Mentoring programme design during a pandemic is no different to how you would normally develop and design a programme. However, there are certain tweaks you need to make to ensure the programme flexes to some of the constraints and challenges of this Covid-19 time. Here are our top tips of what to be aware of when designing a mentoring programme currently.
Being a mentor during the Covid-19 Pandemic is different. Everything we do currently is different. From working remotely for many, to how we socialise and shop. Most people, both at work and home, are experiencing a far greater level of stress than normal. Mentees can adopt a different practical emphasis, both to maximise the impact of their learning and to support them to thrive through the chaos. Mentors need new behaviours to support their mentees in more innovative ways. And organisations need the benefits of mentoring more than ever!
What a roller-coaster six months the whole world has experienced. From the stress of moving to working from home, to being on furlough or losing your job, to the pressures of home schooling, isolation and lack of contact or being available online 24/7. Some has been work-related stress, anxiety about the global pandemic or economic recession, bereavement or grief over losing our old ‘normality’. People have had to face it all! Our collective mental health has suffered during this period. Let’s explore what impact the pandemic has taken on mental health and how coaching and mentoring can provide support to help people feel emotionally and mentally well as they go forward in this difficult period.
Every day we face alarming news, fake or otherwise, that throws our minds into turmoil. How we decide to react, engage and evaluate our situation is down to us, our mindset, our ability to be resilient and how we develop our adaptive capacity. We have two solutions to support yourselves or encourage others, to make the best choices during this pandemic, maintain good mental health and to thrive through chaos!
The months of lockdown have had a huge impact on us all. With the ongoing restrictions and uncertainty that we continue to face, and the added strain of shorter days and worsening weather, the impact and stresses are unlikely to lessen over the coming months.
Many of the problems in workplaces, from lack of creativity to failure to use the spectrum of talent within an organisation, are at base communication failures. Prejudice and unconscious bias thrive wherever people do not feel able to have open and authentic conversations about difference. But these can be rapidly overcome when people are able to share and explore together their assumptions about each other—hence diversity dialogue.
During National Inclusion Week 2020, can you put your hand on your heart and say that, your organisation takes a holistic approach to inclusion? Is it embedded into organisational values, people management practices and employee behaviours? Does your organisation give your employees fair opportunities to contribute and develop?
