Mentoring: The New Member Phase

PHASES OF MENTORING – THE CHANGING MENTOR RELATIONSHIP THROUGHOUT THE NEW MEMBER AND BROTHER LEADER PHASES

As a mentor, your role will and must change over the course of the True PIKE Experience. As your mentee expands their understanding of Pi Kappa Alpha, they will require less structure and ultimately less direction from you. That does not mean they will require less of your time and attention. The time you spend together will take on new form and dimension as described in the new member and brother leader phases. The foundation of this model is based on the teachings and values of Pi Kappa Alpha. As the mutual relationship develops, each phase requires more complex human interaction. You know you can move forward in the process when the mentee has responded, and trust has been established.

MENTORING A NEW MEMBER – TO MYSELF

The new member phase is the shortest phase of the True PIKE Experience as it accounts for only four weeks of a member’s development and time in the chapter. Although short, this is a crucial timeframe for a member’s development. In this phase there are specific educational objectives, commitments, goals and benchmarks for each new member to achieve. In the subsequent sections of this blog, I will outline your role in mentoring a new member in your weekly meetings.

Once you are assigned your mentee and they have been notified during their new member orientation at the outset of the new member education process, you will want to establish your meeting schedule with your mentee and hold your first weekly meeting as soon as possible to establish the foundation of the relationship and set the trajectory for your mentee’s educational objectives, commitments, goals and benchmarks.

Below are sample agendas for each week in the new member phase:

Meeting 1:

• Establish Relationship
  • Get to know each other
  • Discuss how the relationship will play out throughout time
  • Preview New Member Education Curriculum
  • Discuss New Member Commitments
  • Set New Member Goals with Mentee
  • Help Mentee Set New Member Benchmarks 1-2

Meeting 2:

• Review New Member Education Content
• Determine Progress on New Member Commitments
• Determine Progress on New Member Goals
• Help Mentee Set New Member Benchmarks 3-4
  • Determine Progress on previous benchmarks (if applicable)
  • Spend Personal Time Together

Meeting 3:

• Review New Member Education Content
• Determine Progress on New Member Commitments
• Determine Progress on New Member Goals
• Help Mentee Set New Member Benchmarks 5-6
  • Determine Progress on previous benchmarks (if applicable)
  • Spend Personal Time Together

Meeting 4:

• Review New Member Education Content
• Determine Progress on New Member Commitments
• Determine Progress on New Member Goals
• Help Mentee Set New Member Benchmarks 7-8
  • Determine Progress on previous benchmarks (if applicable)
  • Spend Personal Time Together

Although the new member will be a brother leader once he is initiated following the four-week new member education period, continue to meet with him on a weekly basis in that first semester before he begins brother leader education in the following semester to ensure that the mentee completes the new member goals, commitments and benchmarks. For example:

Meeting 5 – End of the Semester (in which he joined):

• Determine Progress on New Member Commitments
• Determine Progress on New Member Goals
• Determine Progress on New Member Benchmarks
• Spend Personal Time Together
  • Continue to foster the relationship

New Member Education: Content at a Glance

The new member educator is responsible for facilitating the new member education curriculum with the new members, so your role as a mentor is simple when it comes to mentoring your mentee through new member education. Considering that you have gone through new member education yourself, you will want to follow-up on the educational content covered each week during your weekly mentor/mentee meeting. In this role you may need to put on your Teacher hat, to ensure that your mentee is grasping the content objectives, and that you are complementing the new member educator’s teachings.

Some questions you could ask during your weekly meetings about new member education:

“Tell me what you covered this week (or last week) in new member education?”

“What was discussed during that session?”

“What were your take-a-ways from that session?”

“Was there anything you were having trouble grasping? If so what?”

This list of questions is not meant exclude any other questions that might be necessary to ask about new member education during the meeting. Other questions should be asked, but the conversation will dictate what those questions will be based on his understanding of the new member education curriculum.

NEW MEMBER OBJECTIVE

The new member objective is simple: “to adjust to his new commitment as a Pike in the chapter and campus community.” As the mentor, you should always keep this objective at the forefront of your mind to ensure he is moving positively through the new member objective and Motivate him accordingly.

NEW MEMBER COMMITMENTS

The commitments of a new member are defined by the True Pike ideals. They are laid out in the guidebook in the form of a quantifiable checklist where the new member mentee can view his progress of accomplishing his commitments. Your role as the mentor is to evaluate his progress and put your Coaching hat on to provide feedback on how he accomplishes his commitments and Advise him on how to accomplish the rest of the commitments in the new member phase. Reviewing his progress on his commitments will be an ongoing process during mentor/mentee meetings.

NEW MEMBER GOALS

At your first meeting with your new member mentee, you will work with him to establish five S.M.A.R.T. goals during his time as a new member in the True PIKE Experience. When helping him establish goals, you will have to put on your Advisor hat to help him set realistic goals. There is one goal related to his GPA, then the rest are open goals that are ultimately dictated by the mentee. The open goals can be any combination of the commitments and/or goals that are more personal to him.

Below is an example of some goals that a new member mentee might write in his guidebook:

Personal Goal One: For the Fall, 2018 term I will earn a 3.5 GPA.

Date Started 8/15/2018 Date Completed 11/30/18

Steps needed to achieve your GPA goal for the term:

1. Attend 90% of classes for each course
2. Study 2-3 hours daily
3. Coordinate study group

Personal Goal Two: Participate in two intramural sports for Fall 2018

Date Started 8/15/18 Date Completed 11/30/18

Steps needed to achieve your second personal goal:

1. Coordinate with the athletics chairman about specific sports interested in
2. Participate in intramural team try-outs
3. Establish weekly personal practice routine
4. Stay active in the gym

Personal Goal Three: Read three books over the course of the Fall 2018 semester

Date Started 8/15/18 Date Completed 11/30/18

Steps needed to achieve your third personal goal:

1. Create a list of 3 books I want to read
2. Purchase books or check out from the library
3. Identify timeframes during the week I can dedicate to reading

After your mentee establishes his goals in his guidebook at the first mentor/mentee meeting, your role as the mentor is to determine progress and Advise him on the best ways to accomplish his goals. During your weekly review of your mentee’s goals, you will need to put on your Motivator hat to ensure your mentee maintains the motivation to achieve his goals.

NEW MEMBER BENCHMARKS

When working with the mentee to establish his benchmarks you will utilize various mentor skillsets depending on the benchmark. The benchmarks are meant to be specific reflection points along the way in the new member phase and should be completed according to the schedule below:

• Weekly Meeting 1: Discuss and establish New Member Benchmarks 1-2
• Weekly Meeting 2: Discuss and establish New Member Benchmarks 3-4
• Weekly Meeting 3: Discuss and establish New Member Benchmarks 5-6
• Weekly Meeting 4: Discuss and establish New Member Benchmarks 7-8
• Weekly Meeting 5 – End of the Semester (in which he joined): Discuss and review previously established New Member Benchmarks

NEW MEMBER PERSONAL REFLECTION

The mentee’s personal reflection will be dependent on his initiative to journal along his path through the new member phase. His reflection may just be thoughts about his fraternity experience thus far or may be more on the personal side. Whatever the case may be, it will ultimately be up to the mentee if he would like to share with you, the mentor, his reflections. Considering that these reflections may be personal, be sure to stress the confidentiality component of the relationship to further emphasize the trusting and open relationship. If the mentee decides to share his personal reflections, you may need to put your Counselor hat on, which will require you to just listen and not necessarily react, unless it is appropriate to do so.

If the mentee has neglected to write anything in the personal reflection section of his guidebook, it is okay, however you may just want to explain the benefits of reflection to him to encourage him to do so moving forward.

This is part eight of 10 in the mentor blog series. Be sure to check out the Mentoring a Brother Leader blog to continue your development as a mentor in your chapter.

To learn more about the Pi Kappa Alpha mentor program, be sure to look at the mentor program handbook and its accompanying resources located in the myPIKE Resource Center (myPIKE > Resource Center > Pi Kappa Alpha folder > Chapter Officer Resources folder > VP of Membership Development folder > Mentor Program folder).