n feature story development · 2007-08-09 · 38 july 2007 boeing frontiers n feature story...
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Step-by-Step inStructionSHere is what’s included in the 6 Steps Group Mentoring program.
1. introduction and expectations: Agree on expectations, share personal background, explain roles and responsibilities, discuss homework assignment to prepare for step two.
2. career planning and Advancement: Discuss personal vision and goals.
3. Guest Speakers and panel Discussions: 6 Steps groups meet jointly; panel consists of leaders who describe their journeys into either technical or management fields.
4. community involvement: Service projects have ranged from volunteering at the University of Washington to picking vegetables for a homeless shelter.
5. resume Writing and interview techniques: 6 Steps groups meet jointly; Human Resources representatives provide advice on applying for jobs; mentees participate in mock interviews.
6. Focused topic: Groups determine which topics need further discussion.
Groups also complete a special project and present it at a final meeting. 6 Steps organizers use this opportunity to collect individual feedback about the program.
Joanne Hinkle (second from left), an Integrated Defense Systems Finance manager, leads a 6 Steps mentoring group in Kent, Wash. Pictured with her from left are group members Joni Lund, Cindy Carriegan, Albert Villanueva from Commercial Airplanes, and Iris Finch of Shared Services Group. Marian Lockhart photo
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How group mentoring offers growth opportunities, enduring relationshipsBy ElainE BraBant
As technology evolves faster than ever, so does the job mar-ket and the need for ongoing career development. Personal growth isn’t just nice. It’s a must. Mentoring provides op-
portunities to share knowledge and grow professionally.Boeing recently announced a new companywide mentoring
program (see Page 30 of the February 2007 Boeing Frontiers) and offers many other traditional mentoring programs available across the company (see box on Page 40).
Yet finding meaningful mentoring relationships can still be daunting for people outside of management or just entering the work force. Boeing employees in the Seattle area have created a solution: the 6 Steps Group Mentoring program, which pro-vides mentoring and development opportunities in a fun and low- pressure environment for employees at any level of experience.
Whereas traditional mentoring relationships are conducted one-to-one, the 6 Steps program uses a group format. This allows par-ticipants to learn from each other. The setup of each group—10 to 14 mentees, a mentor and a coach—creates a comfortable, more natural arrangement for mentees and mentors who have never met. Plus, it allows mentors to share their expertise more efficiently.
One of the most important features, though, is the structure. The program includes six objectives (see box at left). Groups meet after hours each month, from roughly April to October, to com-plete the steps. They may interpret the steps differently; indeed, program leaders encourage that spontaneity, emphasizing the steps are only a guide.
“6 Steps finds the balance between structure and flexibility,” said Vin Yarnmunilert, C-40 systems engineer and co-founder of 6 Steps. “Without structure, it wouldn’t last. There need to be enough steps to allow the relationship to grow. But it can’t be too rigid, because mentoring is really about relationships.”
This program aims to spur those relationships. The most popu-lar sessions, for instance, are those that bring all of the groups to-gether, providing social interaction and exposure to diverse people and ideas.
“We learned not just from the mentor but from each other,” said mentee Michael Chan, a design engineer with Commercial Air-planes. “I met people from different fields who listened to me and offered advice. Our group no longer meets formally, but we still keep in contact.”
The ultimate beauty of the program is that there are no strings and funFor more information To learn more about the 6 Steps Mentoring group, contact any of these individuals.
nigel [email protected]
Matt [email protected]
Darryl [email protected]
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attached. Once 6 Steps ends, participants can opt whether or not to continue the mentoring relationship. While many do, there is no such expectation. People can try mentoring without making a long-term commitment.
“We’re trying to break the ice so that people understand men-toring and feel comfortable with it,” Yarnmunilert said. “Our goal is for people to find a mentor or find a path to their next mentor.”
The program is also being adopted outside of Puget Sound. This year the Boeing Asian American Professional Association, an affin-ity group, kicked off a program in California, and a Boeing group in Mesa, Ariz., started something similar. Other groups in and outside of Boeing also have expressed interest in the model. n
From mentee to mentorEditor’s note: Nigel Lo is an executive assistant with the Airborne Antisubmarine Warfare and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnais-sance Systems organization within Integrated Defense Systems. Here he describes his experiences in mentoring.
As I was offering career advice to a group of Korean students at the University of Washington, it occurred to me: “I know exactly what it’s like to be in your shoes.” Having grown up in Hong Kong, I moved to Seattle in 1975 to attend the University of Washington. I remember my interests and frustrations: You want to learn leadership and career skills, but you’re not sure where to turn.
For the first few years of my career, I didn’t feel challenged. There weren’t many visible learning opportunities. Plus, there were cultural barriers. The Asian culture, for instance, has great respect for authority, and it was awkward for me to approach my manager and communicate my needs.
The emphasis on personal growth has improved drastically since then. Still, I find people are hungrier than ever for opportunities to develop. That’s great news for our company. Boeing people are motivated and de-termined to improve themselves. The 6 Steps mentoring program reaches out to them and is successful because of their desire to succeed.
A couple of years ago I volunteered to be a mentor with the Boeing Asian American Professional Association. More than a dozen people had signed up—too many, it seemed, for one-on-one mentoring.
My own mentor, Gary Toyama, IDS vice president of the Southern Cali-fornia region, coached me to find a way to accommodate everyone, and the idea for the 6 Steps Group Mentoring program was born.
Vin Yarnmunilert, the mentoring chairman for the Northwest chapter of BAAPA, and I set up one group of people and outlined four steps for them. Using their input, we added two steps, opened up participation to groups outside of BAAPA, and in 2006 launched 6 Steps.
Employees and leadership alike rallied around the concept. About a quarter of the Airborne ASW&ISR Systems leadership team and representatives from Boeing Commercial Airplanes volunteered to be mentors. Others joined our planning group.
In its first year, 6 Steps attracted 79 mentees. In the second year we have more than twice as many mentors and three times as many slots—and about 400 people have applied.
They are savvy and eager to contribute, and to retain them we have to challenge them from day one.
—Nigel Lo
A MuLtituDe oF MentorinG opportunitieSHere are a few of Boeing’s many mentoring programs. Some programs may be designed for employees in certain business units or organizations or at specific locations. These URLs are on the Boeing intranet.
Affinity groups• Women in Leadership Mentoring. http://bwil.web.boeing.com/ committees/MentoringDevelopment.asp
• Boeing Asian American Professional Assn. Mentoring. http://baapa.web.boeing.com/ourBAAPA/Mentoring_Program.asp
• St. Louis Finance/Boeing Black Employees Assn. Mentoring Program. https://finance.ids.web.boeing.com/mentor/index.cfm
technical/engineering• Boeing Information Technology Technical Mentoring. http://bitnsj.web.boeing.com/tech_ment
• Ed Wells Partnership. http://edwells.web.boeing.com/MKS/ mentoring_home_threeprograms.htm
• Engineering Mentoring Program. https://stlwww002.web.boeing.com/cserv/mentor/index.cfm
• Production Ops Peer Mentoring (St Louis). http://stl.web.boeing.com/pogs/pbr/PeerMentoring.html
• Computing Network Operations Coaching and Mentoring. http://itservicesei.web.boeing.com/coaching/
other programs• Companywide Mentoring Program (executives, managers, team leads and others). http://globaldiversity.whq.boeing.com/mentoring/index.html
• Missile Defense Systems Mentoring. http://www-hsv-02.se.nos.boeing.com/mentoring
• Integrated Defense Systems Safety, Health and Environmental Affairs Men-toring Program. http://shea.ids.web.boeing.com/program_overview.html
• Global Partners Mentoring. http://smp.ca.boeing.com/GP-career-mentor.htm
• Huntington Beach (Calif.) Finance Mentoring Program. https://finance.web.boeing.com/hb/mentoring/
• Boeing Regional Association of New College Hires (BRANCH): Houston. http://houston.tx.boeing.com/reach/
• Employee Involvement mentoring. http://ei.web.boeing.com/training/ internal/mentoring_info.htm
Nigel Lo, executive as-sistant with Airborne An-tisubmarine Warfare and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Systems, helped found the 6 Steps Mentoring program.Marian Lockhart photo