Mentoring

Mentoring is a multifaceted tool that not only nurtures individual talent but also strengthens the fabric of the entire organization. A leader who is adept at mentoring will often find their teams more resilient, adaptable, and forward-thinking.

• Professional development of subordinates: A good mentor provides guidance, feedback, and resources that can help mentees grow professionally. This not only improves the individual's skills and knowledge but, over time, elevates the competency and productivity of the entire team or organization.
• Succession planning: Mentoring prepares the next generation of leaders. Through mentorship, seasoned leaders can pass on their knowledge, wisdom, and insights to emerging leaders, ensuring that the organization is prepared for future challenges.
• Promotion of a positive organizational culture: Effective mentoring can foster an environment where learning, sharing, and mutual respect are the norms. This contributes to higher morale, better teamwork, and increased engagement among employees.
• Retention: Employees who feel valued, understood, and challenged are more likely to stay with an organization. Mentorship often addresses these needs by providing support and development opportunities.
• Enhanced decision-making: A mentor often challenges a mentee to think critically, analyze situations from different perspectives, and consider various solutions. This kind of guidance can lead to more informed and better decision-making.
• Knowledge transfer: Mentoring ensures that valuable knowledge—both tacit and explicit—gets passed down. This transfer of knowledge is vital in preventing loss of expertise when senior members retire or leave the organization.
• Building relationships: Through mentoring, leaders can forge strong, lasting relationships with their mentees. This mutual trust and respect can be crucial in times of organizational change or crisis.
• Personal growth for the leader: While mentoring is often viewed as a one-way street benefiting only the mentee, the mentor can also gain significantly from the relationship. They can receive fresh perspectives, learn about emerging trends from younger generations, and even re-evaluate their own practices.
• Increased innovation: By fostering open dialogue and a culture of continuous learning, mentoring can lead to the exchange of new ideas, approaches, and innovative solutions to problems.
• Reputation building: Organizations that promote and value mentoring are often viewed favorably in the industry. This can lead to an increased ability to attract top talent and gain a competitive edge.
• Enhancing leadership skills: Mentoring itself can be a way for leaders to practice and enhance their leadership skills. Through guiding, coaching, and supporting others, leaders refine their ability to communicate, provide feedback, and inspire.

Community of Practice

For not having a diversity of working methodologies along the company, there is the need of a community responsible of defining dynamics. It is a place / time for knowledge exchange and definition of new guidelines and policies. For leading that community there can be a person who is in charge or a facilitator role that is assumed by one different person each time. It there is a single person who is in charge there must be the problem that the person is not affected by the decision because he is not hands-on on daily basis.

Phases to acquire new disciplines (Shu Ha Ri)

• Shu: We are starting to learn new things, so we must do as rules and mechanics say. It's more important to do it good than fast.
• Ha: We are doing some of the parts automatically, as a habit.
• Ri: When we have it all automated, we have enough knowledge and practice that we can change some of the rules to adapt them to our needs.

Sigmoid function also help us to view the learning curve. It represents a curve that transitions smoothly between two values. When applied to a team integrating a new topic, it can metaphorically describe the team's learning process. Initially, there's a slow uptake as members familiarize themselves with new concepts. As they gain confidence and resources, the learning rate accelerates, represented by the steepest part of the sigmoid curve. Eventually, as the team reaches its capacity in understanding and integrating the topic, the learning rate decelerates, leveling off. The sigmoid function, in this context, captures the non-linear progression of a team's adaptation and growth.

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Career mentor

If you keep a constant mentoring we are going to retaining talent because they are growing.

Career mentoring is crucial as it offers personalized guidance, fostering professional growth and development. Mentors, with their experience, provide insights, resources, and strategies often overlooked by those new to a field. This relationship helps mentees avoid pitfalls, accelerates their advancement, and instills confidence in their decisions. Mentoring cultivates a culture of continuous learning, with mentors also gaining fresh perspectives from mentees. It thus facilitates networking, skill enhancement, and leadership cultivation, ensuring a thriving and innovative professional landscape for both individuals and organizations. Mentoring your team is also important for the company in order to have the team prepared for incoming project necessities. Overall, mentoring plays an indispensable role in shaping successful, sustainable career paths.

Mentoring resources

• you can present trap problems: you already know the solution, but you want the team get that conclusion by themselves
• Subscriptions to online services (codely, udemy, coursera, acloudguru)
• Improvement online services (codingwars.com, http://codingdojo.org )
• Offline talks
• Library with books and videos (refactoring.guru)
• Periodic in-house trainings (katas, anonymous exams)
• Pair programing. Two colleagues perform the same task. About a 15% of productivity is lost, but 15% less of bugs.
• Mob programming. One colleague develops and the rest give their opinion
• Learn from the errors of the rest. You don't live enough to experiment them all.
• Promote heuristic. Foment the capacity of discovering or solving problems creatively.

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Personal mentor

For a good mentoring, as a leaders we have also to take care of the personal side of our colleagues. For achieving it, we have to take into account these aspects:

Everybody longs for approval and fears being sentenced in order to feel important

Humans inherently desire validation and acceptance. This longing for approval is deeply rooted in our evolutionary need for social belonging, as our ancestors relied on group cohesion for survival. When we gain approval, we feel important, valued, and recognized. Conversely, the fear of judgment or being "sentenced" taps into our dread of rejection or ostracization. When criticized or dismissed, our sense of self-worth is threatened, making us feel less important. Thus, the pursuit of affirmation and the avoidance of negative appraisal are both driven by our intrinsic yearning to feel significant and hold a meaningful place within our social structures.

Many people gets crazy for not getting to feel important

Humans have an innate desire for significance. Feeling important or valued stems from our evolutionary need to belong to a group, as this increased chances of survival. In modern society, importance often equates to social recognition, respect, and self-worth. When individuals don't receive this affirmation, it can lead to feelings of inadequacy, frustration, or isolation. The absence of this validation can seriously affect one's mental well-being, with some striving for unhealthy ways to gain attention or feeling despondent when they don't. The overwhelming influence of social media exacerbates this by constantly showcasing success and importance, further amplifying feelings of insignificance in many.

You need to feel it from the other person side of view

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. It involves immersing oneself in another person's perspective and emotionally connecting with their experiences. This isn't just about imagining their situation but genuinely feeling it as if it were your own. By doing so, we bridge gaps of misunderstanding, foster deeper connections, and cultivate compassion. Feeling from another's point of view enables richer relationships, better communication, and a more inclusive world. It reminds us of our shared humanity, challenging us to step outside our comfort zones and recognize the diverse tapestry of emotions that bind us all.

People doesn't apply mostly logic, emotions instead

Humans are inherently emotional beings. While logic provides a structured way to understand and interpret the world, emotions drive most decisions and reactions. Evolutionarily, emotions acted as quick response mechanisms, guiding us away from danger or towards beneficial situations. Today, even with advanced cognitive abilities, emotions like fear, love, anger, or joy often overrule logical thought. This emotional response can be immediate, whereas logical processing takes time. Moreover, cultural, societal, and personal experiences shape emotional reactions, often making them more influential than mere facts. Understanding this balance is key to effective communication and persuasion, as appealing to emotions can be more impactful than relying solely on logic.

We must know what people want and help them achieve it

Understanding what people desire is fundamental to fostering strong relationships, whether in business, friendship, or leadership. By discerning their needs and aspirations, we can tailor our approach, solutions, or products to resonate with their values and dreams. Furthermore, aiding individuals in reaching their goals not only bolsters trust and respect but also creates a foundation for collaboration and mutual success. In a world teeming with diverse aspirations, the capacity to listen, comprehend, and assist is invaluable. It builds bridges, opens doors, and paves the way for a harmonious and progressive society where people feel seen, heard, and empowered.

People need to be appreciated, not flattered. Get sincerely interested about them

Appreciation and flattery are distinct. While flattery is superficial, often with ulterior motives, appreciation is genuine recognition of someone's worth or qualities. People instinctively discern between empty praise and sincere acknowledgment. By genuinely appreciating others, we acknowledge their authentic value and strengths. Taking sincere interest in someone goes beyond mere words; it involves actively listening, understanding their perspective, and valuing their uniqueness. This fosters trust, boosts self-worth, and nurtures healthy relationships. Everyone wants to be truly seen and valued, not merely appeased with empty words. By appreciating rather than flattering, we nurture authenticity in our connections.

Keep an active listening, make them know you are understanding every thing that person is saying

Active listening involves fully concentrating, understanding, and responding to what someone is saying, rather than passively hearing. It's about being present in the conversation, showing empathy, and refraining from interrupting. By giving feedback, asking relevant questions, and avoiding distractions, you signal to the speaker that their words are valuable. This not only fosters effective communication but also builds trust. When you actively listen, you ensure the person feels heard and understood, which can deepen connections and clarify misunderstandings. It's a skill that can transform personal and professional relationships by fostering mutual respect and understanding.

To get somebody do something, we must want them to do it

To persuade someone to take action, it's essential to align the task with their intrinsic motivations. Instead of forcing or manipulating, find common ground where their desires intersect with the desired outcome. Understand their needs, values, and aspirations, and frame the action in a manner that speaks to these personal drives. Effective persuasion often requires empathetic listening and the ability to present benefits tailored to the individual's perspective. By making them genuinely want to undertake the task, not only is the probability of success higher, but the outcome is often achieved with more enthusiasm and commitment.

Awake in others the personal motivation derivatives of having to do a task

Awakening personal motivation in others for a task goes beyond mere instruction; it taps into their intrinsic drives and values. By connecting the task to their personal goals, interests, or passions, individuals are more likely to engage deeply and persistently. This approach often involves illustrating the task's relevance, demonstrating its long-term benefits, and aligning it with their self-identity. Encouraging autonomy, offering constructive feedback, and recognizing efforts can also amplify motivation. Moreover, fostering a sense of belonging and purpose within a team can inspire collective enthusiasm. Essentially, when people see the direct impact and significance of their actions, their intrinsic motivation thrives.

If something is taught it won't be learnt, you have to practice it in order to keep it alive in your mind

Teaching presents knowledge, but learning embeds it. Merely receiving information doesn't guarantee retention or mastery. True understanding emerges when concepts are applied, challenges faced, and skills practiced. Just as muscles atrophy without exercise, unpracticed knowledge fades. When we engage actively, make mistakes, and refine our approach, the lessons take root. Practice transforms passive information into active skill, reinforcing neural pathways and ensuring lasting comprehension. To truly learn, one must do. Only through consistent application can knowledge be kept vibrant and alive in our minds. It is said that you must invest 10.000 hours to master a skill.