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Mentor Programs

Best practices on creating chapter mentor programs.

CHICAGOLAND: Mentorship Toolkits: Equipping Mentor-Mentee Pairs for Success

Beginning in 2021, he Chicagoland Chapter developed a pair of toolkits—one for mentors and one for mentees—to structure their new mentorship program and bring it into alignment with the Talent Development Capability Model™. The guides serve as a starting point for mentor-mentee pairs and include introductory activities, reflection prompts, templates, mentoring best practices, and more. After receiving positive feedback from mentors and mentees, the board was able to expand the program and increase flexibility for participants by offering rolling admissions throughout the year.

YEAR: 2023

GREATER ATLANTA: Talent Development Capability Model-Based Mentoring Program

The Greater Atlanta Chapter updated its mentoring program structure to accommodate more participants and focus on the Talent Development Capability Model. The program runs for six months with a different focus area of the Capability Model every two months. For two months, mentees and mentors focus on one area of the Capability Model to help them in their job and career path. At the end of the six months, the mentees give capstone presentations. The chapter filled all 10 mentees and mentor spots and received positive feedback.

YEAR: 2021

NORTH DAKOTA: Virtual Peer Mentoring Groups

SUMMARY: The North Dakota Chapter has members across the state, but the board noticed that the chapter’s geographic reach made it challenging for members to connect in person. To address this challenge, the board created a sub-committee to create and implement virtual peer mentoring groups. The committee used the chapter’s annual member survey to select the top seven talent development topics of interest and assigned a topic to each group. Chapter members who signed up for the program were assigned to a group based on their topic interest. Through Zoom, the peer mentoring groups met regularly for six months, and one-third of the chapter participated in the pilot of the program. According to the post-program survey, participants were satisfied with the experience as the program allowed them to learn, share, and connect with fellow chapter members. The chapter also received feedback that those who regularly facilitated the groups’ conversations expressed interest in continuing their volunteer journey through chapter board service. This program has been a major value-add for the chapter and its members. As a result, the virtual mentoring groups now run on a consistent, six-month interval, starting in January and June.

YEAR: 2020


METRO DC: Mentoring Program

SUMMARY: The Metro DC Chapter revamped its mentoring program to create a more action-oriented and engaging environment for its participants. The nine-month program alternates between meetings as a cohort and one-on-one meetings with the mentoring program partner. Mentoring partners underwent a matching process in which participants were asked about their career goals and aspirations in addition to their values, outside interests, and role models to ensure the best fit of mentoring partner and participant. Following completion of the curriculum developed by the program committee, the program culminates in a capstone presentation through which participants share their progress on specific career goals or general growth over the course of their participation in the program. As a result of the changes, the first session of the new mentoring program resulted in two participants joining the board and four participants signing on as community of practice leaders.

YEAR: 2019

CHICAGOLAND CHAPTER: Student Ambassador Program - Bringing New Energy into the Talent Development Profession

SUMMARY: In 2016, the director of university relations focused on creating and developing relationships with colleges and universities that offer degree programs in talent development. Chicagoland began a student ambassador program to embody the goals of bringing new energy into the chapter and develop the next generation of talent development professionals. The program is strategically designed to provide meaningful learning experiences to students, the institutions they attend, and the chapter.

YEAR: 2017

SOUTHEASTERN WISCONSIN CHAPTER: Successful Partnership with United Way

SUMMARY: For the past five years, the Southeastern Wisconsin chapter has successfully partnered with the United Way of Milwaukee to provide volunteer opportunities as well as facilitation, training, and coaching development opportunities to dozens of ATD members. In 2016, 13 chapter members gave their time and talents to the program providing communications and presentation skills development to hundreds of area professionals. This is the chapters longest running and most successful annual partnership program.

YEAR: 2017

SOUTH FLORIDA CHAPTER: STRATEGIC COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP

SUMMARY: The chapter established and cultivated a relationship with Barry University, a local, private university that has strong Masters and PhD. programs in Organizational Learning and Leadership. Year after year, the chapter helps connect students with many opportunities and expose them to the field, a network of experts and mentors, and practical knowledge. The partnership with the university has grown over the years, and the university now hosts chapter events, acts as a monetary sponsor, supports community outreach panels, manages a mentorship program, and funnels its students to the chapter as volunteers and potential members of the chapter’s board of directors.

YEAR: 2016

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