BEST PRACTICES: BARRIER OR BOOST FOR MENTORING Rey Carr
A frequent request to Peer Resources from youth program leaders, community organizers, and business personnel interested in starting a mentoring program or service is for a list of "best practices."
This is a sensible request. After all, as long ago as 1999 the leading mentoring experts in the USA such as Peer Resources Network member Larry Ambrose, Margo Murray, Rita Boags, Betty Farmer, David James, Kathleen Wright, Linda Stromei, and dozens of others equally engaged in mentoring were all featured presenters at the "Best Practices in Mentoring Conference" at The Bolger Center in Potomac, Maryland.
Participants to this conference expected to learn about those foundation practices that identify successful mentoring, that enable mentoring to make a difference in the lives of those touched by such practices, and to learn about how to apply those practices in their own organizations. This is the common goal of almost every quest for "best practices."
What if compiling a set of mentoring "best practices" actually leads you down the wrong path? CEO coach Mike Myatt describes best practices as "evangelical" statements that "rarely warrant being deemed as universal truths. It is nothing short of over exuberant thinking to assume that any single solution can be applied anywhere and everywhere...Just because company A had success with a certain initiative doesn't mean that company B can seamlessly plug-and-play the same process and expect the same outcome."
Former International Mentoring Association (IMA) president and Peer Resources Network member, Dr. Joe Pascarelli, has a slightly different perspective on best practices. In his email that appeared on the IMA group discussion site Dr. Pascarelli said that best practices, which he equates with evidence-based practice, "came out of a national context that identified those practices that were soundly based in research (and development) and were acknowledged as such. Originally there were specific criteria and standards that certain programs met and, as a result, these practices were disseminated (via federal funding) so others could learn about and consider 'adopting.' Herein, lies the catch. We know from decades of research that no program can be 'adopted' and installed in a 'foreign context' without being 'adapted.' I am not hairsplitting but pointing to the difference. In these days, we are using 'Best Practice' very loosely and, in some cases, based on self-nomination. So, if there is a publication based on Best Practices in Mentoring (and there is not), it would still be limited in terms of the contextual dimension that needs to be addressed."
Barry Sweeny, a long-time mentoring expert and the current editor of the newsletter of the International Mentoring Association as well as their web master, agrees with his colleague, Dr. Pascarelli. According to Dr. Sweeny, "The basic question in examining and considering 'best practices' is "best for what? What is best for one program may not be best for others."
Dr. Sweeny suggests that a way to manage "best practice" enquiry is to first examine the goal of the mentoring program. He believes that the goal determines what might be best for that program. "Anyone who asserts a set of 'best practices' must be asked," says Dr. Sweeny, "best for what goals before we would consider adopting an approach, model, or solutions. That makes the process of program development more complex. There are many choices, forks in the 'development road,' and dead ends."
One way to manage this complexity according to Dr. Sweeny is "to work with a 'program development mentor,' someone who is experienced in the process and settings where many diverse goals have been addressed by different approaches and models." He recognizes that this could be "a more financially costly way to go, but then heading off on your own without such experienced guidance can cost considerable time, waste energy, and even result in the loss of good will from managers and participants if there are issues and problems along with way." (Some of the world's best mentor program development specialists are listed on the International Mentoring Association website.)
I agree with both Dr. Sweeny and Dr. Pascarelli, both of whom I have known about for years through my own membership in the International Mentoring Association. However, my own experience has led me to three additional perspectives.
Recognize that the Pursuit of a Quick-Fix is Innate
First, I've often found that the search for 'best practices' is often a way of avoiding coming to grips with what is really necessary to develop an effective mentoring initiative in the enquiring organization or service. When I've practiced Barry Sweeny's advice regarding asking about goals, I've been amazed at how few 'best practice searchers' can actually articulate any goals. They often haven't thought about this very deeply. There's a common sense understanding that finding a set of best practices will enable all other elements required for effective mentoring to fall in place. At the same time, searching for best practices seems easier than dealing with some of the harder questions that require insight, reflection, internal research. Discovering a short cut seems deeply seated in our brain functioning.
Develop a Set of Best Questions
Instead of working on establishing a set of best practices derived from the ideas of others, I suggest asking a set of best questions, and then, through your team, develop some answers. Here are some examples of "best" questions: What do you hope to achieve with a mentoring program? What results do you expect? Why are these things important? What needs do the people in your organization have that can be better met through mentoring?
Assign a Risk-Level to Program Options
While a best practices guide can inspire you to think of, reflect on, or be inspired by what others have done, it can also be a barrier to creating your own path that is more likely to fit your organizational culture, values and mission. Just because others have developed a particular practice that works for them, doesn't mean their success will transfer to your organization.
But it also means that they could work and benefit your mentoring initiative.
When using best practices, take a "risk-based" approach. That is, with every "best practice" reflect on the pluses and minuses of implementing that best practice in your organization. Ask yourself "how will this help or hinder the results we want? What might be an unintended or unexpected positive or negative outcome if we implement this 'best practice?'"
(Editor's Note: Virtually all the experts mentioned in this issue of The Mentor News will be in attendance at the International Mentoring Association Conference in Orlando March 17-19, 2010. If past conferences are any indication, they will all be delighted to discuss these ideas informally with any conference participants.)
Reference
Myatt, M. (u.d.). The problem with best practices: Why implementing best practices leads to mediocrity. Knol (Retrieved June 29, 2009 from http://twitclicks.com/4ghj
---------------
This article was re-posted with permission of Ray Carr, who publishes a montly email newsletter, titled The Mentor News. The Mentor News is a complimentary publication of Peer Resources, 1052 Davie Street, Victoria, British Columbia V8S 4E3 Canada. All articles are written by Rey Carr unless otherwise indicated. Back issues are available online at <
http://www.mentors.ca/thementornews.html