Starting Strong

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.

LOIS J. ZACHARY is president of Leadership Development Services and director of its Center for Mentoring Excellence. Her innovative mentoring approaches and expertise in coaching leaders and their organizations in designing, implementing, and evaluating learner-centered mentoring programs have been used globally by a wide array of clients, including Fortune 100 companies, government organizations, and educational institutions, both for-profit and nonprofit. She is the author of The Mentor’s Guide, The Mentee’s Guide, and Creating a Mentoring Culture, all from Jossey-Bass.

LORY A. FISCHLER is a senior associate with Leadership Development Services and the associate director of its Center for Mentoring Excellence. She has over twenty-five years’ experience in consulting, training, and coaching clients from a diverse array of organizations, including the health-care, manufacturing, government, and non-profit sectors. She is the coauthor of The Mentee’s Guide: Making Mentoring Work for You.

Praise for Starting Strong "Whether seeking to strengthen your own mentoring practice, administer a mentoring program within your organization, or develop your ability to 'tune in' to others and navigate candid conversations-- Starting Strong provides a unique avenue to help mentors and mentees become more reflective, observant, and introspective--to allow them to grow into the type of professionals they wish to become." --Peg MCCue Guillon, chairperson, MetLife Legal Affairs Mentoring Program "In this strikingly engaging book, Zachary and Fischler focus on one of the most important dynamics in mentoring: how trust is established at the beginning of the relationship. Through a series of conversations that show the ways listening and questioning work to deepen communication, Starting Strong takes us to the heart of what it means to be a mentor." --Stephen Brookfield, John Ireland Endowed Chair, University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis-St. Paul "Congratulations, you have a mentor (or mentee)! Now what? Instead of winging it, hoping for the best, you can now structure the relationship right from the beginning to make it a satisfying experience for both of you. Part fable, part guidebook, part manual, the authors have highlighted the keys to success for a rich mentor-mentee partnership. Starting Strong is not to be missed by anyone open to this life-changing partnership." --Marshall Goldsmith, author of the New York Times and global bestseller What Got You Here Won't Get You There "Lois Zachary and Lory Fischler provide insight into the distinction, yet interdependence, of a mentoring and coaching culture. Highlighting the keys to fostering successful and sustainable mentoring relationships, their easy-to-read storytelling style and practical working guides make this an invaluable resource to any individual or group mentoring or coaching program looking to adopt successful techniques." --Joanne Robinson, director of professional development, Ontario Principals' Council " Starting Strong is a very readable, real-world how-to reference for understanding just how mentoring works. Once you read the fable and use the playbook, you will have all the tools you will need to deepen and enrich your mentoring practice." --Michele D. Klein, senior engineering manager, Fortune 100 Aerospace Corporation " Starting Strong is an engaging story that contains all of the most important elements of successful mentoring relationships. This incredible format will make the tools of mentoring accessible to many people. I look forward to using the book in our program." --Joanne Goldberg, Medtronic Women's Network

Praise for Starting Strong Whether seeking to strengthen your own mentoring practice, administer a mentoring program within your organization, or develop your ability to tune in to others and navigate candid conversations Starting Strong provides a unique avenue to help mentors and mentees become more reflective, observant, and introspective to allow them to grow into the type of professionals they wish to become. Peg MCCue Guillon, chairperson, MetLife Legal Affairs Mentoring Program In this strikingly engaging book, Zachary and Fischler focus on one of the most important dynamics in mentoring: how trust is established at the beginning of the relationship. Through a series of conversations that show the ways listening and questioning work to deepen communication, Starting Strong takes us to the heart of what it means to be a mentor. Stephen Brookfield, John Ireland Endowed Chair, University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis-St. Paul Congratulations, you have a mentor (or mentee)! Now what? Instead of winging it, hoping for the best, you can now structure the relationship right from the beginning to make it a satisfying experience for both of you. Part fable, part guidebook, part manual, the authors have highlighted the keys to success for a rich mentor-mentee partnership. Starting Strong is not to be missed by anyone open to this life-changing partnership. Marshall Goldsmith, author of the New York Times and global bestseller What Got You Here Won t Get You There Lois Zachary and Lory Fischler provide insight into the distinction, yet interdependence, of a mentoring and coaching culture. Highlighting the keys to fostering successful and sustainable mentoring relationships, their easy-to-read storytelling style and practical working guides make this an invaluable resource to any individual or group mentoring or coaching program looking to adopt successful techniques. Joanne Robinson, director of professional development, Ontario Principals Council Starting Strong is a very readable, real-world how-to reference for understanding just how mentoring works. Once you read the fable and use the playbook, you will have all the tools you will need to deepen and enrich your mentoring practice. Michele D. Klein, senior engineering manager, Fortune 100 Aerospace Corporation Starting Strong is an engaging story that contains all of the most important elements of successful mentoring relationships. This incredible format will make the tools of mentoring accessible to many people. I look forward to using the book in our program. Joanne Goldberg, Medtronic Women s Network

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