#GuildChat for 6/7/19: Mentoring and Apprenticeships

Our next #GuildChat takes place Friday, June 7th at 11am PT / 2pm ET. Our topic for this week’s chat is on Mentoring and Apprenticeships.

This week’s #GuildChat topic comes from Mitchell Woll who asked us to engage the community on the topic of mentoring and apprenticeships. It sounded like a great topic so of course we said yes!

This week we’ll take a look at these age-old approaches to learning (yes, they’ve been around quite a while) and discuss how to best design for them, evaluate them and make them a part of your organization’s overall learning strategy. Coincidentally I was listening to a podcast today, The Accidental Creative, where the book The Proximity Principle was being discussed. Apparently, it’s an easy read about career advancement strategies. In it, the author highlights the importance of finding “Professors” and “Professionals” to learn from (AKA mentors). As the author explains, in this socially connected age we’re in, there is really no excuse. You can check out the episode here: The Proximity Principle (with Ken Coleman).

So, do plan to join us this week as we dig into how to create and leverage apprenticeships and mentoring opportunities for yourself and your organization.

Prospective questions.

Q1 How do you differentiate a mentoring relationship from that of an apprenticeship?
Q2 How do you know if someone is a good mentor or mentee match for you?
Q3 Do you think formal mentorship matching programs can work, or do mentors need to be found organically for the partnership to succeed?
Q4 For people who are interested in mentoring others, what would you recommend they keep in mind for finding people to help and giving them the support they need?
Q5 What are some of the expectations to be a successful mentee?
Q6 Apprenticeships have been around since the middle ages. What are the strengths and weaknesses for growing skills
Q7 While you might not find yourself in a formal apprenticeship, what are some other ways you can learn alongside someone more experienced than you?
Q8 How has or can technology change the nature of apprenticeships and/or mentoring?
Q9 What are some steps you can take to encourage mentorship or apprenticeship in your organization?

Missed this GuildChat? Don’t worry – you can still read through what happened on our Wakelet transcript of the chat!