Last week, the Charlotte News and Observer reported on an Urban Institute evaluation of North Carolina teachers who were part of the Teach for America (TFA) program. TFA is a national teacher corps of recent college graduates who commit two years to teach and to effect change in under-resourced urban and rural public schools across America.

The News and Observer story, “A ripple across America’s classrooms,” reported that students in classrooms with TFA teachers “performed better on math and science end-of-course tests than did students in other classrooms.” Among several factors that drive this success was TFA’s mentoring program.

“The summer before they enter their first classroom, corps members undergo intensive training and then are followed closely with observations and meetings with their program directors and fellow teachers for the duration of their two-year commitment. By contrast, most novice teachers coming from a traditional teacher-education program are at the mercy of whatever mentoring programs their school districts offer, which can range in quality from excellent to absent.”

That sounds like strong proof that mentoring can help you succeed even a tough environment like a classroom in a poor district. It was supported by an Arizona Republic article titled “Mentoring program helps new teachers defy odds,” that looked at teacher mentoring through the eyes of a single teacher. Here’s a quote from that story.

“Had it not been for a mentoring program, Mia De La Rosa might not have survived. The Sevilla West School teacher defied the odds by remaining in the classroom for at least three years. Nearly one-third of new teachers quit across the country during their first three to five years on the job. Many blame poor working conditions, according to the National Education Association.”

In education or any other field, mentoring can help you succeed. Whether you define success as overall achievement of objectives, or through the success of an individual teacher, it’s clear that mentoring works.

That’s why you need to find mentors to help you. That’s what Momentor is about. We’re building a site where you can find mentors and other resources to help you no matter what field you’re in, what Career Path you choose, or what Career Stage you’re at.

Yesterday’s Chicago Tribune carried an article by Ann Meyer titled: “Mentors ease path to profits.” She tells the story of two men. One is George Burciaga.

Today, he is the CEO of SmarTECHS, a Chicago-based IT firm that provides full-service, innovative technology solutions for national and local clients in both the private and public sectors. He’s been featured on the Hispanic Entrepreneur blog. He was named Illinois Small Business Person of the Year. It wasn’t always easy.

He grew up in Pilsen, right outside of Chicago. The UIC Neighborhoods Initiative web site tells us that “In addition to poverty and related social problems, Pilsen residents must cope with high levels of violence.”

Burciaga saw entrepreneurship as a way to help himself and his family. He had a strong work ethic that came from his family and culture. What he didn’t have was know-how.

That’s where the second man I referred to came in. His name is Richard Wallace, president of Beverage Consultants International in Chicago.

Burciaga says of Wallace: “He gave me a lot of business structure that I never had. He made it clear he believed in me. I couldn’t let him down.”

For his part, Wallace downplays his role. He says, “I gave him the opportunity, but once he got the confidence, there was no stopping him.”

That’s like many mentoring relationships that I’ve seen. The mentor is proud of the protégé but also gives full credit.

George Burciaga was lucky to find a mentor when he needed one. You may have to search for one, but don’t despair. You can look around where you live and work or you can visit Momentor where the purpose is to help you find mentors and other resources that will help you become successful.

When you’re growing as fast as Infosys, you’ve got to pay attention to training and development. Infosys is a multinational information technology services company. They say that they “help Global 2000 companies win in a Flat World.”

The company was founded in India in 1981 with seven employees and U$250. Today, Infosys has offices in more than thirty countries. Revenues increased by almost 8000 percent between 1995 and 2005. They hire 15,000 people a year.

They want to keep and develop those people. Infosys CEO Nandan Nilekani says, “Our people are our capital. The more we invest in them, the more they can be effective.”

That’s the philosophy behind the company’s Global Education Center in Mysore. And it’s the philosophy behind a tiered mentoring program that was described in detail in Workforce Management.

Infosys splits its leaders into three tiers. Each tier mentors people on the tier below. The top tier is mentored by board members.

The mentoring program is part of a sophisticated leadership development program based on what Infosys calls nine dimensions of leadership. Leaders are evaluated on each dimension and that evaluation forms the basis for creating a personal development plan.

That’s very impressive. But what happens if you don’t work for a company that provides all those personal development resources? Then you have to develop your own plan.

What if you’re on a different Career Path than the one we call “managerial?” Then you have to develop your own plan.

But here’s something to think about. Even if you’re at a company like Infosys that has a sophisticated development program, you still have to develop your own plan.

You may need mentoring that’s different from or in addition to what you get from your company-assigned mentor. You may have strengths you want to develop, but that your company doesn’t see as valuable. You may want to spend time exploring your options.

The bottom line is that your development is your responsibility. That’s why you’ll want to check back here at Momentor as we develop a site that offers you resources and connections to help make your career the best it can be.

I hadn’t seen Dan in at least three decades, but there he was, staring at me and trying to figure out if I was who he thought I was. We were in an airport far from our homes on our way to different destinations.

That memory popped up while reading Gretchen VanDerMeid’s fine article in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle about the power of mentoring and how you can make it work for you. The article is titled “Seeking a mentor benefits personal development, advancement.” She covers the characteristics of a good mentor.

“What personal characteristics make a good business mentor? A good mentor is accomplished and successful, approachable, someone who communicates well and derives personal satisfaction from contributing to another professional’s growth.”

Zero in on that last line: “derives personal satisfaction from contributing to another professional’s growth.” It’s the key to why being a mentor is a wonderful thing.

Dan was one of my protégés. We met in a basketball league and started talking about his career during one of those after-game beer and pizza sessions.

He was in a job in financial services then, trying to decide if he should go to graduate school. I helped him decide to get an MBA, and where to go. We stayed in touch for a while, but his life moved on and so did mine.

I’ve had several protégés in my life. Some have resulted in long, deep friendships. Others have been shorter relationships. Dan’s was one of the latter.

But we’d both benefited from the relationship. I got the benefit of helping someone else move toward their goals. I also got the benefit of his fresh perspective on the business world. Like I said it was good.

Now, thirty years later, we had one of those backslapping reunions that make other travelers turn their heads. We had time to sit in the bar, have a beer and catch up before Dan headed off to his flight.

Dan was doing well. After b-school he found a job working at a company and in an industry he loved. Then he started his own company. It was doing well. Along the way he had several mentors.

I watched him shoulder his bag and head out on to the concourse and I thought to myself. “I had a part in that.” It’s the best reason I can think of to become a mentor.

Mia Burroughs and Leah Storie have a fine viewpoint piece in the Miami Herald titled: “Mentors aid careers, companies.” Here’s a key excerpt.

“The numbers paint a clear picture. Research has shown that more executives are leaning on their mentors more often for career advice. For instance, a recent study by Accountemps showed that 41 percent of executives said they would consult their mentors first before making a career transition, compared with 28 percent in 2002. Promoting mentoring relationships can help all businesses retain talented associates in which they have invested precious training and development dollars.”

Burroughs and Storie are aiming their piece at corporations, but they share personal examples of their own experience with mentors. Both are attorneys. And both have benefited from assigned mentors. They’ve been lucky.

Assigned mentor programs can work, but even the good ones are an attempt to replace a natural relationship with a program. That’s why you need to take charge of your own mentoring. If you leave it to your employer, you leave it to chance.

You’re not limited to one mentor, either. Seek out mentors for different areas of your professional life.

Be sure to stop back here and check the resources we’re building at Momentor. You’ll find ways to hook up with mentors and many other resources to help make your career the success you want it to be.

Today, the psychological contract between you and your employer is much different than in the past. Job security has been replaced with “employability security.” Careers that span 40 years at the same company ending with a gold watch and a pension are a thing of the past. All of us potentially vulnerable to downsizing, acquisitions and mergers affecting our positions.

Career management is the marriage between preparation and opportunity – we need initiate our own development and seek out employers who are interested in facilitating growth and fostering career opportunities.  Ultimately, we must take actions to continuously relearn and sharpen our knowledge, skills and abilities to remain competitive in our professions and fields.

Momentor provides a much needed platform for self-motivated, success-driven people to harness the power of folksonomy to uncover the best ways to get ahead and prepare for the future. After all, at the end of the day a commitment to continuously learning and developing knowledge and skills valued by our employers can only make us more valuable and will ultimately open doors to more options in the future.

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