Mentor Program
For more information, contact Howard (Tim) Miner, 770.488.6256 or email hxm6@cdc.gov
Goal of the Program
To enhance the quality and value of the Public Health Advisor (PHA)/685 series as an integral part of the public health workforce of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
Definition of Mentor
Loyal Friend and Wise Adviser (or Advisor, in this case) Someone who can assist another person with career and job issues because of their commitment to helping others in the same way they have been helped.
Purpose of a Mentor
To provide advice and counsel to PHAs on matters pertaining to their CDC careers, including, but not limited to, the following:
- professional issues (based on their own experience and knowledge)
- personal issues (as they affect job performance and career objectives)
Definition of a protégé
Someone seeking help with career and job issues, who asks that another person listen and offer information, contacts, and support.
Rationale and Background
The PHA/685 series has had a long, productive history at CDC. As a result of a broadening of CDC's mission and the addition or expansion of numerous programs in recent years, the range of activities and opportunities available to persons in this job series has the potential to increase significantly. However, the potential also exists for CDC programs to demand increased academic and professional credentials on the part of PHAs. Mentoring encourages PHAs to assist each other and is one way to strengthen networks to support and promote career development. The PHA mentoring program is now available on an "ad-hoc" basis. PHAs can call the Mentor Coordinator to ask for assistance with specific issues. An issue specific relationship has the potential to develop into a more involved relationship that parallels the formal employee-supervisor relationship. Information is collected by the Mentor Coordinator on how often PHAs use the program and on how well the system meets the needs of the PHA series at CDC.
Identifying a Mentor
The Mentor Coordinator maintains a list of PHAs (at the GS-12 grade level and above) that have expressed willingness to be contacted from time to time by PHAs for the purposes outlined in the section Purpose of a Mentor.
Public Health Advisors are encouraged to contact the Mentor Coordinator for referral to a mentor for specific issues. The decision whether a more formal, ongoing mentioning relationship develops from such contacts is up to the persons involved.
General Guidelines
Mentoring is defined as the practice of coaching, guiding, and teaching the success strategies of one's field or organization to others. The purpose of these guidelines is to provide a framework for the Watsonian Society's mentoring activities and ensure that the opportunity exists for mentioning relationships for those who desire them. They are intended as a practical reference both for mentors and for protégés.
The components of these guidelines follow:
- Possible Advantages of a Mentoring Program for the PHA series, the Mentor, and the protégé
- Suggestions for Establishing and Maintaining a Mentoring Relationship
- Advice for Mentors
- Advice for Protégés
- Role Descriptions for Mentors
Possible Advantages of a Mentoring Program
For the Public Health Advisor series:
Enhances job performance and improve productivity both of mentors and of proteges
Enables every employee the possibility to contribute towards the fulfillment of the PHA role in the CDC mission
Contributes to the development of future program managers
Provides a vehicle for proteges to develop leadership skills
Helps integrate "junior" Public Health Advisors into the organization
Builds a sense of belonging for the protégé
Makes the 685 series a more attractive career to potential applicants
For the Mentor:
Sharpens the mentor's professional skills, work strategies, and tar-tics tools that have contributed to his or her success
Provides personal and professional gratification
Reinforces the mentor's self-confidence
For the protégé:
Facilitates a smooth transition into the CDC culture
Allows individuals to gain on-the-job training
Offers greater exposure and visibility, which may lead to new opportunities in the PHA career field
Provides practical input related to skill building, career development, and promotion opportunities
Enhances the protégé's self-confidence and value to the PHA series
Suggestions for Establishing and Maintaining
a Mentoring Relationship
Public Health Advisors who are interested in seeking advice or counsel are encouraged to contact the Mentor Coordinator for referral to a mentor as necessary and appropriate. A contact such as this may or may not lead to an ongoing mentor-protégé relationship. It is reasonable to assume that there will be conditions or limits on any such relationship that may develop.
Advice for Mentors
It is important to remember that the protégé consider you an expert in your profession.
Try to understand and empathize with your protégé's needs by sharing personal and professional experiences.
Acknowledge the differences and similarities between the protégé's experiences and your own.
Remember that everyone makes mistakes. Learning from one's mistakes is usually a lesson well remembered. Although mistakes may be frustrating, they should be accepted as part of the personal and professional growth everyone experiences.
Be patient and recognize that the learning process takes time. Try to guide your prot6g6 toward taking on beneficial learning experiences.
Be candid with your protégé. By "telling it like it is" in a compassionate way, you will be free to offer advice that is realistic, useful, and on target. This approach minimizes frustration for the protégé and the mentor.
Respect the protégé's time commitments. Do your best not to be late or cancel appointments.
Advice for Proteges
Take advantage of the professional opportunities provided to you through your mentor.
Be objective, honest, and thoughtful with your mentor. This enables your mentor to provide you with the best advice possible.
If your issue specific contact becomes an ongoing relationship:
It is important to take responsibility for initiating and maintaining communication with your mentor.
Seek out your mentor between scheduled meetings if urgent issues arise. Prepare for each meeting. Consider proposing an agenda with specific objectives, concerns, or issues that you would like to address with your mentor. Give your mentor a copy of the agenda a few days before the meeting so she or he has an opportunity to prepare.
Make every effort to keep scheduled appointments with your mentor. Do your best not to be late or cancel appointments.
Respect the mentor's time commitments. Recognize that your mentor has many responsibilities in addition to the mentoring commitment.
Role Descriptions for Mentors
Communicator
- Encourages two-way exchange of information
- Listens to career concerns and responds appropriately
- Establishes an environment for open interaction
- Schedules uninterrupted time to meet with protégé
- Acts as a sounding board for ideas and concerns
Counselor
- Works with protégé to identify and understand helpful career-related skills, interests, and values
- Helps evaluate appropriateness of career options
- Assists protégé in planning strategies to achieve mutually agreed-upon goals
Coach
- Helps clarify performance goals and developmental needs
- Teaches managerial and technical skills
- Reinforces effective on-the-job performance
- Recommends specific behaviors that. need improvement
- Clarifies and communicates organizational objectives and goals
- Serves as a role model to demonstrate successful professional behaviors
Advisor
- Communicates the formal and informal realities of career development and progression within the organization
- Recommends opportunities for training
- Recommends appropriate strategies for career direction
- Reviews developmental plan regularly
- Helps identify career obstacles and takes appropriate action to overcome them
Broker
- Expands the protégé's network of professional contacts
- Brings together proteges who might benefit from helping each other
- Links proteges with appropriate educational and employment opportunities
- Identifies resources required for career development and progression
Referral Agent
- Identifies resources to help with specific problems (e.g., Employee Assistance Program)
- Follows up to ensure effectiveness of resources
- Identifies activities, within and outside the organization, that will contribute to the career development and progression of the protégé
Coordinator
- Identifies specific mentors to which to refer protégé.
- Keeps a record of number of times each mentor has been contacted and for what specific reason.
(Note that the name of the protégé and reason for mentor request will not be kept for confidentiality reasons, but the coordinator will follow up with the protégé to seek feedback about mentor guidance.)
Page last updated November 2, 2011
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