· It is important to be selective of what you plan to grow. Make sure to use the seeds that will ultimately be the crop you plan to utilize.
2. Till the soil – Prepare your mentoring participants
· Make sure you have the tools and resources needed to complete this step. With that being said, be sure to provide your mentoring pairs with tools and resources to help them have a successful relationship.
3. Plant the seeds – Match the pairs
· This is the time the gardener will have contact with the seeds for the first time. Therefore, the mentoring pairs will meet and should make an outline and/or agreement of what they are looking to accomplish.
4. Maintaining the garden – Maintaining the mentoring relationship
· It is imperative that you provide the garden with water and fertilization so that the garden can flourish. In mentoring, this is where both pairs meet at least once a month so that they can interact with one another and make sure they are still on the same path towards their set goals.
5. Harvest your crops – Completion of the mentoring relationship
· Now is the time to gather your mature crops from your garden. And in mentoring, it is the time to end your mentoring relationship. All good things must come to an end!
So the next time you are either gardening or mentoring, make sure you don’t forget to follow the five steps above. Need some assistance at your organization with any of the steps? Then click here to contact us and see how we can help you grow your employees into an appealing harvest.