Recently I was asked ‘what strategies are employed in your clubs to encourage uptake, progress and completion in Paths among your members’. My response was Mentoring!

If you want success in your club and your goal is to build a 100% enrollment base in Pathways, I recommend a Club generated Pathways Mentorship Program.

Here’s one way to do that!

Mentoring for Pathways Champions!

Tips for creating your Pathways Mentorship Program!

1. Encourage your experienced members and Pathways fast trackers to select the optional Pathways Mentoring Program after completion of Level 2 in their Path. They become your Pathways Champions.
2. Appoint a Pathways Mentorship Leader in your club who will assist Pathways Champions as they mentor members who are new to Pathways. A great vehicle for completion of a Leadership project.
3. Provide Incentives for the Pathways Champions and members to enthuse, guide and support others on their journey through their selected Path(s). eg Small badges and pins from the Shop.
4. Run a Stepping Stones to Pathways Mentorship Workshop as a special training segment.
5. Build in a Mentor/Protege Networking segment before you begin your meetings.
6. Build in a Mentor Feedback segment on the agenda for during your meetings.
7. Build in a Mentor Followup guidance activity for the Pathways Champions after the meetings.

A Stepping Stones to Pathways Mentorship workshop will provide guidance on what the mentor, protege and the club needs to do.

The mentoring process will enable greater sharing, support and reported feedback to the club.

During the workshop, a randomly selected set of Mentor/Protege partnerships can initiate some discussions to start the process. Note: this is great activity for between club interaction, if you are using this at inter-club or Division Club Leadership Training events.

The mentor/protege partnerships can focus on either:

• the Introduction to Mentoring project from Pathways and discuss methods of mentoring a member through a whole level in their Path, or
• the Advanced Mentoring project from Pathways and discuss methods of mentoring over a longer period of time and reporting back to the club.

The matching process for the partnerships in the Pathways Mentorship program can vary from:

• optional and voluntary pairing between mentor and protege
• formal club selection process for matching the pairs
• impromptu and just-in-time opportunities for mentors to step up and offer service

Note: the pairing may change over time as needs change.

The reporting back on mentoring outcomes is an integral part of the Stepping Stones to Pathways Mentorship program.

Individual members and the whole club benefits from building in regular opportunities for the mentor/protege pairs to meet up, give feedback and follow up.

This sends a very strong message to visitors and guests at your meeting when they view these segments and hear about the progress of both mentors, proteges and Pathways Champions.

The final step is to embed the Pathways Mentorship process into the success plan for the club.

Executives can share the current mentoring partnerships and reports, with their new committee at each changeover meeting. This provides a great opportunity for the outgoing and incoming executives to discuss progress in the Distinguished Club Program and success with Level and Path completions.

If your club is keen to improve their Distinguished Club Program status, then take it another step further forward, and Appoint a Club Pathways Mentorship Leader. This role would be most valuable for completion of a specific Leadership Project from Pathways.

What about incentives?

Don’t forget to reward your members and mentors – everyone loves receiving little gifts of appreciation.

Head over to the Toastmasters International Shop:

• Purchase Ribbons for Pathways Mentors on completion of their Pathways Mentor Program
• Purchase Pins for those members who complete a Path

How will you implement Pathways Mentorship?