RCPCH Mentoring Skills Training

26th March 2019, Cardiff

Dr Annabel Greenwood ST4

​I am currently in the process of implementing a mentorship programme on the Neonatal Unit at UHW. As a trainee, it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed and at times, emotionally drained by the demands and expectations of our training.  Our wellbeing and a positive mindset are paramount in ensuring we can optimise our potential, but how can this be achieved without an appropriate support network in place?
 
Last month, I was fortunate enough to attend the RCPCH Mentoring Skills Workshop in Cardiff to learn more about mentorship and the key principles involved.  This was a fantastic one-day workshop lead by Matt Driver and Sandra Grealy, who have a wealth of experience in coaching and leadership.  I feel passionately that mentorship is an invaluable process for both the mentor and the mentee, and would like to use this platform to share with you some of the key concepts involved…
 

So what is mentoring? 

​Mentoring is the process of supporting and guiding a mentee in the development of their own ideas and agenda.  The mentor is usually a more experienced professional who aims to help nurture the potential of the mentee.  

​The Situational Model

The relationship between a mentor and mentee relies on the right balance between ‘push’ and ‘pull.’

• PUSH: suggesting, telling
• PULL: exploration, listening, drawing-out information 

This balance helps us understand the differences between coaching, mentoring, directing, and a more hands-off approach.  Depending on the situation and the needs of the person, the balance between ‘push’ and ‘pull’ will need to be adjusted accordingly;

Coaching: The agenda is set by the coach rather than the subject.  ‘Pull’ behaviours outweigh ‘push’ in this case.
 
Directive: The agenda is set by the ‘director.’  It is an important approach where the subject needs to have information.  ‘Push’ behaviour outweighs ‘pull.’
 
Hands-off: The subject is encouraged to do things for themselves, without ‘push’ or ‘pull.’

Core Skills 

​So, what are the key core skills to be an effective mentor?
 

1. Good Rapport
2. Active listening 
3. Goal-setting 
4. Summarising 
5. Questioning 

 
 

​What about advice?

​Let’s face it, if someone comes to you with a problem, it’s all too easy to jump-in with our own opinion or advice, often backed up by personal experiences. 
However, this approach is not useful in the case of mentoring, as it discourages the mentee from exploring their own possible options or solutions and driving their own agenda.
 
During the workshop we worked through a useful exercise to help appreciate this difference.

• In pairs we were asked to think of something you want to do but have not yet manged to

 
After listening to the mentee, the mentor was given the task of adopting two different approaches; 
a) Give advice
b) Work through a structured set of questions instead;
 

1. What specifically do you want?
2. How will you know you have succeeded?
3. What benefits will success bring?
4. How do you stop yourself succeeding?
5. When have you had some success?
6. What can you learn?
7. What is the next step?

 
As you can see, approach b) focusses on ‘success’ and positivity.  These are open questions, allowing the mentee to create and explore their own agenda. 

​The ‘T-GROW’ approach to mentoring 

The ‘T-GROW’ pneumonic provides a very useful structure to shape a mentoring session;
 
Topic

• What is on your mind?

 
Goal

• What outcome do you want?
• What do you want to focus on?

​
Reality

•  What is going on now?

 
Options

• What are your options for moving things forward?
• What resources do you have available to you?

 
Will

• Action
• What will you do?

The Contract 

​Before embarking on a mentorship session it is important to address ‘the contract.’  This defines the relationship between the mentor and the mentee, and provides the opportunity to explore each other’s expectations at the outset.  It is important to emphasise the confidential nature of the meeting, unless of course any alarming information is shared.
 

 How do I learn more?

• Attend an RCPCH Mentoring Skills day (next held in London on 18th June)
• Join peer-support mentoring skills webinars (https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/education-careers/courses/rcpch-webinar?keywords=mentoring)
• Become a 'mentoring champion' – mentoring champions are active in promoting mentoring in their own Deanery/organisation (https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/get-involved/volunteering/join-our-mentoring-champions-network)
• Complete eLearning packages on ‘Compass’
• Refer to the RCPCH Mentoring Standards