A mentor program is an answer to several different questions. It is a way of handling handover between generations and of working in an efficient and cost-conscious way while adapting to your activities. It is also a way of keeping and developing competence within your organization while focusing on specific groups, for example young employees with high potential, female managers, or senior leaders.
MiL Institute’s member companies design their mentor programs in various ways. Some focus on training mentors while others focus more on mentees. Some programs include inspirational seminars. Others focus on preparation, follow up by giving guidance on mentoring, and go on to create a rewarding conclusion. Some work with parallel programs for mentees, focusing on personal development and/or career support. Some mentees have mentors from their own organization. Other mentees have mentors from other organizations. Some organizations choose to only have mentors from their own executive teams and others choose not to have mentors from their own executive teams.
At MiL Institute, we always customize our mentor programs and individual seminars according to the needs of the organization in question and in line with our special competence in ARL®, i.e. working with a design that guarantees tools and reflection while taking into account the organization and its challenges.
The MiL Mentor Programme
The MiL Mentor Program includes training for mentors and mentees. The seminars help both groups to understand their assignment and to meet one another in the mentoring dialogue. Furthermore, the mentor program often has one or more items on the agenda, such as supporting mentees as leaders, increasing the number of career-making opportunities, facilitating knowledge transfer, or developing a leadership style that is more focused on coaching.
In addition to the topics focused on in the MiL Mentor Training, such as the mentor role and its demarcations, achieving results and a learning focus, creating content and energy in the dialogues, setting goals, and dialogue tools, the following are also offered:
- Training, theories, and inventories in the area of personal development
- Creative methods for group meetings
- Attitudes and tools to further deepen mentors’ dialogue competence
- Building and maintaining networks
- Facilitation of mentoring, either for mentors only or for mentees and mentors separately
- Other elements customized according to the needs of the organization
Examples of assignments:
Lund University global research environment, Gambro R&D Worldwide, and Tetra Pak Sweden
The MiL Mentor Training
The MiL Mentor Training is designed to help participants to understand their assignment and to approach mentees as mentors and not as managers or employer representatives. During the training day or days, mentors get a clearer picture of the possibilities and limitations of their assignments as well as a better idea of the strengths they have developed as managers, strengths that can now be of value in mentoring relationships. Techniques for coaching dialogues and various dialogue tools are also covered, ideally in conjunction with training opportunities for the mentors.
Focus:
- Role
- Expectations for learning
- Dialogue content
- Setting goals
- Possibilities and pitfalls
- Dialogue and dialogue tools
- Other elements customized according to the needs of the organization
Examples of assignments:
IKEA Supply Chain Global, Danske Bank Sweden, and the City of Malmö
The MiL Gender Mentoring Programme
The gender issue is now at the top of the agenda in many organizations. Research has repeatedly shown that including women in management teams and on boards of directors leads to considerably improved results. The MiL Gender Mentoring Program is sometimes intended for both men and women, and sometimes specifically for women. The mentors are men and women inside or outside the organization, who are great leaders and role models.
After the program, participants are better able to get ahead in their organization, to lead themselves and others, and to understand and handle structural phenomena such as power and gender. Sometimes participants also work on strategically important projects that affect the structures of their organization, which means that they implement some of their newly acquired knowledge in their organization. At the same time, participants are exposed to important leaders and influential groups within their organization.
- Career support
- Gender knowledge
- Networks
- Personal development
- Dialogue tools
- Creativity
- Conflict resolution
Examples of assignments:
The Lund University Medical Faculty, The Lund University Science Faculty, and The Network Program for Women at E.ON Nordic (without the mentors)
The MiL Partner Mentoring Programme
When a number of companies get together in an MiL Partner Mentoring Programme, the purpose is to give mentors and mentees the opportunity to have an exchange with fewer limitations and to get new inspiration and impressions from other industries. The purpose is also to stimulate experienced senior leaders who coach in organizations, to help young leaders find their feet more quickly, and to keep good leaders and maintain good leadership within organizations.
The MiL Partner Mentoring Program is a way of working with employer branding and of spreading the working “best practice” in the area of leadership across organizational boundaries without using external consultants.
- Mentorship
- Coaching dialogue
- Setting goals
- Personal leadership
- Value-driven leadership
- Change
- Networks, learning and conclusion
Example of assignments:
In the MiL Partner Mentoring Program with the purpose of “Growing in Leadership”, that was carried out with Alfa Laval, Awapatent, E.ON, Ericsson/ST-Ericsson, Gambro, Sony Ericsson, and Tetra Pak as participating companies, MiL Institute contributed with a general theme, seminars and learning design.
