The Fall 2010 WIC Mentoring Group is quickly taking shape, with just a couple of spots still available.
Again this Fall, WIC Members Desiree Lehrbaum and I will lead the Mentoring Group. We developed and piloted the program in 2009, and also led the Spring, 2010 group.
If you think a peer-to-peer mentoring experience may be right for you, take a close look at this opportunity.
We will meet by webinar (and have an in-person kickoff session, if we can) on Wednesdays, 10-11 am, starting Oct. 20. Our last session will be right before Thanksgiving.
WIC Members pay $125 for the fall session, and WIC Affiliate Members can participate in the program for $200.
The WIC Mentoring Group isn’t right for everyone.
Here are some of the ways to know if you’re a good candidate for mentoring in this particular program:
1. Do you work well in a peer-peer group?
The focus of the WIC Mentoring Program is a peer-to-peer mentoring approach.
Mentors who are experienced in their areas of expertise design and manage the group process, then teach, guide and give feedback to a group of peers, all of whom are learning and making improvements to their businesses at the same time.
When you think back on your experiences in peer-to-peer learning situations, how well did you do in those? Were you able to make your own progress in such a setting, as well as to support a successful group experience?
That will give you an idea of whether you would find the group learning and improvement experience valuable, again.
2. Can you set aggressive, yet realistic improvement goals for yourself?
Six weeks, the length of the mentoring program, isn’t a long time.
But it’s often exactly the right amount of time for you to:
– Look at your business, including what you do well, and areas where you can improve
– Prioritize and plan a few improvements
– Begin to make those improvements
3. Are you open to feedback?
A good part of the success of this program is in the sequence of exercises we guide you through.
Business is applied learning…not theory. And to really learn, you must do.
That means we have you do homework to apply what we’re teaching you. It helps you to lock the learning in, and to begin to make real, not theoretical improvements in your business.
4. Are you willing to take action to make the improvements you say you want?
Change takes more than just good intentions. It takes action, as well…outside of the homework, and beyond the six weeks of the mentoring experience.
You own the changes you make in your business.
In the WIC Mentoring Group, mentors and peers help to pace and support you through the initial stages of change.
Beyond that, it’s up to you. It’s your choice about what changes you want to make, and will see through to completion.
Six weeks isn’t a long time.
But it’s the perfect amount of time to get a great start on business improvements that can make a big difference in your success.
If you have questions about the WIC Mentoring Group, let me know. You can reach me at jan@jgrichardsresults.com.
If this style of mentoring program is right for you, we hope to see you in this, or a future mentoring group.
