Communication is key to making mentoring work
By Wanda Lloyd
Executive Director, Freedom Forum Diversity Institute at Vanderbilt University
12.03.01
Even though I've given birth to just one child, I have many children.
My "children" are working in newsrooms and news-related organizations across the nation. I didn't go looking to adopt. Mostly, they found me.
My "children" are a rainbow of Hispanic, American Indian, African-American and Asian-American journalists with names like Stacy, Vele Keyta, Jerold, Maria, Arlinda, Monique, Edward, Lovell, George and Gayle. Some were former interns I hired in newsrooms; others I met at industry conventions or on university campuses. All of them inspired me — their mentor — to find something in them to like and support.
In this era of concern about retention — especially retention of people of color — in daily newspaper newsrooms, one of the fix-it buzzwords has been "mentoring." It's one of those things many know to be a good thing. But many don't know how to mentor, or be mentored.
In my experience, the best mentoring relationships develop between two people who feel comfortable enough with each other to begin ongoing communication about professional issues and advice. In other cases, newsrooms and organizations have developed formal programs by assigning mentors and protégés. Sometimes these assigned relationships work well, sometimes not.
Here are some key questions and answers about mentoring, especially as mentoring relates to managing diversity:
Can mentoring relationships across racial lines work?
It's no secret that people with cultural similarities are drawn to each other. Therefore, these may be some of the best mentoring relationships. However, some who are in the best position to mentor may be of a different race. Don't let racial lines be barriers to mentoring.
I need a mentor. How can I find one?
We know we journalists like to be admired and like to talk about our accomplishments. Identify someone you admire — in your newsroom or elsewhere. Start a conversation by asking how that person got where he/she is.
I've been in the business only a few years. Can I be a mentor?
Absolutely. Reach back and bring someone else along. Find high school and college students in your community who might have an interest in what you do. Volunteer to speak to classes. Chances are, one or two inquisitive students will come up to you and ask for a longer conversation. If your newsroom has interns or entry-level hires, make it your business to check in with some of them at least once a week.
Whose responsibility is it to stay in touch, the mentor or the protégé?
It works both ways. Mentors should seek opportunities to share information about training programs, job openings or significant industry news. Protégés have just as much responsibility to make regular contact. Share work samples, news about a new assignment or ask advice about upcoming opportunities.
What are some first steps in developing a formal mentoring program?
Assign relationships with thought. Give participants a chance to approve the pairings in advance, and avoid supervisor/direct-report mentoring assignments. Arrange an informal event for all participants to meet.
Mentoring may help newspapers reverse the trend that shows journalists of color leaving newsrooms faster than new ones are being hired. Mentoring can be hard work. But it comes with big rewards.