Tina Mao has been coordinating that program for the company and notes that “ the traditional understanding of what mentoring is has always put the emphasis on the mentors providing resources for the mentees . We realize and appreciate that everyone has something to bring to the table regardless of their tenure or seniority .”
Jeremy McCarthy , group director of spa and wellness with MOHG , is enthusiastic about the program ’ s potential , in no small part due to this “ two-way street ” approach : “ The best thing about the mentoring program is that it goes both directions . Our highpotential colleagues get to learn from experienced senior executives , but the executives also learn from hearing the perspectives of our junior colleagues navigating their careers within our operations ,” he says .
A strong commitment from the mentors and mentees involved in a spa ’ s mentoring program is crucial to its success . As Jean Kolb notes , however , spa directors — or anyone who supervises both the mentor and mentee — also play a critical role in the process . That ’ s because , ultimately , the goals agreed to by the mentor and mentee should be rooted in the spa ’ s broader performance goals .“ The mentor and the mentee are probably going to be meeting every week or every other week , but the mentor and the supervisor should meet monthly and have progress reports ,” Kolb says .“ That way , you ’ re not six months down the road and the supervisor comes back into the loop and says ,‘ Wait , what about this goal I set ? How are they progressing with that ?’ That piece is critical , that the supervisor has their voice in the goal-setting as well .”
Time is On Your Side
Once goals and expectations are set and overall processes have been agreed to , the formal mentoring process can begin . Smaller spas starting a program from scratch may choose to take advantage of the array of complimentary resources available from organizations such as MENTOR ( mentoring . org ) or businesses such as Chronus ( chronus . com ) to find strategies that make sense for them , while larger spas are more likely to have those resources on hand .
No matter the size of your spa , however , there is at least one ingredient that every effective mentoring program must include : time . “ As leaders , we sometimes offer coaching because we want to “ fix ” somebody or their behavior ; we don ’ t want to evolve their knowledge base ,” says Kolb . As she notes , however , the path to real behavioral evolution isn ’ t a straight line , but a cycle that almost always includes backsliding or regression toward old , undesirable habits . As much as spa leaders may want to skip steps , Kolb stresses the importance of mentors and mentees working through that
cycle together .“ It ’ s very important that , when you start with this mutual agreement to say ,‘ There ’ s going to be some backsliding , and I ’ m going to walk through that with you .’ It ’ s making sure that cycle isn ’ t too short , so that we have the opportunity to , when regression happens , react and continue to progress ,” Kolb says .
The key to reacting effectively to such moments of regression is communication . Mentors and mentees must remain accountable to one another by offering honest feedback about the ways progress is ( or isn ’ t ) being made toward their goals when they meet together . Mandarin Oriental ’ s MOsaic Mentoring program even builds in an extra layer of feedback through “ pulse checks ,” which are quarterly surveys designed not just to check progress , but to also offer organizational support to participants and seek suggestions on how to improve
“ Mentors and mentees must remain accountable to one another by offering honest feedback about the ways progress is ( or isn ’ t ) being made toward their goals when they meet together .”
26 PULSE ■ MARCH 2021