Types Of Learning Styles

Mentorship Is The Best Way To Retain Company Talent

One of the most critical elements in retaining great people is effective mentoring. But what does that really mean? The word "mentoring" is too general to capture the specifics of what people need through the different stages of a career. It is akin to saying that people need to be educated — and then implementing a teaching curriculum that is the same every year for everyone. Like education, mentorship requires different things at different stages, including different types of skills and advice, and different types of teachers and learning styles. Few firms think as carefully about mentorship as they should. So for most companies, a wake-up call on the basics of mentorship is in order. The first step, of course, is just having mentorship as part of your people development strategy. This does not need to be a complex, bureaucratic HR-department process. It should be something people know is embraced as part of the ethos of a firm. It can start simply by having existing employees volunteer to be mentors to newer staff members. And while it can and probably should be communicated out to staff and emphasized top down from leaders, people will believe it more when it is a "show, don't tell" process. Mentorship, delivered in an authentic manner, shows that you care about employees' professional progression. This basic "I care about you" culture is the foundation for effective mentorship. It requires knowing a mentee's ambitions and capabilities, their successes and challenges towards, and the ways you can help push their ball forward. I 've already written about how the best mentors are able to get a mentee snap-shot in five questions . But to put in place a more systematic and thoughtful mentorship program across any size company, it is helpful to differentiate among three types of mentoring:

1. Buddy / Peer Mentoring 3. Life Mentoring

1. Buddy / Peer Mentors This is the starting point for mentoring, where it is less about mentorship and more about an apprenticeship. During the entry-level, early stages of a career, or when "on-boarding" to a new job, what really benefits someone is a "buddy" or peer-based mentor who can help one get up the learning curve faster. This type of peer mentor is focused on helping with specific skills and basic organizational practices of "this is how it is done here." This can happen to some extent informally, through social and professional networks online and offline.

Event Design: Catering to Learning Styles (Part 1 of 2) | Esprit ...

Last week I had the opportunity to speak to a group at Kendall College. I focused the discussion on a document I created this month based on the art and science of adult learning styles. At Esprit Productions we differ from most event production firms because we take into consideration the various ways that adults process information best.

Next time you produce an event or even an internal meeting please consider that you may have attendees that learn through any of the following styles:

Visual Learning : These are the folks that soak in slides and videos that are rich in text Auditory Learning : Some people prefer to purely listen, high amounts of visual aids can be a distraction to auditory learners Kinesthetic Learning : This group gets overlooked the most. A large portion of adults prefer to learn through hands on experience

The best way to make sure that you cover all types of learning styles is to have a little-something for everyone! If you found this interesting, be sure to read my next post covering left and right brain engagement.