Mentoring Handbook

Appendices

Appendix A. ASFPM’s Confidentiality Policy

It is ASFPM's policy to protect the confidentiality of mentoring program participants. Minimal information will be collected to support needs assessment and matching. Participants are expected to treat information related to their partnership as confidential. It is the responsibility of the program manager(s) to establish and enforce a level of program confidentiality that encourages open sharing of information and feedback.

Appendix B. Mentee Registration Form

The Mentee Registration Form is an online form embedded on the Register as Mentee page of the ASFPM Mentoring website.

Appendix C. Mentor Registration Form

The Mentor Registration Form is an online form embedded on the Become a Mentor page of the ASFPM Mentoring website.

Appendix D. Request Mentoring Form

The Request Mentoring Form is an online form embedded in each mentees’ My Profile page of the ASFPM Mentoring website. Find screenshots of the form in Appendix D of the PDF Handbook.

NOTES:

• The Situational Mentoring Request Form is the same as the One-on-One Mentoring Request Form pictured above with the “When do you need this mentoring?” question omitted, because it is assumed the request is urgent.
• The Group Mentoring Request Form is the same as the One-on-One Mentoring Request Form pictured above with one additional question after the “What is the topic/issue in which you need mentoring assistance?” question asking “What is the size of the group to be mentored/trained?”

Appendix E. Common "Ask a Mentor" Questions

This section will be developed as the program matures.

Appendix F. SMART Goals

The SMART Goals Template is in the Welcome Packet provided by the program manager(s) when a mentor match is made. Find a copy of the template in Appendix F of the PDF Handbook.

Appendix G. Action Plan Template

The Action Plan Template is in the Welcome Packet provided by the program manager(s) when a mentor match is made. Find a copy of the template in Appendix G of the PDF Handbook. Use the guidance below to provide answers to the questions in the action plan:

Step 1: Select a learning area for development and improvement.

• Considering the goal(s) of the partnership, identify the skills, knowledge, abilities or behaviors that will benefit from further development. Focus on the desired outcome. Building on strengths can be as effective as addressing areas of weakness.
• ASFPM has developed some strategic assessment tools and processes (e.g., recommended benchmarks for effectiveness, strategic planning, self-assessment, SWOT assessment and CAP gap analysis) to help identify where you need/want to make improvements.

Step 2: Review the SMART Goal(s) you prepared to understand the desired result.

• What problem are you addressing or what opportunity are you taking?
• What do you need to change or do to make the goal(s) reality?
• ASFPM mentoring activities provide for formal (e.g., training, conferences and workshops) or informal (e.g., process guides, best practice documentation, resource materials and Ask a Mentor), and passive (e.g., reading and shadowing) or active (e.g., assignments, practice and special projects) exchanges throughout the partnership.

Step 3: Create the mentoring actions.

• What activity/action can you easily incorporate into your daily routine?
• What is likely to help develop your target area and achieve your goal(s)? For example, if you need to acquire some new knowledge, training may be the activity that you choose. You may have been trained in strategic planning, but not have applied the process and tools to an evaluation of your program – feedback or advice may be helpful. You may be good at the day-to-day aspects of your job, but desire to learn more about the policies that drive floodplain or national practices – working on an ASFPM committee or special project can provide additional skills and abilities.
• Identify multiple, specific activities or actions that you will undertake in the mentoring partnership.

Step 4: List support mechanisms.

• Aside from what the partners bring to the relationship, what other people, things or information do you need to obtain your desired result (e.g., technology, travel, staff and funding)?

Step 5: Timeframe and milestones.

• What needs to be scheduled to ensure that your commitment is consistent with your goal?
• An overall deadline for activities will be somewhat defined by the duration of the partnership. However, there may be a necessary sequence for individual activities. For example, you may need to take a training to learn a new skill or gain knowledge before you can practice or apply it.
• Identify some milestones and interim deadlines. For example, the goal may be to develop a strategic plan for implementing an effective state floodplain management program. The initial step may be to complete a strategic planning training, followed by practice using strategic analysis tools, with a final result of writing a long-range strategic plan. Your milestone events are completing training, practice and feedback on using tools and review/feedback on a draft strategic plan. The deadlines should fit within your overall commitment to the partnership and mark progress toward the desired result.

Step 6: Establish criteria for success.

• Is the partnership a positive experience for you?
• Discuss how you will know if you are making progress.
• Completing actions and activities is one way to measure progress. However, it is also important to measure if your knowledge and skills are growing.

Appendix H. Mentoring Agreement Template

The Mentoring Agreement Template is in the Welcome Packet provided by the program manager(s) when a mentor match is made. Find a copy of the template in Appendix H of the PDF Handbook. The following guidance helps partners formulate a mentoring agreement:

Step 1: Set goals for the partnership.

• Why do you want to be in a mentoring partnership?
• Form one or two goals following the SMART Goals guidelines.

Step 2: Identify potential obstacles to achieving your goals.

• Anticipate hurdles or barriers that might prevent you from achieving the identified goals.
• Develop a plan for overcoming or working around the barriers and hurdles.

Step 3: Discuss mutual expectations and boundaries for your mentoring partnership.

• Discuss the respective roles of the mentee/mentor. Who will do what? How do you expect each other to behave? What are some characteristics that you desire in a good mentee/mentor? Do you want to set any ground rules?
• Discuss availability and time commitment. Is your time commitment sufficient for the actions and activities needed to achieve your goals?
• Agree to an approximate length for the relationship.
• Review the Confidentiality Policy.

Step 4: Establish how your partnership will work.

• Decide on a preferred method of contact (e.g., face-to-face, telephone, email, partnership workspace, video chat, etc.).
• Decide how frequently the mentee and mentor will contact one another. Who is responsible for initiating contact?
• Discuss how and when feedback will be provided. What will you do if actions and activities are not completed as planned?

Step 5: Agree to monitor progress and evaluate your mentoring experience.

• The program requires partners to submit a partnership log monthly and complete a partnership evaluation upon ending the partnership.

Step 6: Discuss how you will decide on the closure of your partnership.

Appendix I. Partnership Log

The link to the Partnership Log is in the Welcome Packet provided by the program manager(s) when a mentor match is made. Find a copy of the form in Appendix I of the PDF Handbook.

Appendix J. Partnership Evaluation Form

The link to the Partnership Evaluation Form is in the Welcome Packet provided by the program manager(s) when a mentor match is made. Find a copy of the form in Appendix J of the PDF Handbook.

Appendix K. Ask A Mentor Feedback Form

The link to the Ask A Mentor Feedback Form is in the Welcome Packet provided by the program manager(s) when a mentor match is made. Find a copy of the form in Appendix K of the PDF Handbook.

Appendix L. Travel and Reimbursement Policy

ASFPM's goal is to minimize direct, out-of-pocket costs to mentoring participants. It is policy that any direct costs will be estimated by the partners, and only on mutual consent with the program manager(s) will costs be incurred. The program manager(s) must give prior approval for any reimbursements.

Reimbursement from ASFPM may be requested for any direct costs if there are no other sponsors or funding sources. The program manager(s) will provide a process and the required forms for any reimbursement consistent with existing ASFPM travel and reimbursement policies.