environmental factors in mentoring 1-24-12

7/30/2019 Environmental Factors in Mentoring 1-24-12

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Environmental Factors

in Mentoring

Jeanette Nadonley, DC, BA

January 24, 2012


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Attributes of Mentoring that Provide

a Helpful Framework

First Point

Mentoring involves a distinctiverelationship between individuals

each individual mentoring relationship will be

unique from other mentoring relationships.

each mentorship may be unique and

outcomes per mentorship may vary.


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Second Point

Mentoring involves some gaining of

knowledge by those involved in therelationship.

- there is some acquisition of new

information and/or skills that takes place inthe mentorship.


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Third Point

Mentoring involves some sort of support to

be given to the mentee

this support can vary from emotional and

psychological to vocational and academic.

the mentor has some greater experience or

expertise which they are able to share withthe mentee.


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Fourth Point

The main goal of the mentorship is thegrowth and development, in whatever

area, of the mentee is needed

the mentor guides the mentee in some area/s

pertinent to the mentee.


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Fifth Point

The mentoring relationships can be

described as being dynamic and ever

changing, as well as increasing in impact

over time

Mentoring is an enduring relationship

between a youth and a more experiencedindividual who provides guidance.


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Five MechanismsMentors can promote change within a young person

1) Serving as a role model to demonstrate

qualities and behaviors for the young

person to imitate and internalize.

2) Acting as a resourceful adult for youth

who either dont have a parent or whose

relationship with their parents is poor.

3) Providing social support, especially

emotional support.


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Five MechanismsMentors can promote change within a young person

4) Develop specific, positive skills

5) Modify undesirable behaviors


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Mentoring Approach

Effective mentoring address multiple areas of apersons life such as health, education, social

connections, and social conditions by providingservices in a variety of relevant settings.

Effective mentoring is careful not to adopt a one-size-fits-all approach. Activities should be

flexible enough to adapt to uniquecircumstances of their mentees and are morelikely to produce positive outcomes.


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Fundamentals of Behavior,

Learning and Behavior Change

Behavior is complex and is influenced by

many factors, which can be broken down

into two large categories:

individual factors (beliefs, motivation,

knowledge, skills, expectations).

environmental factors (family, cultural norms,neighborhoods, public policy).


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Performance Equation

The Performance Equation

is P = IC + S/K + M/I + Env

Performance (or behavior) = inherent

capability + skills/knowledge +

motivation/incentive + environmental

resources (Harless)


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Behavior Changes

Trainingor teachingonly changes skills

and knowledge. It cannot, by itself,

overcome inherent capability deficits, lack

of motivation/incentives, or lack ofenvironmental resources. (Bichelmeyer)

Increasing knowledge and skills is

necessary but not sufficient to changebehavior.


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Training or Teaching

When using training or teaching as a

mentoring component, keep in mind that:

Motivation affects what people pay attention

to. (Information Processing Theory)

People process small amounts of information

at one time. (Information Processing Theory)


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Training or Teaching

People combine bits of information into

chunks to help them remember it and to

make decisions faster. (InformationProcessing Theory)

Without practice, people forget what they

learned within 48 hours of learning it.

(Bichelmeyer)


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Behavior

Behavior that is reinforced (followed by a

positive result) is more likely to happen

again in the future. Behavior that is

punished (followed by a negative result) isless likely to happen again in the future.

(Social Learning Theory, Bandura)

Behavior change is a process, not anevent. (Stages of Change, Prochaska)


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Behavior

People can be at different levels of

readiness to change. Different levels of

readiness include precontemplation,

contemplation, decision, action, and

maintenance. People can cycle through

these stages more than once. (Stages ofChange; Prochaska)


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Some things we know or assume about changing

environmentalfactors that determine behavior:

Individual-level strategies are limited in their

ability to change the environment.

To understand a problem behavior, one mustunderstand the context of the behavior.

It is necessary to influence environmental

structures (family, cultural norms, environmentalresources) to prevent negative human behavior

and promote positive human behavior.


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Effective Tips for Mentors

Set the tone Listen and be present

Ask effective questions

Agree on next steps


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Set the Tone

Share your background

Be open to how the mentee and yourself

might be feeling (i.e. excitement,

nervousness, inquisitive)

Share past experiences and what you

gained from this

Talk about your future goals

Clarify expectations of the relationship


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Listen and be Present

Use active body language to show you are

engaged (eye contact, head nodding,

open posture)

Use silence as your ally

Encourage mentees to drive theconversation


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Ask Effective Questions

Ask open ended questions and avoid

closed ended questions

Tell me more about that.

How do you feel?

What do you enjoy most about that topic?

What did you like about that movie?


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Agree on Next Steps

Discuss what the mentee wants to do on

the next outing.

Provide resources/support when

appropriate.

Inform mentee about date and time of nextouting and if a reminder call will be made.


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Mentoring

People seldom improve when they have noother model but themselves to Copy. Oliver Goldsmith


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Mentoring

"A lot of people have gone further than theythought they could because someone elsethought they could." - Unknown

environmental factors in mentoring 1-24-12

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