LEAP Mentorship Program
It is the LEAP Planning Committee’s great pleasure to announce the mentor / mentee component of the recently launched MLS leadership program LEAP: Leader Engagement and Acceleration Program.
We believe in our MLS staff and their potential. We want to provide opportunities for those who are interested to share their unique abilities with emerging leaders by serving as a formal mentor for the ten LEAP Participants.
Oprah Winfrey stated,
A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself.
As these emerging leaders leap forward in their careers, we recognize the hope within them is limitless.
Mentor applications will be accepted through the Intranet from Tuesday, February 4, 2020 through Sunday, February 23, 2020. Notifications of acceptance status will be the week of March 2, 2020. Mentors will have an onboarding and training session on March 18, 2020 at the Downtown Library lead by LEAP Coordinators.
Mentors will form bonds with their LEAP mentee and will interact monthly and on an as-needed-basis until October 2020.
If you think you might be interested, begin by considering your individual career goals, talking with your supervisor, and considering the following:
Mentor Role & Responsibilities
- Explain how the organization is structured
- Be respected as an experienced and successful professional in the organization
- Support the organization’s mission, vision, and goals
- Stay accessible, committed, and engaged during the length of the program
- Listen well
- Offer encouragement through genuine positive reinforcement
- Be a positive role model
- Share “lessons learned” from their own experiences
- Be a resource and a sounding board
Mentor Qualifications
- Must have supervisor approval to participate
- Full-time exempt employee with at least one year in current position at the time of applying
- Received a 3.0 or above on last performance review
- Employees under disciplinary or performance probation at the time of application will not be eligible
- Once selected, mentors must actively participate by honoring the mentor roles, responsibilities, and time commitment; or their mentee will be reassigned to a new mentor.
- Complete an online application
Mentor Time Commitment
Mentors should expect to spend 1-2 hours a month for communicating and meeting with their assigned mentee (1-2 hours per month; 8-16 hours total).
Mentorship commitment is for 8 months (March – October).
Mentors Receive
- Training and onboarding
- Support throughout mentorship commitment / term
Timeline
- February 10 – Mentor Applications Open
- February 20 – Mentor Applications Close
- Week of March 2 – Notifications of Mentor Acceptance
- March 18 – Mentor Onboarding & Training
- March 25 – Mentor / Mentee Reveal Luncheon
- March–October – Formal Mentor / Mentee Term