Mentoring Circles

A WORD ABOUT MENTORING CIRCLES
From 2015 through 2019 I was an active participant as an executive mentor in a Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan program called Mentoring Circles. This program is a tremendous opportunity for rising and aspiring managers and leaders to learn from 10 executive mentors every year on a variety of topics.

Here I am sharing some of the facilitation decks I have authored and delivered. Over 240 aspiring managers and leaders took part in these sessions. I am proud as a leader to have had the opportunity to pass on some of my experiences throughout an over 35 year career.

This is a meaningful and rewarding program and as a mentor I also was a mentee, learning and growing as a result of the vibrancy of the group discussion and the sharing of perspectives. Michelle Fanroy, a trusted partner and founder of AccessOne Consulting, was instrumental in this and here is a little shout out to her and her organization.

THE CLASS OF 2019

Everyday businesses are implementing changes more and more rapidly. Technology is constantly innovating, competition is constantly challenging and customers are sometimes unpredictable. These trends are only going to continue. Managers and leaders are often overwhelmed with the pace and the need to both lead change and lead through change.

For the mentoring circle class of 2019, Kirk Roy and I team up for our fourth year as co-authors and co-facilitators to help provide some insight on leading change. As we worked our way through the story arc that we wanted to share, we found that our previous three years of info compiled was applicable. So, this years slide deck is somewhat of a “mix tape” or “mash up” of the previous three years. I provide our thinking here and below you can download the complete deck. I hope you find it useful.

THE CLASS OF 2018

As individuals progress through their careers they are often promoted based on the good to great work they have done as staff professionals. But as Marshall Goldsmith teaches us in his NYT Bestseller, “WHAT GOT YOU HERE WON’T GET YOU THERE,” the management and leadership skills you need to lead a team are different. Those skills are often not taught anywhere. This deck was used for a set of 2018 mentoring circles to help them prepare for the next level leadership. This learning was shared with about 60 rising managers and directors in healthcare.

Click the Download Button below to see the entire facilitation deck.

THE CLASS OF 2017

As you grow in your career, are offered more opportunities and gain more experience, you’ll likely be interacting with senior leadership. When you do, you’ll notice that they operate differently than what you are used to. They read situations more quickly. They “get it,” the meanings behind the message, and most senior leaders have an uncanny ability to breakdown the numbers and recall information in ways you would not have anticipated.

So if you want to be upwardly mobile (what I call GO VERTICAL), you’ll need to understand how to be seen and heard by those senior-level managers most effectively. You will have to be GOING VERTICAL with communication to GO VERTICAL with your career.

That is what my 2017 Mentoring Circles classes were all about. This was expressed in unique and memorable ways using movie references and a 50 year old comedy recording.

If you choose to download this deck, note that it has about a five minute audio in it that is critical to the learning. To hear the audio at the right time and get the full impact of the learning, place the deck in slideshow mode and pace through the deck. As they say in the restaurant business… ENJOY!!!

THE CLASS OF 2016

Mentors are asked to read the Price Pritchett Book THE MARS PATHFINDER and to watch THE MARTIAN. I think THE MARTIAN has become one of my favorite movies of all time because of so much depth of story you can get out of it about team, change, challenging decisions and leadership.