Customer Reviews

Crisp: Mentoring, Third Edition: How to Develop Successful Mentor Behaviors

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As we bridge the gap from the 20th on the eve of the new millimun, the face of the workplace is also changing. This has been brought on by technology taking on a bigger role in all areas of the job market, not just here but around the world where the role of the boss, teacher and manager is as well changing. The result is a shift away from the typical company man who had worked at one job for an entire career, to an environment of more female and less American male and the changing of jobs every few years do to mergers and down sizing of employees. Now the boss must be sensitive to the role they must play in working with everyone today.

Gordon Shea's easy to read book about mentoring is an excellent and easy to read "how to" book on today's workplace, and overcoming the obstacles associated with this "new" work environment.

The book is easy reading because of the layout of each seven sections, and the associated lessons, charts, reviews and assessments found at the end of each chapter. The strongest point in my opinion can is found in chapter 7, which covers those special areas, which we read about into today's news; Cross-Gender, Cross-Cultural and Special Needs mentoring.

Shea has woven humorous comments as well as lively graphical illustration to make points when certain mentoring situation arrive, overall this book is an excellent example of the basic "how to" and can provide the basic steps in becoming a productive mentor in any employment environment.

I was attracted to the book because of the picture of the wise old hands releasing the dove. It reminded me of a mentor releasing his protege to the world to explore his own paths after he completed his training.

The book is concise, to the point and an easy read. It is written in a workbook style which provides an opportunity for self-evaluating and recording. Shea sets the stage with the Greek mythology of Homer's Odyssey and the story of the Mentor. He later develops the foundation of mentoring as an art form prompting the reader to categorize previous relationships on a scale of non-structured to highly structured formality of relationship; and short-term spontaneous to long-term, perhaps life-long length of intervention. Furthermore, Shea provides a check list for identifying what others have done for the reader and what the reader has done for others.

While mentoring may be recognized as a positive experience, it might not be for everyone. Shea helps the reader determine if a mentoring role is congruous for them by verbalizing the investment that is necessary for mentoring to be successful, as well as mentoring self-development and learning styles.

Shea later goes on to develop the understanding of the mentee's needs through the reading of signals, image, self-confidence and managing change. He discusses in depth seven types of mentoring assistance, behaviors to avoid, and mentor-mentee gains.

The last section of the book addresses special situations; cross-gender and cross-cultural mentoring; new areas of mentoring, academic environments, government agencies, supervisor or manager mentoring. Shea asks the reader to identify areas in their organizations where formal or informal mentoring could be helpful.

Overall, I liked the book it was quite informative for an inexperienced mentor like myself. I enjoyed the case studies which displayed the ideas that Shea was trying to convey in real life situations. A bibliography would have been an asset for the reader. Reference to current research to support his opinions and theories would help the credibility of the material covered in the book.

"...mentoring is part intuition, part feelings and part hunch - made up as you go along, and composed of whatever ingredients you have available at the moment..."(13) The quote sums up mentoring in a nutshell. This resource is in workbook format, providing readers with time and space to respond to thoughts and ideas presented in the book. It develops scenarios and questions preparing a first time mentor and helping an experienced mentor look into the practice of mentoring. It provides a graph describing the different types of mentoring and tips for intervention and counseling of mentees. This book seems most valuable for new mentors, although it could be a refresher for others. However, it does not go very in-depth and provides little research background. It also lacks a bibliography for references.

Mentoring by Gordon Shea is a fun read. This book acts like a workbook and is very practical. Mentoring is recommended for any person who is considering a mentorship position either professsionally or personally. I it to be very quick and easy to read. The reader is allowed to reflect on themselves as mentors as well as who they are mentoring. It focuses on gender and age issues that may occur. There are several opportunities for the reader to complete written exercises by themselves as well as in small groups. The strengths of the book included precise to the point lists and recommendations for successful mentoring relationships. The weakness of this book falls on its' lack of in depth information on any topic. This book is a good introduction to mentoring for a first time mentor but not recommended for teachers that have been teaching for some time or have already assumed a mentor position in the past.

Gordon Shea's easy to read book about Mentoring is an excellent "basic" skills book. This book is good for both new and old mentors. It gives basic mentoring situations, and discusses expectations and outcomes. Sometimes, even old timers forget simple mentoring skills and this book reminds them of concepts that are basic to mentoring. The work book format makes it easy to record, assess and revise your behaviors. I appreciated the fact that Shea included behaviors to avoid as well as to adopt. Shea points out his objectives in the first page of this book: 1. To explain how anyone can assist the growth of other people 2. To suggest mentor behaviors to adopt or avoid 3. To show how mentoring works in today's workplace I believe he achieves all these objectives in a humorous, graphical, easy-to-read format that anyone can easily pick up, go through and learn a great deal from. This book will help any mentor improve their mentoring behaviors. The lack of references or bibliography is a small weakness in an overall good presentation.

Mentoring: How to Develop Successful Mentor Behaviors by Gordon F. Shea is a straight-forward, easily understandable handbook for helping to develop "successful mentor behaviors". Mr. Shea addresses seven major areas that mentors would want to focus on when interacting with their mentorees. He breaks down this "practical guide" into step-by-step instructions for potential mentors to follow. Questions that promote analysis and reflection are also included in the text.

The book discusses the art of mentoring, whether mentoring is to be ventured into, understanding the needs of possible mentorees, beneficial and non-beneficial mentoring behaviors, gains for the mentoree and mentor, and "special situations" in which mentoring occurs. Within each of these chapters, the author intersperses ques- tionnaires and reflective pages for the reader to contemplate and complete. These help focus attention on how to progress through the reading and construct under- standing which can assist in developing a concrete plan for mentoring. Shea also talks about the mentoring relationship in terms of formality and length of interaction and the mentoree's requirements versus the mentors skills and abilities. Probable expecta- tions of these criteria are outlined in the traditional coordinate plan. The reader can glean additional expectations from any interactions that develop.

Overall, Mentoring is a guide that is extremely helpful. It is very easy to read, understand, and apply. The outcome can be rewarding for any mentor and mentoree who decide to use it as their outline for entering and completing a mentoring relation- ship. Read it, use it, and recommend it.!

This book is a wonderful book for anyone who is mentoring another individual. This workbook style approach helps mentors to focus on specific areas on developing mentoring behaviors in both the mentor and mentee. I think the activities offer an opportunity for mentors to experience how their mentee might feel or think in particular learning situations. Various cross-gender and cross cultural scenarios are presented in this book to help mentors. There are many situations that a mentor can imagine and reflect on in using the scenarios in this workbook. I think this would be a perfect book to have for group discussions. The activities in the book would enable groups to share out ideas and coping skills that a mentor may need in their mentoring experiences. This would be a great book for a mentor training workshop. This book is very easy to read and apply to your mentoring experience. The only down side about this book is that it lacks a bibliography. It probably wouldn't be a good book if you are looking for further research in mentoring behaviors.

This book has many strengths:It is concise and to the point,an easy read. Various scenarios are presented that a mentor might find themselves in, including cross-gender and cross-cultural mentoring.. It has a workbook that is helpful and includes case studies. A couple of weaknessess and that is there isn't a bibliography and it is just an intro. If you really need to learn about the intricascies of mentoring you should consider a more in-depth study.

This book is direct in it's approach to effective mentoring. Written in a workbook style, it encourages self analysis while giving concrete examples. The brievity of wording makes this book one which many will actually read. Therefore, this would be an excellent book for an experienced mentor to use in guiding new mentors into the practice. Someone approaching mentoring for the first time could use this book even without the help of an experienced mentor at his side.

This book is a must for anyone interested in mentoring someone and is recommended to anyone who is being mentored as well. It is concise, easy to read, and full of amusing graphics. I particularly enjoyed its workbook style which offers the reader an opportunity to evaluate their own mentoring strengths and weaknesses as well as gain a greater understanding of what it takes to be a mentor. The author also uses scenarios effectively to guide readers through this challenging, but very rewarding, calling.

The only drawback to this book is its brevity. Although it is a terrific introduction to mentoring, it may not have enough information for someone who has had a lot of background. In an effort to give an overview, the book only scratches the surface of the mentoring experience. Knowledgeable mentors could find some benefit to using the self evaluation exercises, but they may desire a more in depth book on the subject.