FEATURE STORY / MENTORSHIP IN PRACTICE
more enjoyable and more likely to be
successful, they encourage participants to
engage and deepen the relationship. “Dr.
Jim was very relieved that I didn’t come in
telling him what to do and how to do it,”
Dr. McAllister said. “I think that how we
quickly became friends was because I didn’t
come in lecturing at him.”
That friendship is still going strong
over two years after they met. Their
mentorship relationship began with a series
of phone calls that were supplemented
with in-person meetings and visits to one
another’s clinics. They got to know and
understand each other better over pints and
eventually introduced their wives who also
became fast friends. Dr. Aru is the first to
admit that there was an element of luck in
his pairing with Dr. McAllister. But both
chiropractors insist that the approach to
the relationship can make all the difference.
As Dr. McAllister put it, “the key is being
open to learning as well as sharing.”
T
he experience of Dr. McAllister
and Dr. Aru is inspiring. At
the core of the story are two
professionals willing to contribute to and
benefit from the mentorship relationship.
If you are seeking a mentorship partner,
here are some tips that may increase your
chances of success:
1
Alignment of business and
practice philosophy is important.
Successful mentorships are built
on interpersonal connections.
Working with someone with a similar
approach to chiropractic and patient
care is a decent predictor of the
success of a mentorship match.
2 honest about the commitment
Be
you’re making. There are many ways
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FALL 2014
to construct a successful mentorship
relationship so long as both partners
are on the same page. Clarity about
the time commitment and types of
activities you’re looking to engage in
is a very good place to start.
3
Experiential learning makes a big
difference. Learning by doing is more
than just a catchphrase. Tactics
like shadowing, discussing real
world examples and trying out new
skills together can lead to far more
tangible results.
4 open to learning and sharing.
Be
Many mentors and mentees find that
these roles fade in importance as the
relationship deepens. Mentorship
programs that are explicitly designed
to be reciprocal and facilitate growth
and professional development by all
participants are more likely to initiate
positive and beneficial relationships.
5
Take full advantage of available
resources. The OCA website offers
a complete set of mentorship
tools, forms and resources which
are available to all members. If
you already have a mentor or
mentee identified from within your
own network, use these tools
and resources to encourage a
mutually beneficial and rewarding
partnership.
The OCA Mentorship Program requests
applications from potential mentors
and mentees twice annually. The next
application window will open in early 2015.
A wide array of mentorship resources are
continually available on the OCA website:
www.chiropractic.on.ca/mentorship
By the Numbers:
Sun Microsystems compared the
career progress of approximately
1,000 employees over a 5-year
period and here’s what they found:
20%
Both mentors and mentees
were approximately 20% more
likely to get a raise than people
who did not participate in the
mentoring program.
28%
Percentage of mentors who
received a raise – versus only
5% of managers who were not
mentors.
5x
Employees who received
mentoring were promoted five
times more often than people
who didn’t have mentors.
Source: Forbes.com