September 2018
Volume 9 | Issue 7
In This Issue:
Insights from UN Women about CME Cohort Outcomes: Unity, Attitudes, Practical Application & More

Program insights, operations, and planning from another company or organization can often spur, launch and inspire new paths to associate development, talent attraction and retention and more.
Our intention in sharing monthly interviews and Q&A from our clients is to ignite shared insights into benefits and actions for your own development and your organization's benefit.
The UN Women (UNW) organization consists of a global team, with most of its works being conducted in field offices throughout the world. Headquartered in New York with liaison and worldwide offices. We asked Eugenia Dalalaki, HR Learning and & Development Specialist at UNW and our client contact there, to share how UNW has benefitted from working with the Center for Mentoring Excellence.
Q: How has our work together helped with cultural understanding among UNW employees?

A: The mentoring program had an impact in terms of attitudes, knowledge & skill development, and practical application of what was learned.
 
We are a global organization with over 150 nationalities in over 100 offices all bound to the same code of conduct and united by a sense of service.
 
The mentoring program served to highlight the common needs we have, similar issues we face, and shared values. This was due to the pairing criteria that brought together mentors and mentees from different functional roles with shared learning objectives. Partners learned from each other and supported each other in common goals, thereby learning from each other and bonding with each other.

Q: How has the CME program work supported the needs of UNW? How has it benefited your field staff? Your HQ staff?

A: Our mandate is to empower women and to create a world of gender equality. In our work, we dedicate our efforts to helping civil society, government partners, businesses, and philanthropies, and often we forget about empowering ourselves. The mentoring program was about teaching practical skills on how to allow others to empower you (mentees) and learning to empower others (for mentors) in a structured way that transcended traditional supervisory guidance.

Our participants ranged from across each of our regions; they all reported significant benefits to understanding other offices, other roles, other views, and other needs. The bridges built across the organization among colleagues who typically do not work closely together were part of the design of the program.
Q: Is there an example or story you can share about how these cohorts and this programming have yielded specific benefits, new behaviors or new relationship qualities in and among your staff & teams?


All participants and cohorts were unanimous in recommending the program and there were similarities to their reasoning as well as unique cases of benefit.

We had one to two mentees per cohort who decided to move on to new positions as a result of the confidence they built and the practical skills they gained in advocating for themselves.

We had a few mentors who were able to compare the difference between having mentored informally in the past and now mentoring more formally following specific structure and support - and these mentors volunteered to participate in more than one cohort in order to make a better impact in the way they support young talent.  


Kindly reply to this message with feedback, questions or further insights based on your experience
with your company and your mentor program. We'd be delighted to see!
Reveal! The New Vista Coaching Site
Vista Coaching , a division of Center for Mentoring Excellence, offers professional women coaching to help them meet their goals and design a life they love.  This summer, Vista Coaching launched a brand new website.

Check it out to learn more about Vista Coaching and how it could help you and/or the women in your organization.   

Special thanks to Holistech Systems for the design and development of the new website.

Furthering Your Development: Events & Conferences
11th Annual UNM Mentoring Institute Mentoring Conference
October 22 - 26, Albuquerque, NM

Last call for the UNM Mentoring Institute Mentoring Conference , held in Albuquerque, NM in a few short weeks: October 22-26. Our own Lisa Fain will be speaking during the Plenary Sessions.

Her presentation? Cultural Competency: Unleashing Innovation and Entrepreneurship Through Mentoring.
This is a definite don't miss conference

Lisa Fain to speak at the   International Mentoring Association's 2019 Conference in Gainesville, FL. Held on March 11 & 12. Lisa takes the stage in Session 1 with  Cultural Competency: Bridging Differences with Mentoring.

If Diversity is on your organization's radar or mission for 2019, this is one to attend as the focus is on Diversity in Mentoring Initiatives: Practice and Research.

Register here ... and see Lisa there.

Q4 Action Tip: Revisit Your Mentoring Goals & Finish 2018 Strong

How are you going to walk in the rest of 2018? We've got one quarter left, so you do have some time to plan it out.

This is a great opportunity to spend your mentoring time revisiting your goals and setting an action plan to finish out the year strong.
Impact Over Meaning: Did That Come Across Right?
This article from Fast Company is a great example of how words matter, and how culture and background may affect how we perceive and receive those words. Though some terms may be well-meaning, it's important to be aware that the impact of these words is what matters, and impact does vary based on identity and cultural lenses. It's a worthy read. We hope you'll enjoy!

Our Mission
We are committed to promoting individual and organizational mentoring excellence. We do this by providing: mentoring training, coaching, consultation, and program evaluation. We've helped leading organizations around the globe create mentoring cultures, and we're here for you.

A Note to Our Readers
We believe that leaders cannot be effective without a strong and ongoing commitment to mentoring excellence. This belief, our passion for mentoring excellence, and our extensive experience in the field with organizations led us to create the Center for Mentoring Excellence. 

At our virtual centerwww.centerformentoringexcellence.com, you will find mentoring tools and resources, expert advice and a forum for sharing best mentoring practices. We hope that you will visit us there and let us know how we can continue to help you raise the bar on mentoring in your organization.