In their article, "Eight Ways to Build Collaborative Teams," in Harvard Business Review, Lynda Gratton and Tamara Erickson encourage leaders to "ensure that mentoring and coaching become embedded in their own routine behavior - and throughout the company."
In their research, Gratton and Erickson "looked at both formal mentoring processes, with clear roles and responsibilities, and less formal processes, where mentoring was integrated into everyday activities. It turned out that while both types were important, the latter was more likely to increase collaborative behavior. Daily coaching helps establish a cooperative 'gift culture' in place of a more transactional 'tit-for-tat' culture.
"At Nokia informal mentoring begins as soon as someone steps into a new job. Typically, within a few days, the employee's manager will sit down and list all the people in the organization...it would be useful for the employee to meet...It is then standard for the newcomer to actively set up meetings with people on this list....The gift of time - in the form of hours spent on coaching and building networks - is seen as crucial to the collaborative culture at Nokia."
Organizational Culture is an important ongoing part of managing an early childhood program. These two resources focus on ways to create and maintain a work environment that increases competence and where staff feels valued and supported by you and their peers.
Comments (2)
Displaying All 2 CommentsAspen
SantaFe, NM, United States
Don't ask me...my planning time is monthly at best;and, then, it is with the entire facility rather than one-on-one with my Co-Lead. This is a big statement respecting the fact that we are employed for a max. of 3 hrs. daily with our children. GRRRRR!
United States
The challenge in the early childhood world is that staff are not easily able to leave the classrooms they supervise to meet other staff members or do some of this informal mentoring. Every hour they are on the job is usually spent mentoring. Even when planning periods are prescribed, those are often set aside when people call in sick or are out on vacation. I'd be interested in solutions other schools have found.
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