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BEING A MENTOR IN HEINEKEN

This document has been written to support the mentoring initiative for Young Professionals and Leadership Talent. This is a vital part of the Talent Management Programme within Heineken. If you are interested in becoming a mentor, you should express your interest to your local HR director. It is also possible that you have been requested to take up this role by your manager.

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CONTENTS
The aims of our mentoring programme ..................................................................................................................... 2 Benefits of mentoring .................................................................................................................................................... 2 Becoming a mentor ....................................................................................................................................................... 2 Mentoring vs managing................................................................................................................................................. 3 Roles ............................................................................................................................................................................ 3 Conflict ........................................................................................................................................................................ 3 The mentoring process ................................................................................................................................................. 4 Concluding a mentoring relationship .......................................................................................................................... 4 Basic mentoring skills .................................................................................................................................................... 5 Listening ...................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Questioning................................................................................................................................................................. 5 Feedback..................................................................................................................................................................... 6

[1] Being a mentor in Heineken

The aims of our mentoring programme


To provide active support and guidance for the development of the Young Professionals and Leadership Talents To provide access to a broader network To provide an independent sounding board To accelerate the learning process of our talents To encourage and support a culture of feedback across Heineken To attract, motivate and retain talented employees

Benefits of mentoring
TO THE MENTOR
Satisfaction gained from contributing to others development Share experience and skills Developing key management and leadership skills Keeping in touch with a wider audience gaining a different perspective of Heineken Recognition by demonstrating an interest in the future of Heineken

TO THE MENTEE
Career opportunities explored Safe learning environment Help and support Access to a broader network An independent sounding board To learn more effectively Acquire a new perspective Sense of value and recognition within the organisation Accelerates their development Observing the skills of the mentor Improved confidence and self-esteem

TO HEINEKEN
Motivates and retains our most talented employees Strengthens our culture of growing our own future leaders Re-enforces values/behaviour alignment Transfers knowledge, best practice and skills Accelerated growth of Young Professionals and Leadership Talent

Becoming a mentor
Only take on the role of mentor if you want to and are prepared to make the necessary time available. Check with your manager you should find that he or she is supportive Be prepared to invest time early on in the relationship to establish a relationship and a mentoring contract (frequency of meetings, agenda etc.) Know your own strengths and development needs. Be able to relate them to those of your mentee, so that you can guide him or her to other sources of help and support where you may not be the best person to help

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Keep the relationship on a confidential but professional level be sensitive to gender and cultural differences and potential misinterpretations in language and behaviour Ensure you understand how mentoring differs from other roles you may be asked to undertake at Heineken If you are interested or asked to perform this role, you have to be certified prior to performing the role as a mentor

Mentoring vs managing
Roles A MANAGER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR
Performance of the mentee in his or her current job Setting objectives related to achieving good performance in their current job Conducting performance appraisals Coaching for increased performance in the job All issues related to compensation and benefits Supporting the concept of mentoring and encouraging the mentee to use the mentor

THE MANAGER DOES NOT


Undermine the role of the mentor Seek feedback from either mentor or mentee on the content of mentoring Shift his or her responsibilities to that of the mentor

THE MENTOR IS RESPONSIBLE FOR


Providing a confidential sounding board for the individual to discuss matters related to their working life at Heineken Providing personal advice related to any matters that may rise and providing relevant feedback Enabling the individual to broaden their network of contacts by facilitating access to people who might offer further support Enabling the mentee to understand the broader business strategy beyond that relevant to their current assignment Acting as a role model Assisting in the mentees long term development by providing career path advice

THE MENTOR DOES NOT


Contribute to performance reviews Take side against or in favour of the manager Discuss the content of the conversations between mentor and mentee with anyone else without the permission of the mentee Compete with or undermine the role of the manager Replace the manager in any of his of her defined responsibilities. Do your mentor is an enabler not a doer

Conflict
Conflicts between manager and mentee are a common source of discussion that the mentor may become involved in. If the mentee has an issue with his or her manager the role of the mentor is to guide and coach the individual as to how they might handle the issue not to do it for them. The mentors personal opinion of where the blame lies is irrelevant support for both parties must prevail with the mentor guiding the mentee to resolution.

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Pre-empting the problem It may be beneficial for the mentor and manager to meet during the very early stages of the relationship to iron out possible boundary issues. This meeting should also be used to get some background on the mentee from the manager but this should not preclude the mentoring relationship being founded on the personal experience of either party. The element of confidentiality must be clearly understood. Establishing trust and confidence with the manager is very important for the ongoing success of the mentoring relationship.

The mentoring process


Depending on the Opco you are working in, you should either have a mentee(s) assigned to you or you will be asked to choose your mentee(s) from a number of CVs. Once this matching has taken place the mentee will organise the first meeting. Note that the mentee should drive the relationship not the mentor.

THE FIRST MEETING:


Discuss the aims of the mentoring programme Set the timetable for future meetings approximately every quarter a meeting Identify any possible boundary confusion or issues Explain the difference between the mentoring role and that of the manager Discuss your background and career to date Overall, be led by the mentee it is fundamentally his or her process so they should drive it

CONDUCTING MENTORING MEETINGS:


Allow at least two hours for each meeting These should be held on a regular basis with strict adherence to pre-arranged appointments be aware of the message that successive cancellations will give to the mentee The meetings should be informal and designed to engender trust and rapport get out of the office building if possible

Concluding a mentoring relationship


The mentoring relationship will have a natural life cycle and it is important for the mentor to see the signs that the relationship should end. It is envisaged that mostly the relationship would probably not extend in a formal manner for more than one year. However, some relationships will extend far beyond this depending on the needs and commitment of both mentor and mentee. Mentors should encourage a trusting, self-disclosing relationship whereby the mentee can openly admit that the relationship has run its course or is no longer working without fear of reprisal. Besides the natural life cycle reasons, there are also other reasons to conclude the relationship: mentee becomes part of the mentors reporting structure, mentor senses lack of enthusiasm from mentee in pursuing the relationship (e.g. cancelling meetings etc.), lack of rapport between mentor and mentee. The mentor should seek regular feedback as to the value the mentee is gaining from the relationship. Should the mentor be unable to continue the mentoring relationship for personal or work reasons, he or she should assist in finding an appropriate replacement if the mentee so desires. Talk to HR if this is the case as they may be able to suggest potential mentors.

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Basic mentoring skills


Listening
The most effective mentors are those who listen and understand what mentees are saying and are able to respond appropriately. Most of us like to think we are good listeners but are we really?

NOTE IF YOU SOMETIMES


Find it difficult to maintain eye contact Are distracted by thinking about what to say next Find silence in a conversation uncomfortable Finish others sentences for them Listen only to what you want to hear Jump to conclusions Speed up conversation because theres no time Let your mind wander while being spoken to Continue to do something else while being spoken to Like to tell your own personal experiences Find it difficult to ignore the phone in a conversation

Giving time to listen is difficult in the environment that we work in. However, if we are to take the mentoring relationship seriously then it is important that the mentee is listened to.

TRY TO
Get away from the desk Demonstrate that you are listening (eye contact, nodding etc.) to encourage the mentee to talk Use silence in a conversation it can be a very effective tool to draw out information Suspend judgement until you have heard all the mentee has to say

Questioning
Enabling the mentee to arrive at his or her own solutions is a key role for you as a mentor. The way to do this is by positive open questioning designed to motivate and encourage the mentee.

COMPARE THESE QUESTION STYLES...


Why are you behind schedule? Why havent you done it? What went wrong? Whats the problem? Do you know what youre doing? How do you feel about the project so far? What kind of support do you need to achieve success? What worked well? What problems will you have to overcome? How do you think should you progress?

The first set of questions can be valid but can also be viewed as discouraging. The second set are orientated more towards positive results and continuous improvement. Questions that focus on what is already working and on clarifying objectives or benefits will be motivating. Focusing on what is not working and what is wrong can threaten self-esteem.

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Feedback
Feedback is a highly effective way to improve the management and development of our people. While managers have a vital part to play in this as part of the Performance Management Process, mentors too should give their mentees constant developmental feedback. Be open and honest the mentee will benefit far more. You should also seek feedback from your mentee. Giving and receiving feedback

POSITIVE
Catch people doing the right thing and tell them that they are doing so Point out strengths Point out specific behaviours that you are praising and the effect that it has had When receiving positive feedback acknowledge and thank the other person dont disregard it

NEGATIVE
Be behaviourally specific say what was done, how and the outcome Give suggestions for improvement Dont make it too personal concentrate on behaviours not attitudes When receiving negative feedback dont react defensively but ask questions to clarify, how to improve and then decide whether you are going to accept the feedback or not

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