Topic 11: Monitoring & Reviewing progress towards goals

In this section, we will explore the importance of goal setting in mentoring, to set the direction for the relationship and explore how we can help our mentee make progress towards their goal.

Monitoring and Reviewing Progress towards goals

ILM Level 3 Award in Effective Mentoring

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Index

Welcome to this topic where we will explore the importance of goal setting in mentoring.Let's get started!

Introduction

Record Keeping

01

02

Let's begin

01: Introduction

In an earlier section, we explored the importance of goal setting in mentoring, to set the direction for the relationship and explore how we can help our mentee make progress towards their goal. Monitoring progress is an important part of the mentoring relationship, making sure that the mentee is moving forwards in the desired direction. There are a number of ways to monitor progress, and we’ve already explored some of these,

Monitoring & Reviewing progress towards goals

Self-reflection

Evaluating Goal Achievement

Other information may be needed to support monitoring and review, depending on what goal has been agreed:

• It may be appropriate to gather feedback from others e.g. manager, peers, customers, as part of 180 degree or 360 degree feedback. What changes have they noticed in the mentee?
• It could be helpful to use a competency framework to assess where there have been improvements in knowledge, skill or behaviour during the sessions. This can also be helpful in identifying ongoing development.

Monitoring & Reviewing progress towards goals

Asking your mentee for regular feedback is also an important aspect of monitoring progress. Is there anything you can do differently / more of / less of that will help your mentee to make more progress? E.g.

• Are you sharing enough / too much of your knowledge, skills and experience.
• Are your conversations motivating and empowering the mentee to find their own ways of working towards their goals (rather than them feeling they have to do it your way).
• Have you decided what the mentee should be doing and are unconsciously pushing them in a direction that’s not right for them?

Monitoring & Reviewing progress towards goals

03: Record Keeping

Let's begin

Written records play an important role in monitoring and reviewing mentoring, so it’s important to be aware of the records that support effective mentoring, and consider how this works in your organisation. Explore the different types of records:

Record Keeping

Mentoring session record

Reflective Log

Mentee feedback

Confidentiality is important for our mentoring conversations and for the associated written records. The EMCC state for safe and ethical practice ‘Members will store, and dispose of, any records regarding clients, including electronic files and communications, in a manner that promotes confidentiality, security and privacy, and complies with all applicable laws and agreements’. Secure storage is essential to ensure only you have access to these records, and that no-one without permission can view them. All organisations in the UK are required to work within specific legislation, including GDPR and the Data Protection Act, both of which exist to protect personal information and data.

Record Keeping

Activity: Reflective questions

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Activity: Reflect

• How are records stored securely in your organisation?
• How will you store mentoring records on your system to ensure they remain confidential?
• How will you use this information to reassure a new mentee about confidentiality?

Mentoring session recordDescription: Notes of what was covered in this session, broad areas of discussion, approaches used, actions agreed, next mentor session etc.Purpose: This allows the mentor to review progress over the sessions, and use notes to prepare for the next session. e.g. Which actions did the mentee successfully complete?

Evaluating Goal Achievement: Once the agreed number of sessions have ended, we need to consider whether the goal has been achieved, and what else has been achieved in addition (this highlights the importance of a clearly articulated goal at the outset). If the goal hasn’t been achieved, what stopped this from happening? What lessons can be learned?

Reflective logDescription: Using reflective practice to think about how well the session went, what areas were successful, what you might do differently next time, areas identified for your ongoing development as a mentor.Purpose: The process of reflective practice is a key part of effective and ethical mentoring practice, supporting continuing professional development. These notes can be used to support ongoing reflection, noticing patterns or specific issues to take to a supervision session

Self-reflection is essential for an effective mentor, and is also helpful for the mentee. Encouraging them to reflect on their progress, at the start of each session, at a mid-way review and at the end of the relationship is a good way to monitor success. You might want to include some reflective questions at the start and / or end of each session, encouraging them to take a moment to see how far they’ve come.

Mentee feedbackDescription: Feedback form, or comments from the mentee about their experience (what went well, how to make it even better next time, what they’re getting out of it etc.)Purpose: This supports our own reflections, giving us information about what has worked well for this client and what we could do differently. This helps to identify any blind spots we may have about strengths and development areas.