Then again, a lot of managers think they are already coaching when what they are really doing is a lot of teaching, advising and telling — or, worst case, micromanaging (think Pointy Haired Boss from “Dilbert”). They use the phrase “coaching” to describe just about any conversation they have with an employee.

Both are valid positions. It all depends on how you define what “coaching” is. I like to think of it as the skill and art of helping someone improve their performance and reach their full potential. There is a spectrum of coaching skills — from directive (teaching, advising, giving feedback, offering suggestions), to asking questions and listening — the real magic of coaching is when the coach takes a more non-directive approach (asking questions and listening) and the person can solve his or her problems. When people can come up with their own solutions, they are more committed, the fixes are more likely to be implemented, and these people are more likely to develop and solve similar problems next time on their own.

Great coaches help minimize the “noise” and distractions that are getting in the way of someone’s ability to figure out what’s going on and what to do about it. Great coaches know how and when to ask the right question at the right time, when to give feedback, when to advise, how to get the person to focus and how to gain commitment.

Managers can do this; in fact, I’ve seen some do it very well. But they have to let go of a few beliefs and pick up a few mindsets and skills. Here’s a summary of what I think needs to happen.

1. Managers need to let go of the belief that their job is to have all of the answers.

While many managers won’t admit they think they know more than the sum total of their entire team, they still act that way. It’s human nature. We all like to be advice columnists when it comes to other people’s problems. The problem is, when you don’t give employees the opportunity to solve their own problems, they don’t develop. Instead, they become dependent and never reach their full potential.

2. Managers have to believe that every employee has the potential to grow and improve.

3. Managers need to be willing to slow down and take the time to coach.

Yes, it’s quicker and simpler to tell and give advice. Coaching does take a little more time and patience upfront, and it takes deliberate practice to get good at it. However, it’s an investment in people that has a higher ROI than just about any other management skill I can think of. People learn, they develop, performance improves, people are more satisfied and engaged, and organizations are more successful.

4. Managers need to learn how to coach.

You can’t just throw a switch and be an effective coach. You need to have a framework, and it takes practice. Most coaches I know use the GROW model as their framework. They like it because it’s easy to remember and provides a road map for just about any coaching conversation. While there are many versions of the GROW acronym, the one I use is:

• G = goal. “Tell me what you want to get out of this discussion?”
• R = reality. “So what’s actually happening?”
• O = options. “What could you do about it?”
• W = what’s next. “What are you going to definitely do about it? By when?”

To learn how to coach, I’d recommend that managers experience what it’s like to be coached by someone who’s really good at it. Then, read a good book on the topic. I just finished “Effective Coaching,” by Myles Downey, but there are many other good ones. Then, practice, practice, practice and get feedback. After a while, you become less dependent on a linear framework and begin to comfortably bounce from one step to another. It also helps to have a toolkit of favorite questions to ask for each step in the GROW model.

Managers who want to be effective coaches will most likely need to let go of some assumptions about themselves and their employees, be willing to learn and practice a style of management that will initially feel unnatural and awkward. However, the rewards will be well worth the effort.

Dan McCarthy is the director of Executive Development Programs at the University of New Hampshire. He writes the award-winning leadership-development blog Great Leadership and is consistently ranked as one of the top digital influencers in leadership and talent management. He’s a regular contributor to SmartBlog on Leadership. E-mail McCarthy.

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Can a manager be a coach? originally published by SmartBlogs

In this three-part blog series sponsored by Prudential, we will examine how fixed income can enhance retirement menus. This interview was originally published in the November 2012 issue of Financial Advisor magazine.

In today’s Part 1, the experts explain why offering a wider selection and variety of fixed-income choices to DC plan menus can potentially provide higher returns, greater diversification and less volatility to retirement portfolios.

Part 2 of the interview will look at ways to construct a better portfolio.

Part 3 of the interview will explain how financial advisors can help in this effort.

Jerilyn Klein Beir, a contributing editor for Financial Advisor magazine, held a roundtable discussion on the topic of fixed-income choices with participants including Michael Rosenberg, senior vice president and director of IODC Distribution for Prudential Investments; Robert Tipp, managing director and chief investment strategist for Prudential Fixed Income; and Michael J. Collins, senior investment officer and portfolio manager for Absolute Return Bond and Core Plus Fixed Income Strategies at Prudential Fixed Income.

Through the course of the discussion, the subject of trends and the evolving needs of plan participants came up. Michael Rosenberg notes, “First, there’s an aging workforce and its participants tend to want to invest more conservatively, safeguard their assets and turn the assets they’ve accumulated into a stream of retirement income. Second, there’s been unprecedented market volatility due to the financial crisis of 2008 and the markets in general, so people are looking to become more conservative. The third trend has to do with the move away from off-the-shelf qualified default investment alternatives (QDIAs) to custom QDIAs. The vast majority of plans that are using custom QDIAs or custom target date funds use the core funds within the plan to create those QDIAs. So having a broader mix of fixed-income alternatives may provide potential to build better portfolios.”

Fixed income should be “represented in every plan menu,” Rosenberg says. “Like with equities, it’s a plan-by-plan decision. This is not a one-size-fits-all type of market. That’s where advisors and consultants need to have really interesting and thoughtful conversations to find out a plan sponsor’s goals and objectives for offering the plan, and what their participant base is looking to do,” Rosenberg says.

When asked about the underrepresentation of fixed-income investments in DC plans, and why the roundtable thinks plan sponsors currently offer relatively few options, Michael Collins says, historically, Defined Contributions plans have been thought of as always having “15 to 20 different flavors of equity — large cap, small cap, mid cap, value, growth, international, U.S. — and then there’s one bucket that says bonds.”

However, Rosenberg notes, “That’s not the way it happens in the defined-benefit world or the institutional world. It’s truly just like the equity marketplace — there are types of fixed income that you can put together to either help enhance your opportunities for returns or help lower your potential for risk.”

Be sure to check back for the next installment of this blog series to be published DATE HERE when the experts give their thoughts on how to construct a better portfolio, and learn more from this video by Rosenberg. Additional information may be found in this white paper.

Mutual fund investing involves risk. Some mutual funds have more risk than others. The investment return and principal value will fluctuate, and shares, when sold may be worth more or less than the original cost, and it is possible to lose money. There is no guarantee a Fund’s objectives will be achieved. The risks associated with each fund are explained more fully in each fund’s respective prospectus.

Fixed income investments are subject to interest rate risk, where their value will decline as interest rates rise. Diversification does not guarantee a profit or protect against a loss in declining markets.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Consider a fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. The prospectus and summary prospectus contain this and other information about the fund. Contact your financial professional for a prospectus and summary prospectus. Read them carefully before investing.

Mutual funds are distributed by Prudential Investment Management Services LLC, a Prudential Financial company. Prudential Fixed Income is a unit of Prudential Investment Management, a registered investment adviser and Prudential Financial company. Prudential Investments, Prudential, the Prudential logo, Bring Your Challenges and the Rock symbol are service marks of Prudential Financial, Inc., and its related entities, registered in many jurisdictions worldwide.

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How can fixed income enhance retirement menus? originally published by SmartBlogs

1. Thinking everyone had the same thought process

A mistake I made early on was thinking that our employees had the same thought processes and learning tactics that I did. Explaining something, walking away and expecting them to execute the task as I saw it in my head proved unrealistic. Now, I ask employees to tell me what the end result will be or explain the process so I can figure out if we are on the same page. — Kim Kaupe of ZinePak

2. Not firing sixes fast enough

Employing sixes [of 10s] at a startup can sink your business. It sounds rough, but good employees — when you need great ones — bring everyone down with them. The scary thing is when you don’t notice or act on it fast enough. I made that mistake early on, and I continue to work at not making it again. — Derek Flanzraich of Greatist

3. Hiring on work before values

An early mistake I made was hiring people based on their work first and their core values second. Hiring people who believe in our principles above anything else is now crucial to how we hire today. Employees have to believe in our core values before working here, regardless of their portfolios or Rolodex. — Chuck Longanecker of digital-telepathy

4. Not focusing on employee development

Good employees want to grow both the business and their professional skill set. As a business owner, you need to ensure that staff feel they have room to expand their knowledge base. The best employees will always look elsewhere once they feel they have reached their ceiling at your company. Plus, if an employee isn’t hungry for development, is he the “A+” employee a startup needs to succeed? — Mitch Gordon of Go Overseas

5. Failing to let employees do things their way

Your employees want to impress you and build a great company, so they frequently have unique sets of anxieties and concerns. In the early days, remember to stay patient and let your employees do things their way. Oftentimes, you’ll find that their way was a hell of a lot better than your way — that’s why you hired them in the first place! — Gagan Biyani of Growth Hackers Conference

6. Trying to overextend employees’ skills

Early on, I tried to have my CFOs help me with business development. I quickly recognized that these finance professionals were great at what they did, but they were not salespeople. This taught me that you have to build out your team, allowing team members to focus on what they do best. Don’t try to get your employees to overextend themselves when they are not in a good position to do so. — David Ehrenberg of Early Growth Financial Services

7. Hiring friends

Early on, I hired friends because I didn’t know any better. They turned out to be unreliable, often showing up late because they knew I couldn’t get too mad at them. It resulted in poor job performance and dissatisfied clients. I learned that you can only hire friends who agree with you on the importance of building the brand. Otherwise, just be friends outside of work. — Nick Friedman of College Hunks Hauling Junk and College Hunks Moving

8. Resisting delegation

I took too long to remove myself from day-to-day tactical responsibilities. I had to learn the true responsibilities of the CEO and focus on high-leverage uses of my time. — Robert J. Moore of RJMetrics

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Newbie leadership mistakes and the important lessons learned originally published by SmartBlogs

Last week, we asked: How do you deal with rudeness in your organization?

• I immediately confront it, and harshly: 39.97%
• I ignore it: 23.26%
• I act overly nice in the face of it: 34.76%
• I act rudely in return: 2.01%

Rudeness won’t be tolerated. About 75% of you confront rudeness as you see it, albeit using different tactics. Direct confrontation definitely calls it out but leaves the possibility of escalation and further rudeness. The other half of you “kill them with kindness,” which clearly has its benefits. The bottom line is, as a leader, you are responsible for the culture in your organization. If you tolerate rudeness, it could lead to a toxic culture which will lead to poor performance and turnover. Combat rudeness as you see it.

Mike Figliuolo is managing director of thoughtLEADERS and author of “One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful, Personal Leadership.”

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How do you deal with rudeness in your organization? originally published by SmartBlogs

Fashion Show Mall hits the list at No. 7, and Miracle Mile Shops is No. 10. The Grand Canal Shoppes and The Forum Shops at Caesars are Nos. 13 and 14, respectively. Other stores on the list include M&M’s World, at No. 9, and Bonanza Gift Shop, at No. 15.

Click on image to access interactive map.

The Las Vegas Convention Center, Blue Man Group and Cirque du Soleil are the top three activities for visitors.

The map also includes top dining destinations and hotels.

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Shopping dominates best activities in Vegas originally published by SmartBlogs

Ideas by their very nature are living organisms — many times growing and changing into something altogether different than planned. Most great ones mature on the backs of other ideas and don’t end up where they started.

For example, I can look down our street in Provo, Utah, and see three billion-dollar companies within 1,000 yards of each other. And I’ve been fortunate to watch these companies evolve. Interestingly, where they started isn’t where they’ve ended up at all.

Qualtrics began as online survey software tool developed strictly for academics for research purposes. Today, we’ve transitioned to a platform company with multiple products serving over 5,000 enterprise customers. Vivint, next door, started as a pest-control company and has ultimately developed into a home-security and automation and solar business. Ancestry.com was originally a publisher of genealogical books and magazines. Today, it is the world’s largest online resource for genealogy.

So, it can be hard to distinguish a good idea from a great idea in the beginning. The key is in giving it a chance to grow into its full potential and hatch.  But no idea is valuable if it’s parked in the idea phase.

Quit polishing your boat and get it into the water: I believe that too many people have good ideas that just sit on the dock. Honestly, nothing exciting happens there; the amazing stuff happens out on the open waters.

Still, it’s not very likely that you’re going to come up with an idea that’s the next Facebook. When you look at the technology industry, there are only going  to be one or two Facebook-like companies per decade. So the question is, how do you best position yourself for the next great idea?

To do this, some of the key questions entrepreneurs often ask themselves are “What am I passionate about?” or “What am I experienced in?” or “What is the largest addressable market problem that I can solve?”  For me, it was mostly about jumping on an opportunity and being passionate about the possibilities at hand. I believe that entrepreneurial skills can be learned, but recognizing a great opportunity is more about instinct, and that can’t be taught.

How often do you hear people say, “I thought of that idea before they did” or “I came up with that first”? I hate to point out the obvious, but you didn’t think about that idea enough to develop it and actually do something about it. What really matters is that you get moving on your ideas and see what sticks.

I wasn’t the one who originally came up with the concept for Qualtrics, but I saw the potential and was willing to jump on the opportunity. There were others along the way that saw the potential but weren’t willing to move.

Interestingly enough, both my parents were PhDs in academia for years. In their late 40s, they moved entrepreneurial ventures where they each has been wildly successful. I’m sure they had plenty of ideas along the way, but it wasn’t until they put their boats into the open water that their ideas could reach full potential. So, while I wasn’t running around branding myself as an entrepreneur, and neither were they, we all had something in common in that we recognized a good opportunity and ran with it.

So ask yourself this: what if the next Facebook was being started next door, and you had the chance to be a founding member? Would you recognize the potential? But a better question is, would you do something about it?

There is no right or wrong way. At Qualtrics, we bootstrapped for 10 years, and brought on almost 5,000 enterprise customers without a marketing team. So, you don’t have to run somebody else’s playbook as you create your business. One of the benefits of coming up with an idea is to be able to develop something the way that you’ve always wanted. The purpose is to do it your way or to create something that you’ve always wanted. Don’t forget that. If you’re always following someone else’s playbook, it’ll be difficult to think of something original.

You don’t know what you don’t know — be open. Beyond wanting to be a pro athlete, I was never hell-bent on what I was going to be or do when I grew up. This turned out to be a huge advantage. See, people often get locked into a mental career path, such as accounting or investment banking, and have a hard time changing directions. But what if there’s another plan, or an unforeseen opportunity or idea, that comes your way? You might miss it because your head is programmed to believe that you’re going to be an investment banker.

I asked myself a series of questions to identify what was most important in terms of career direction. For me, the most important attributes were a job where I could set my own goals, something that would give me a rush to go into the office, where I could be a change agent and transform ideas into the vision I had.

I believe that it is key to evaluate every opportunity through the lens of what matters most to you. This will give you a clear understanding if an idea is worth pursuing or if it’s best crushed in order to make room for the next one.

Ryan Smith co-founded Qualtrics in 2002 with the goal of making sophisticated research simple. As CEO, he has led the company from a basement startup to one of the fastest-growing technology companies in the world, experiencing triple-digit growth in the past four years. Qualtrics has more than 5,000 customers, including half of the Fortune 100, 1,300 colleges and universities worldwide, and 95 of the top 100 business schools. Smith was named one of Forbes’ “America’s Most Promising CEOs Under 35” for 2013 and has been featured in Fortune, Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, TechCrunch, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today.

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How do the most successful entrepreneurs come up with their ideas? originally published by SmartBlogs

Attribution: Map by Hal Jespersen, http://www.posix.com/CW (via Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license)

One hundred and fifty years ago this summer, the Battle of Gettysburg turned from a potential Confederate victory to stunning defeat due to Gen. James Longstreet’s poor negotiating skills.

At the beginning of their classic, “Getting to Yes,” authors Roger Fisher and William Ury note that we are all negotiators, every single day. But most of us lack an actual method for negotiations.

In our daily work lives, we deal with colleagues more than folks on the outside, and it seems downright mercenary to approach our interactions with them as a negotiation. But what happens when we become convinced that a colleague or boss is taking the organization down the wrong path? How do we convince them to change their plan?

To bring this question alive, how might our world today be a different place had Longstreet been able to persuade his boss, Gen. Robert E. Lee, to rethink the attack we call Pickett’s Charge?

On July 3, 1863, Lee faced a pivotal decision. After two days of fighting at Gettysburg, Lee had decided to order 15,000 of his men to make a frontal assault on the Union lines in a gambit to win the war in one fell swoop.

Longstreet was incredulous, noting later, “I said, ‘General, I have been a soldier all my life. I have been with soldiers engaged in fights by couples, by squads, companies, regiments, divisions, and armies, and should know, as well as any one, what soldiers can do. It is my opinion that no fifteen thousand men every arranged for battle can take that position.”

To Longstreet’s chagrin, Lee replied, “The enemy is there, and I am going to strike him.” In his memoirs, Longstreet noted, “Nothing was left but to proceed.” Of the 15,000 men who began that charge, half ended up killed, wounded, or captured in what has to be described as one of the worst decisions of the war.

What Longstreet needed was a way to negotiate with and persuade his boss that there were better alternatives. What would it look like if Longstreet had been followed this plan?

• Figure out your target outcome ahead of time.
• Ask for more than your target outcome, but not outrageously so.
• Make several small concessions.
• Determine your bottom line ahead of time.
• Say “Yes, if” rather than just “yes” or just “no.”
• Be aware of your ego.

Now put yourself in Longstreet’s shoes. Did Longstreet identify a targeted outcome ahead of time? Yes and no. He encouraged Lee to move around to the right of the Union Army and take up a position nearer Washington, D.C., forcing the enemy to attack. But Longstreet had been making that argument for three days to no avail. It was stale at this point, and thus an ineffective target.

Did Longstreet ask for a bit more than his targeted outcome so he had room to make small concessions? No, he did not. He failed in two ways here. First, Longstreet asked for exactly what he wanted, and consequently had no room to maneuver when Lee said no. Second, he knew from the past three days that what he was asking for was, in Lee’s mind, outrageous. It was outside the limits of Lee’s reality.

Longstreet also failed to establish his bottom line ahead of time. When Lee put his foot down, Longstreet gave in. Some argue that in a military hierarchy Longstreet would have been insubordinate to continue resisting Lee’s plan. But remember that the result of this decision was 7,500 casualties, and ask whether Longstreet had a duty to continue trying to change Lee’s mind.

Our central piece of advice is to respond, “Yes, if…” whenever possible. Longstreet commented to others that he thought an assault force of 30,000 would succeed. Why did he not say: “Yes, General Lee, I feel confident we can make that assault, break the Union line, win the battle, and possibly force the enemy to sue for peace, if you give me just two more divisions.” Lee had repeatedly shown he was all in for this battle, and it seems likely he would have seriously thought about his normally cautious general asking him to be even bolder.

Finally, Longstreet does not appear to have controlled his ego. When Lee rejected his advice, Longstreet withdrew from the conversation. That Longstreet did not ask any of his colleagues to speak with Lee suggests he felt that, if he could not convince Lee, then no one could. Either way you read the situation, Longstreet’s ego got in the way.

In his magnificent “The Courageous Follower,” author Ira Chaleff contends that the most powerful tool a follower has is the ability to persuade. Our world might be a very different place had James Longstreet possessed that ability on July 3, 1863.

Steven B. Wiley is president and Jared Peatman director of curriculum for the Lincoln Leadership Institute at Gettysburg, a human capital development company that has worked with the majority of the Fortune 100 companies and scores of federal agencies. This article is based on their book, “A Transformational Journey: Leadership Lessons from Gettysburg,” which is in turn based on the leadership seminars they offer.

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Pickett’s Charge: A broken negotiation originally published by SmartBlogs

People around us seem to slide into success. It looks so easy for them.

But what do you do when you find yourself treading water? What is the mud sucking at your feet and keeping you mired in one place?

Check these four reasons and find solutions.

1. You’ve lost your passion. We need to know where our passions and strengths lie and then work to advance them. When we blindly follow the upward path because everyone is doing it, we fizzle.

When trying to identify your passion, the easiest place to begin is to ask yourself: “What interests me and what are interests? Interests are those things that grab your attention ever so gently without you even noticing. Think about those occasions when you find yourself speaking to friends for hours on end about subjects you find fascinating or times when performing a specific task was so enjoyable that it became effortless.

You have interests that if properly channeled can be the spark to ignite your inner passion to light the way to your dream career. In other words, what you find the most interesting can lead to personal enrichment and self-fulfillment in your life.

While not everyone can love everything about their job — moving up and away from what you enjoy will bring dissatisfaction and loss of motivation.

2. You’ve gotten comfortable and quit trying. Admit it. Sometimes we get to a very comfortable place. We know the job. We have a pattern to life. And moving forward feels risky. Overcome that fear with simple mini-steps. First decide to create a goal to move forward. Envision it. Take other steps. Seek a mentor. Step up your team player skills. Enlarge your network. Ask for feedback.

Then communicate your goal to progress with your manager and ask for help and guidance. “Share your aspirations with your manager or superiors in the company, so that management can help establish goals and benchmark for determining when is the right time to promote you,” says Lisa Kojis, managing partner for staffing firm Princeton One.

3. It isn’t where you want to go. You may look at what your boss is doing and think, I don’t want to do that! Recognize moving into that spot is not the only career direction available. There may be other careers paths available in the company. If not, look to choices in other companies or even other fields.

Also understand that while your boss might handle that job by working 70 hours a week or by running the team in a draconian manner– that doesn’t mean you would need to lead that way.

Explore choices and find the options that ignite your drive to advance.

4. You think the price is too high. Sometimes it seems that high success costs marriages, health, time and the things you hold valuable in life. It’s true that more workers feel overstressed and unable to unplug. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

A mentor or coach can offer strategies and life-balance changes that allow you to succeed while keeping that which is most important to you.

Joel Garfinkle is an executive coach and author of “Getting Ahead: Three Steps to Take Your Career to the Next Level.” More than 10,000 people subscribe to his Fulfillment@Work newsletter. If you sign up, you’ll receive the free e-book “41 Proven Strategies to Get Promoted Now!”

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Somebody, help, I’m stuck: Why you’re not advancing originally published by SmartBlogs

Management today is really about enabling people to succeed and that means providing them with the guidance, resources, feedback and support they need to do their jobs.

Coupling feedback with expectations is the foundation of manager-to-employee coaching. It’s also the method by which managers can help employees and teams get the work done and promote higher levels of engagement and productivity.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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A 4-step guide to coaching your employees originally published by SmartBlogs

Mentoring is a two-way street
The mentor and the mentee each have responsibilities when it comes to building a good relationship. “My expectation is there is an open and trusting dialogue up front,” said UTC Aerospace Systems’ Samantha Stovall, recipient of the 2012 Mentor of the Year award. Stovall said she tried to set expectations up front and establish open communication right away with her mentee, Danielle Wilke. She said Wilke was expected to compile a list of her five- and 10-year goals, her strengths and weaknesses and professional issues she wanted to work on, while Stovall came up with exercises for Wilke to do and books for her to read.

“The most important aspect is that each side must have some degree of commitment to the relationship and willingness to truly participate in the mentorship,” Carvin said in an e-mail interview. The commitment is especially important for the mentees, who must make sure they regularly schedule meetings with their busy mentors.

“I am there for them, but it is their responsibility… to get on my calendar,” Mentor of the Year finalist Judy Novak of Xerox said.

A successful mentorship requires planning
Mentees should go to meetings with their mentors prepared and have some kind of structure in mind, according to Timothy Lamendola of Covance. “There was a lot of talking on my end in the beginning,” he said about starting a relationship with his mentor. They spent a lot of time mapping out the mentee’s priorities and what specific training he would need to achieve his career goals.

“It is their time that is a gift to you, so use it wisely,” said Novak’s mentee, Jennifer Allen. “Have a clue what it is you want to accomplish.”

Allen said she and Novak spent time discussing short- and long-term goals, looking at members of the Xerox organization whose positions Allen might be interested in within the next five to 10 years, and what things they had in common.

According to Stovall, having and keeping a focus during meetings with Wilke was an important part of their relationship. “I wanted to make her realize her strengths and build on her strengths,” Stovall said. “I try to keep conversations focused on her and what she needs to do and not worrying about other people or situations.”

Mentorships should benefit both the mentor and the mentee
The mentors stressed that relationships with their mentees should always benefit both parties involved, and Novak said that if a relationship isn’t working out, that it’s OK to look for another one that does. “It’s great to make a new friend, but the most successful mentorships are about more than that,” Carvin said.

Stovall and Novak said that experiencing successful mentorships early in their careers made them want to become mentors themselves. Stovall said Mentor Scout’s award program helped her realize that Wilke recognized a lot of things about her that she wasn’t aware of. “I recognize that mentoring is a great accomplishment. … I learn as much from the mentee as I do in other things,” Stovall said.

“You really get as much out of it as you put into it,” Wilke said.

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Tips from Mentor Scout’s mentors of the year originally published by SmartBlogs