The main purpose of an organisation's mentorship program is to help the participants achieve their goals. It is through these mentoring goals that both the mentee and mentor gain personal and professional development, which allows them to be more confident in their role in the organisation.
The author, Napoleon Hill, said it best: “A goal is a dream with a deadline.” In a mentorship program, this is exactly what a SMART goal hopes to achieve. Having a goal directs the relationship between the mentor and mentee, and eventually helps the organisation.
In this article, let’s talk about the most common examples of mentoring goals in an organisation. We’ll also be talking about the importance of setting SMART goals and actionable tips on how to run a successful mentoring program.
Why Are Goals Important?
In the workplace, goals are important since they help individuals see the bigger picture and have an end product in sight. Some of Persuasion-Nation’s most important statistics on setting goals are:
- People who set goals are 43% more likely to achieve them.
- 48% of goal-setters say that they always write their goals down.
- Employees who set goals are 14.2× more likely to be inspired at work.
- 80% of people do NOT set goals for themselves.
If you are part of the number who do not set goals for yourself, it can make you feel like your life is going around in circles and that you don’t have a clear path in sight. Bill Copeland, a poet, writer, and historian, said that “the trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.”
A mentoring relationship should be more than just a nice coffee catch-up. It should be a relationship where the mentee is supported to work towards some tangible goals. The relationship should be focused on some clear objectives.
With a goal, the efficacy of the relationship can be measured. Mentoring conversations may often feel like they don’t have a clear purpose, as there is no clear purpose or objective for the overall relationship. With a goal or clear focus, mentors are more likely to question their value and mentees are more likely to struggle to come up with a clear agenda or focus for each meeting.
10 Common Examples of Mentoring Goals
Mentees often sign up for a mentorship program without a clear purpose or goal. This is normal, however, they do need to “do the work” reflecting on their strengths and areas for development, and think about what they would like to achieve from the mentoring relationship.
Below is a list of example goals, for inspiration:
- “Lead a productive team by completing cases within the required timeframes.”
- “Participate in project meetings and/or site visits.”
- “Strengthen my role as a strategic business partner to the CEO.”
- “Learn more about applying psychosocial frameworks in organisations. What do they typically include? Principles / best practice. How do they work in practice?”
- “Gain new perspectives on my profession and job seeking in the current post-COVID environment.”
- “Improve my ability to network and make work connections using knowledge of my own (and others' where possible) strengths using the JUNG tool.”
- “Actively seek opportunities to learn about and experience these divisions/departments.”
- “Engage more with standards committees/universities/ACA and pick up some research skills/tips.”
- “Develop a set of tools and templates for client interactions and commercial aspects.”
- “To improve onboarding new staff.”
- “Develop my leadership skills and prepare for my first people leadership/manager role”
While both the mentor and mentee set goals in the program to help them grow in their career, their goals usually differ through:
- Mentee Goals: Learning new skills in communication, leadership, negotiation, and conflict management, and gaining visibility from leadership for career opportunities
- Mentor Goals: Improving communication skills, developing mentorship/coaching/leadership skills, and building relationships with others
At the start of every mentoring journey, we ask our mentees and mentors to write down their expectations and goals in the Mentoring Agreement. You can also follow the following tips to set your own SMART goals.
How to Set Clear Goals Using the SMART Goal-Setting Process
SMART goal setting is an effective and widely recommended method of establishing goals. Each letter has a specific meaning, which serves as a parameter to help ensure you establish clear objectives within a certain timeframe.
Writing SMART Goals
SMART Goals stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This can be further explained through:
- Specific: Establish goals that are clear, concise, and well-defined so they can be achieved easier.
- Measurable: Goals need to be split into parts so you can easily keep track of them and be accountable for their outcomes.
- Attainable: Goals need to be realistic instead of being too broad. Things like “increase organisational diversity” can be further broken down.
- Relevant: Your goal should be aligned with your mentoring program and what you hope to gain out of it.
- Time-bound: Stay on track by having an end goal in sight. Know when to keep yourself in check by having a deadline.
A good example of a SMART statement is:
My goal is to [quantifiable objective] by [timeframe or deadline]. [I or my team] will accomplish this goal by [the steps needed to achieve the goal].
Accomplishing this goal will [the result or benefit].
RELATED: How to Set Short-Term Goals in Your Mentoring Program
What Goals Are You Setting Today?
As the program administrator of your organisation’s mentoring program, you should support your mentees to establish clear goals. This can start by asking people why they want a mentor when they first sign up, and then providing them with further training and reflection exercises to get clearer on their SMART goals.
You can use Brancher’s online tools and training to support mentees with goal setting.
Call us today to learn more about how Brancher’s mentoring software can support your organisation in achieving your goals.
Source:
- Persuasion Nation. (2024, April 13). 15+ Smart Goal-Setting Statistics To Crush It This Year. https://persuasion-nation.com/goal-setting-statistics/#:~:text=People%20who%20set%20goals%20are,are%20not%20likely%20at%20all.