A Reason, a Season, a Lifetime

We recently came across some great tips that can be used for finding Mentors using Social Media.  Here is one of several tips suggested by Nicole Williams, in her October 25, 2011 article called:   Women and Mentoring in the U.S.

We encourage you to read her entire article when you have a moment. 

< http://blog.linkedin.com/2011/10/25/mentoring-women/ >

A Reason, a Season or a Lifetime:  Start with the goal in mind. While typically referring to friendships, I find this is one of the most effective ways of wrapping your head around what you’re looking for in a mentor.  Before you can address the where and how of it all, it comes down to having a very clear view of what you’re looking for.  Whether it be the insight of an expert to help answer a specific question that’s haunting you, or finding someone you want to emulate for their poise and integrity; the better you’re able to define what you’re looking for, the more apt you are to find it.

Additional opportunities to learn more about Mentorship are available for you right NOW, on our YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/ProvisionMentorship 

Mentorship and the Link to Success

We recently received an email from someone exploring our Mentorship BLOG and appreciated the kind comments he provided. 

Let me share some of our reply, because it gave us opportunity to reflect back on the many wonderful people we've spoken with over the years. It's been great to interview these successful business owners and professionals. And many of them simply enjoy giving back to their communities - sharing what they have learned in business and in life with others.  

Reflecting for a moment, SUCCESS in virtually any field of endeavour is more likely to come only after years of dedication and discipline.  We sometimes hear of the 'overnight success', but the reality is that this "success" has often taken years for these individuals to achieve. And if we want to be totally honest, there are very few success stories that are truly 'solo efforts'. The work that we do, and the work of other successful people has almost always involved others who have had a part in the advancement of that effort. 


And on that note, I close with the words that are inscribed on Andrew Carnegie’s tombstone: “Here lies a man who knew how to enlist in his service better men than himself.”  
(More related to Andrew Carnegie can be seen on our Business Success BLOG at:  http://businesssuccessblog.blogspot.com/


Mentorship can be one of those important relationships that helps people to more quickly and more fully develop into their full potential.  That's why we've added these resources and made them FREELY AVAILABLE for anyone who is looking at developing their potential. 

View some of the video clips that we've put together.  We trust that you will enjoy and learn from our many interviews with people spanning a wide variety of careers and industry sectors.  

Visit our YouTube Channel at:
    http://www.youtube.com/user/ProvisionMentorship

Please feel free to comment on, and pass along the URL for our Mentorship and Business Success BLOGs.

Engaging your Employees through Mentorship

One of the frequent comments that I hear from business owners, particularly in times of growing economic prosperity, is the challenge that they have in retaining quality staff within their organizations.  Many feel that their front door has been replaced by a ‘revolving door’, one that they wish they could slow down!  One successful business owner told me over coffee of how his competitors would frequently be seen just outside the gate of his plant.  He said that their intent was to chat with the workers coming off shift, hoping to lure some of them away with slightly higher wages.  Another business owner seemed near desperation as he searched for ways to stem the exodus of people from his firm.

Elisa Birnbaum, a freelance journalist, producer, and communications consultant living in Toronto, touches on this issue in her June 14, 2011 article, “The Mentor Within”. Elisa’s article can be seen in full on the Charity Village Website at http://www.charityvillage.com/cv/archive/acov/acov11/acov1128.asp

Here is a brief introduction to Elisa’s article, provided to whet the appetite of our readers!  Thank you once again Elisa for your permission to quote from your work.

The Mentor Within  - By Elisa Birnbaum Retention has become the cause célèbre for many organizations. With a particular focus on the younger generation, ideas abound on how to create a working environment that is welcoming, engaging and supportive. An engaged staff is a satisfied one, after all.

But now the question becomes: how best to achieve those goals.

Some are looking to mentorship for answers. Helping one's staff develop skills and acquire knowledge will help move them into leadership roles, develop long-term engagements and take a good swipe at succession issues in the process. That's the theory, anyway. But while informal mentorship opportunities are prevalent, the number of organizations implementing formal, in-house mentorship programs is difficult to estimate and they are admittedly hard to find. Thankfully some were willing to share their experiences running — and developing — formalized programs.

Elisa’s full article goes on to provide examples from the Canadian Red Cross, the YWCA and Vantage Point, to illustrate how mentorship can assist organizations in more fully engaging the people they employ.

Be sure to read Elisa Birnbaum’s full article on the Charity Village Website at: http://www.charityvillage.com/cv/archive/acov/acov11/acov1128.asp