Starting Strong: A Mentoring Fable

"Story is a very powerful way to exemplify concepts and show the dynamics and issues involved in relationships. In this mentoring fable, Zachary and Fischler use the story of an incipient mentoring relationship and its possibilities, problems, and pitfalls to bring their suggestions for best practices to life. The first 90 days of a mentoring relationship are relatively fragile; as both mentor and mentee proceed uncertainly, they may not know how to create the ingredients that are crucial to its success:building trust, finding their comfort zones (and having the courage to leave them), setting up productive regular meetings and conversations, dealing with power dynamics, setting goals, and keeping momentum going. While the fable offers tools and skills that can be applied to any mentoring relationship, Zachary and Fischler also provide a conversation playbook for new mentoring relationships, with guidance for establishing a mentoring relationship and keeping it strong"--

LOIS J. ZACHARY is president of Leadership Development Services and director of its Center for Mentoring Excellence. Her innovative mentoring approaches and expertise in coaching leaders and their organizations in designing, implementing, and evaluating learner-centered mentoring programs have been used globally by a wide array of clients, including Fortune 100 companies, government organizations, and educational institutions, both for-profit and nonprofit. She is the author of The Mentor’s Guide, The Mentee’s Guide, and Creating a Mentoring Culture, all from Jossey-Bass.

LORY A. FISCHLER is a senior associate with Leadership Development Services and the associate director of its Center for Mentoring Excellence. She has over twenty-five years’ experience in consulting, training, and coaching clients from a diverse array of organizations, including the healthcare, manufacturing, government, and nonprofit sectors. She is the coauthor of The Mentee’s Guide: Making Mentoring Work for You.