A hands-on and usable guide to making the first 90 days of your mentoring relationship a success In Starting Strong, mentoring experts Lois J. Zachary and Lory A. Fischler weave a compelling tale that exemplifies the concepts, highlights the dynamics, and outlines the issues involved in mentoring relationships. The authors use the form of a fable to tell the story of a budding mentoring relationship filled with possibilities, problems, and triumphs. The story of Cynthia, a seasoned professional, and her new mentee Rafa, brings to life Zachary and Fischler's wealth of mentoring suggestions and best practices and each episode of the fable is accompanied by reflection questions, key learnings, and strategies that readers can apply to their own mentoring relationships. The authors include a conversation playbook that guides mentors and mentees through six essential conversations that will help them establish a strong mentoring connection, and keep it moving forward. As organizations face the transition of departing Boomers and arriving Millennials, Starting Strong offers a hands-on and readable guide to create effective mentoring relationships that will ensure the success of that transition. The book: Covers the key components of a successful mentoring relationship including building trust, establishing a comfort zone (and then having the courage to leave it), holding productive meetings, dealing with power dynamics, setting goals, and keeping momentum going Shows how to avoid common pitfalls and overcome mentoring obstacles Applies to any organizational or institutional setting Starting Strong is more than an engaging story of mentorship, it's a vital resource for understanding how to implement and sustain a meaningful mentoring relationship.

A hands-on and usable guide to making the first 90 days of your mentoring relationship a successIn Starting Strong, mentoring experts Lois J. Zachary and Lory A. Fischler weave a compelling tale that exemplifies the concepts, highlights the dynamics, and outlines the issues involved in mentoring relationships. The authors use the form of a fable to tell the story of a budding mentoring relationship filled with possibilities, problems, and triumphs. The story of Cynthia, a seasoned professional, and her new mentee Rafa, brings to life Zachary and Fischler's wealth of mentoring suggestions and best practices and each episode of the fable is accompanied by reflection questions, key learnings, and strategies that readers can apply to their own mentoring relationships. The authors include a conversation playbook that guides mentors and mentees through six essential conversations that will help them establish a strong mentoring connection, and keep it moving forward.As organizations face the transition of departing Boomers and arriving Millennials, Starting Strong offers a hands-on and readable guide to create effective mentoring relationships that will ensure the success of that transition. The book:* Covers the key components of a successful mentoring relationship including building trust, establishing a comfort zone (and then having the courage to leave it), holding productive meetings, dealing with power dynamics, setting goals, and keeping momentum going* Shows how to avoid common pitfalls and overcome mentoring obstacles* Applies to any organizational or institutional settingStarting Strong is more than an engaging story of mentorship, it's a vital resource for understanding how to implement and sustain a meaningful mentoring relationship.

Foreword viiIntroduction ixPart One: The FableThe Week Before: Questions Before We Start 3The First Meeting: Powering Up 11The Second Meeting: Taking Care of Business 35The Third Meeting: Let's Get Real 55The Fourth Meeting: Sorting It Out 77The Fifth Meeting: Straight Talk 107The Sixth Meeting: Holding Up a Mirror 127Epilogue: Five Years Later 151Cynthia's and Rafa's Advice for Mentors and Mentees159Part Two: The Mentoring Conversation PlaybookMoving the Conversation from Monologue to Dialogue 165Strategies for Good Conversation 171Six Essential Mentoring Conversations 179Afterword: Starting Strong, Moving Forward 193Suggested Reading 195Acknowledgments 197About the Authors 199Index 201