ENTREPRENEURS TO MENTOR
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At mentorDay we carry out a very careful selection process to identify the entrepreneurs, and we also give them a good preparation so that they can be accompanied by a mentor.
In order to find a mentor, the entrepreneur must meet the following criteria
- That the entrepreneur demonstrates his interest in promoting his company, by working hard on their project during the acceleration programme. For which it has had to remain in the top positions in the valuation ranking (see selection process).
- That they have given a a firm step towards getting your business up and running (registration as self-employed, loan granted...).
- Be 100% dedicated to further their project (they cannot be working on other projects or companies).
- That they have mentoring workshop successfully completed that we give every month in the acceleration programme so that you can get to know the whole methodology.
Of the 400 entrepreneurs registered each month for MentorDay, we only offer mentoring to the 30 entrepreneurs who best meet the conditions described above.
On the other hand, in the first session the mentor has to analyse the Coachability of the candidate we propose to him/her after the matching filter.
- Coachability. This refers to the need to determine whether the entrepreneur is "coachable" or "mentorable", i.e. whether the entrepreneur is meets the minimum requirements for a coaching/mentoring process to start and succeed.
It is essential that the mentor explores the entrepreneur's attitude in order to provide the minimum necessary to start the process! Throughout the acceleration programme and especially in the mentoring workshops that the entrepreneur also takes part in. we try to filter and present only mentorable entrepreneurs to the mentor... but we are human and we can get confused. In case these minimum requirements are not met, it is the responsibility of the coach/mentor to explain to the mentorDay mentoring manager the reasons for not continuing with the process.
Some questions that the mentor should ask in the first session to explore the cochability of the entrepreneur could be:
- Do you feel a strong desire to change something at the moment?
- Are you open to new ways of thinking, to adopting new points of view?
- Are you willing to receive feedback?
- Do you have time in your schedule for mentoring?
- Are you committed to trying new behaviours, even if you don't think they will work?
TASK
- This is the questionnaire completed by entrepreneurs who need a mentor: link (+)
- Now that you are clear about the requirements that an entrepreneur must fulfil, think about it:
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- As a mentor: Do I see these conditions required of the entrepreneur as sufficient?
- As an entrepreneur: Am I already eligible or do I have to wait to apply for the programme?
CASE STUDY OF A MENTOR ANALYSING THE COACHABILITY OF AN ENTREPRENEUR HE/SHE WISHES TO MENTOR
- Mentor: John
- Entrepreneur: Maria
Juan is an experienced mentor who has been assigned to Maria, an entrepreneur who has passed the mentorDay selection process and has been proposed for mentoring. Before starting the process, Juan wants to assess Maria's coachability to ensure that the minimum requirements are met for the process to be successful.
In the first session, John begins by asking questions to explore Maria's coachability. He asks her if she feels a strong desire to change something at the moment, if she is open to new ways of thinking, if she is willing to receive feedback, if she has time in her schedule for mentoring and if she is committed to trying new behaviours. Maria answers yes to all questions.
Juan also reviews Maria's background and finds that she has taken a firm step to start her business, has registered as self-employed and has received a loan to start her business. In addition, she has successfully completed the mentoring workshop provided in the accelerator programme. All these factors indicate that Maria is a good candidate for mentoring.
Finally, John makes an assessment of Maria's attitudes and behaviours during the session. He notes that she is open to new ideas and perspectives, shows a positive attitude towards feedback and seems willing to work on new behaviours to improve her business. He also notes that Maria is dedicated and committed in her efforts to drive her project forward.
Based on all this information, John concludes that Maria is a highly coachable entrepreneur and that the minimum requirements for a successful mentoring process are met. John proceeds to design a mentoring plan and work collaboratively with Maria to achieve her business goals.
QUIZ
After the question and before think of yourself.
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[...] We only accompany entrepreneurs who meet the requirements. [...]
It is clear that the mentor is also human and needs to see that his work is valued in this case by the mentee and a good way to show this valuation is in the characteristics described (working relationship, initiative, open to new ideas, grateful, ...).
Adding techniques to detect cochability
OK good idea!
I find the questionnaire very comprehensive and I am sure it will be very useful. Interesting about the possible preferences on gender and age of the mentor.
Another possible question? "What do you think a mentor can help you with?" So that the mentor knows the entrepreneur's expectations and can better focus his or her help, although not necessarily in the way the entrepreneur expects.
Angel, the entrepreneur's questionnaire is different from the mentor's, and I think it is a very good idea for the entrepreneur to include in his questionnaire his expectations about the mentoring.
The accompaniment is mutual, the mentor depends very much on the entrepreneur's objectives. The relationship must be dynamic and proactive.
Being in the position of a mentor, I see that the information and conditions required from the entrepreneur are initially sufficient to start the mentoring process.
I see the questionnaire for the entrepreneur as very complete.
I believe it must have an open mind to the possibility not only of being guided, but also of taking on board the proposals for change and improvement that are put to it.
This means that the entrepreneur has worked on his business idea to some degree, so we assume that he is not going to launch himself into the "adventure" of entrepreneurship without at least a prior reflection on what he wants to do.