A skill such as being able to “provide growth feedback” to a mentee sounds great, right? Many of us would love to do that. That was certainly true for me, your friendly Academy Professional Development Director, Tris Utschig :-). Yet, when it comes right down to it, how do we do actually put that skill into action? Saying to a mentee that “you have really improved your problem-solving skills over the past month” may make them feel good, yet it doesn’t crystallize for the mentee how they grew that capability and what opportunities they can pursue to continue growing. So, what to do? With a fully developed performance measure describing how to effectively “provide growth feedback” we can appreciate how that feedback should not only affirm prior growth, but also honor the mentee’s identity, be immediately operational (useful) for further growth, clarify the criteria guiding that growth, and more. By participating in the development of a measure describing how these elements of “providing growth feedback” all work together, I can assure you that my understanding of what “providing growth feedback” really means has dramatically improved.
Please join our sessions, hosted by a veteran Academy leadership team (Tris Utschig, Kathy Burke, Ingrid Ulbrich, and Steve Beyerein), to learn about and contribute to the development of measures for a subset of 38 mentoring skills. Check out a draft example, for the skill of “Providing Growth Feedback”, included at this LINK, to see what we are working on. We need your help as we complete drafts for additional mentoring skills such as Analyzing Needs, Being Patient, Describing Performance, Transforming Strategies, and Writing Performance Criteria.
Email Tris Utschig (tutschig@kennesaw.edu) with dates and times you can attend and he will share a meeting invite with you. Or, simply let him know you are interested in this project!