Managers as Mentors 2 Ed: Building Partnerships for Learning

Rating:
Summary: You always go back to the best books...
Review: and so I have. My second read of "Managers as Mentors" leaves me even more satisfied and full of ideas and strategies than my reading of two years ago. Chip Bell is a phenomenal speaker and author. Just the time he spends and the guidance he gives in the prologue to this book will inspire managers who want to give back primarily by coaching and teaching. Read the first time to give me insight in a new job assignment; working again with new managers and many youthful workers instead of the skilled team that I had had in the northeast, I wanted to inspire myself to be more than just a "good boss". I hope I have succeeded in making their work experience with me memorable, and, if I have, I owe a lot of my ability and willingness to guide and teach to the lessons I solidified by reading this book the first time.

This time, my division is planning to embark on a formal mentoring program. The first five chapters and the SAGE principle will be my inspiration for the design of the introductory course, and we will utilize Bell's book in many ways as we move on through the test program for new managers and the final version for non-salaried employees to add to their personal growth, and perhaps become managers in turn.

It may be some time before institutions of higher learning catch on to the fact that teaching lifestyles skills such as mentoring is crucial, not only to the success of their graduates in the workforce, but also in helping them obtain some harmony, balance, and personal satisfaction in addition to honing their technical skills. When they do, the competencies needed to succeed in a learning organization, and one that succeeds through building relationships to build productivity may find a home in undergraduate degrees of all kinds. Until then it is critical that those of us in the workforce develop the emotional wisdom it takes to be a successful leader, and also to keep learning ourselves, from the new and unfamiliar experiences we gain from the people we supervise.

What a wonderful book to utilize in your own learning, or in your teaching (couple it with scenes from the movie "Finding Forrester" and you will have a powerful tool)...Bell's book not only sets the stage and expectations for a mentoring relationship, but gives practical advice, such as how to mentor around equipment, and a quiz to assess your mentoring skills.
One of today's most valuable business books...6 stars would not be enough!

Rating:
Summary: You always go back to the best books...
Review: and so I have. My second read of "Managers as Mentors" leaves me even more satisfied and full of ideas and strategies than my reading of two years ago. Chip Bell is a phenomenal speaker and author. Just the time he spends and the guidance he gives in the prologue to this book will inspire managers who want to give back primarily by coaching and teaching. Read the first time to give me insight in a new job assignment; working again with new managers and many youthful workers instead of the skilled team that I had had in the northeast, I wanted to inspire myself to be more than just a "good boss". I hope I have succeeded in making their work experience with me memorable, and, if I have, I owe a lot of my ability and willingness to guide and teach to the lessons I solidified by reading this book the first time.

This time, my division is planning to embark on a formal mentoring program. The first five chapters and the SAGE principle will be my inspiration for the design of the introductory course, and we will utilize Bell's book in many ways as we move on through the test program for new managers and the final version for non-salaried employees to add to their personal growth, and perhaps become managers in turn.

It may be some time before institutions of higher learning catch on to the fact that teaching lifestyles skills such as mentoring is crucial, not only to the success of their graduates in the workforce, but also in helping them obtain some harmony, balance, and personal satisfaction in addition to honing their technical skills. When they do, the competencies needed to succeed in a learning organization, and one that succeeds through building relationships to build productivity may find a home in undergraduate degrees of all kinds. Until then it is critical that those of us in the workforce develop the emotional wisdom it takes to be a successful leader, and also to keep learning ourselves, from the new and unfamiliar experiences we gain from the people we supervise.

What a wonderful book to utilize in your own learning, or in your teaching (couple it with scenes from the movie "Finding Forrester" and you will have a powerful tool)...Bell's book not only sets the stage and expectations for a mentoring relationship, but gives practical advice, such as how to mentor around equipment, and a quiz to assess your mentoring skills.
One of today's most valuable business books...6 stars would not be enough!

Rating:
Summary: You always go back to the best books...
Review: and so I have. My second read of "Managers as Mentors" leaves me even more satisfied and full of ideas and strategies than my reading of two years ago. Chip Bell is a phenomenal speaker and author. Just the time he spends and the guidance he gives in the prologue to this book will inspire managers who want to give back primarily by coaching and teaching. Read the first time to give me insight in a new job assignment; working again with new managers and many youthful workers instead of the skilled team that I had had in the northeast, I wanted to inspire myself to be more than just a "good boss". I hope I have succeeded in making their work experience with me memorable, and, if I have, I owe a lot of my ability and willingness to guide and teach to the lessons I solidified by reading this book the first time.

This time, my division is planning to embark on a formal mentoring program. The first five chapters and the SAGE principle will be my inspiration for the design of the introductory course, and we will utilize Bell's book in many ways as we move on through the test program for new managers and the final version for non-salaried employees to add to their personal growth, and perhaps become managers in turn.

It may be some time before institutions of higher learning catch on to the fact that teaching lifestyles skills such as mentoring is crucial, not only to the success of their graduates in the workforce, but also in helping them obtain some harmony, balance, and personal satisfaction in addition to honing their technical skills. When they do, the competencies needed to succeed in a learning organization, and one that succeeds through building relationships to build productivity may find a home in undergraduate degrees of all kinds. Until then it is critical that those of us in the workforce develop the emotional wisdom it takes to be a successful leader, and also to keep learning ourselves, from the new and unfamiliar experiences we gain from the people we supervise.

What a wonderful book to utilize in your own learning, or in your teaching (couple it with scenes from the movie "Finding Forrester" and you will have a powerful tool)...Bell's book not only sets the stage and expectations for a mentoring relationship, but gives practical advice, such as how to mentor around equipment, and a quiz to assess your mentoring skills.
One of today's most valuable business books...6 stars would not be enough!

Rating:
Summary: Practical and Poignant
Review: Chip Bell has an extraordinary ability to take a subject that at first glance seems mundane and overused (mentoring, teaching, coaching)--and breathing life and excitement into it. This book is both practical and poignant. It's practical inasmuch as it's chock full of clear, do-able steps to take in order to mentor people so as to boost their performance. It's poignant inasmuch as it's chock full of examples of real people doing genuine, inspiring work in helping others improve. In today's Knowledge Economy, the manager's ability to mentor others is a critical asset. Managers as Mentors is a great tool to help build that asset.

Rating:
Summary: Mentoring for Mentors
Review: Chip Bell has the magic touch when advising managers. In his 2nd edition, he has provided helpful self-assessments that point the manager/mentor toward development needs for the purpose of being the best that you can be as mentor. He paints a verbal landscape that includes insightful adages from Socrates to the Little Prince. The short chapters and direct, pithy style make for quick reading episodes over time--minimum effort with maximum gain. And, last but certainly not least, his quotable language will give you turns of phrase to use in your own communications and presentations. Yet another star in Chip's gallery!

Rating:
Summary: The very practical book just got better!
Review: Chip Bell talks to us at a very practical level. He knows how to coach/mentor employees and gives very specific guidance on how to do it. This was true of this book when it came out in first edition; it's even more true now. This second edition is worth buying even if you already have the first edition. In fact, if you liked the first edition, you are an especially good candidate for this new one because of the content (whole chapters) he's added. And the self-assessment tool.

The way this book is written encourages you to act on what you've learned. Chip all but holds your hand as he describes what works and gives examples. I recommended the first edition to managers I work with; I'll continue to do that with this new version.

Rating:
Summary: The very practical book just got better!
Review: Chip Bell talks to us at a very practical level. He knows how to coach/mentor employees and gives very specific guidance on how to do it. This was true of this book when it came out in first edition; it's even more true now. This second edition is worth buying even if you already have the first edition. In fact, if you liked the first edition, you are an especially good candidate for this new one because of the content (whole chapters) he's added. And the self-assessment tool.

The way this book is written encourages you to act on what you've learned. Chip all but holds your hand as he describes what works and gives examples. I recommended the first edition to managers I work with; I'll continue to do that with this new version.

Rating:
Summary: A Solid Effort!
Review: Chip R. Bell thinks that the future relationship between the managing and the managed will resemble a partnership, and at the core of this partnership will be mentoring. In Managers as Mentors he describes the ideal relationship between mentor and protégé. Unfortunately, Bell's description of the "magical dance" of mentoring is perhaps the book's weakest offering, composed mainly of amorphous passages related to things like "synchronization and synergy." When Bell narrows his focus to practical advice, however, the book begins to shine. His insights into how to give advice and ask questions, although aimed at the mentor/protégé interaction, will be useful to readers in many other situations. For that reason, we at [...] recommend this book to executives and managers who want to be mentors, any student or professional that might someday be in the market for a mentor, or anyone who wants to pick up some common-sense communication pointers.

Rating:
Summary: Something practical (and a great read) for any leader
Review: I enjoyed reading the first release of this book, and used it regularly in my role as a senior leader. Now, rather than leading a function, I'm coaching other executives, and I plan to include this book as a must-read for many of those I coach.

The executives I work with are more interested than ever in developing others, as well as in improving their communication. The gems of this book help with both. I only wish I'd known before Christmas that it was now available in paperback, because it would've been my book-gift for the season!

Besides offering solid tools, checklists, and self-assessments, Dr. Bell's writing style is a breath of fresh air for those of us looking for something more engaging than the stuffy academic business books, and more meaty than the standard fable business books.

Rating:
Summary: This book sets you straight on what mentoring is all about
Review: I had read a few books on mentoring as I was recently promoted after having hired 8 new people in a short period of time. My challenge is that all 12 people I would supervise are located in all parts of the country! And, I didn't want to "supervise" these very competent people. The other books were academic, stale. Enter Managers as Mentors! That book really spoke to me. I'm buying one for my boss, highlighting all the sections as I did after I read my copy for the 2nd time, so he will know the scope and strength of the mentoring program I intend to use. I purchased the book for my two senior regionals and we will meet to study the book. The best part of mentoring?? You CAN influence all directions - subordinates, peers, superiors. Watch out! Here we come!