Mentoring is something we can all benefit from, either through having a mentor for yourself or by being a mentor and assisting others to help achieve their goals through sharing your own experiences. Personally I've always had mentors and as such am now mentoring others, even if they're not aware of it! Its natural if your're a more senior EA to want to take junior EAs under your wing and coach them to be your little EA prodigies, but not all new EAs will seek mentorship or coaching as they may already feel they have enough experience under their belt and feel confident enough in their abilities already. And whilst official mentor/mentee relationships are not always discussed and set up officially, I think the unofficial role of being a mentor plays a significant part in the modern EA role. Unfortunately, official mentor programs are not usually offered to the administration staff, but none the less a lot of unofficial coaching 'coffees' still happen between assistants in every business. The invitation to be another's mentor is not always a conversation that is had, but more so something that you just find yourself doing, by way of initiation from them of as a result of you identifying another EA that may benefit from some of your wisdom. But whether its taking the subtle approach and just lending a kind ear to listen to the grievances your fellow EA/EAs may be having, or whether its a more constructed approach where you sit down and have a regular catch up with a set agenda, there are some things to keep in mindwhen to ensure you generate the mentees own thoughts rather than bombard them with your own. So theses are my short sharp tips for being a good (official or unofficial) mentor:
1. Be a sounding board and only offer advice when its asked for: The best friends in this world are the ones that listen, and that applies to your business relationships as well. Let your mentee bring their problems to you. Ultimately if a proper mentor/mentee relationship is set up the mentee should provide a list of topics/issues to discuss, but let them run the agenda and do the talking, and only offer advice when its asked for. Being an EA can be a frustrating job and sometimes all we need is a sounding board to vent to. Sometimes in airing your issues you can find the answers your looking for on your own, just by talking it out.
2. Help to set goals: Development of the mentee is the ultimate goal in your eyes, but your mentee may have another set of goals that they are trying to achieve. Address this upfront if you're in an official mentor relationship and discuss where they want to go with their career, what areas they feel need developing and how you can help them. If you're just having a casual catch up, drop it in to conversation by asking how they think they are going in the role and what they see as next for themselves. Think about whether there might be EA/PA workshops or forums that they could attend to develop certain skill sets that you've identified need some attention. Think about aligning them with other EAs in the business to help nurture certain areas of their development or to get them involved in projects that are being worked on by others that could help to boost their confidence. Consider speaking with their manager about what they are wanting to achieve and how they can perhaps help too.
3. Provide helpful feedback: This isn't an opportunity to just sit and talk about your own achievements. When reflecting on your own experiences only mention what's relevant, its not a gloating session! The relationship must be a two-way street.
4. Praise good work: Its important to build the confidence of your mentee. Confidence is ESSENTIAL when it comes to being a good assistant, so praise them where you can where they have demonstrated good initiative or great behaviour.
5. Generate thoughts from different perspectives: Get your mentee thinking about things from all perspectives. Its important as an EA to have the skill of being able to see things from different points of views and as such you need to get your mentee thinking about how things can be done differently. Get them to think outside the box! This will also help develop their flexibility.
Mentoring other EAs is not just beneficial to the mentee, but to the mentor as well. It's something that boosts your own confidence and helps to realise your own achievements, especially when you're giving advice based on past experience. The sense that you are helping someone achieve their goals and that they are making a difference in another person's life is a great feeling and one that should be sought after. Mentor/mentee relationships between Executive Assistants not only showcase leadership on behalf of the EA mentor, but they also strengthen EA networks internally which we've identified as a must for any company. I highly encourage you to seek mentorship from the senior EAs in your business, and likewise if you're a senior EA ensure you're providing mentorship to your fellow EAs where required. We all have a lot to share with each other and similarly we all have a lot we can teach each other. No two days are the same in our roles so there is plenty of experiences to be shared and learnt from, and in turn we will all be better for it. Labels: Hump Day Hint
