Mentorship Program Resources

Additional Resources

Articles & Blog Posts

• 8 Tips to Supercharge your Mentoring Experience - July Issue of Electrical Wholesaling that also features our Empowering Women Mentorship Program.

• A ROUTINE is an important element of an effective mentoring journey.  Read more in KJ’s blog https://www.kjcompany.net/news/2020-03-12-whats-your-routine

• For Mentors - As a refresher, review “How to be a great mentor” blog post as well as the presentation from Mentor Webinar. Remember the 7 qualities that Great Mentors Share: 1. Care, 2. Secret Sauce, 3. Ask Questions – Listen, 4. Be Honest – But Tough, 5. Trust, Compassion, Empathy, 6. Story-Telling, 7. Cut Myself Some Slack

• For Mentees - Part of being a good mentee is showing gratitude and giving back to your mentor. Read KJ’s blog from January 2020 for a few tips on how to show your appreciation.

• Mentoring Tips, Resources and Ideas - from the Inaugural Class of the Empowering Women Mentorship Program, here’s a Summary of their tips, resources and ideas.

• LinkedIn post – The 7 Habits of Highly Annoying Speakers by Shelley Bamberger.

• LinkedIn Article - 23 Opportunities for Areas of Improvement in the Workplace - a Mentor encouraged her Mentee to look at herself a bit more.

Podcasts

• Pearls of Wisdom by Carla Harris

• Make Your Bed Speech by Admiral Raven

• Dare to Lead with Brené Brown - Conversations with change-catalysts, culture-shifters and more than a few troublemakers who are innovating, creating, and daring to lead.

• DistribuTED with Scott Costa - launched in 2019, this podcast examines a number of important issues in the Electrical Industry supply chain and Scott featured our Empowering Women Mentorship Program in the November 2020 recording.

• Finding Brave with Kathy Caprino - This episode explores the first of 7 damaging power gaps that 98% of professional women are facing today that block them from reaching their highest and most thrilling potential. Power Gap #1: Not Recognizing Your Special Talents, Abilities and Accomplishments and how to close this power gap for good.

• Live Inspired by John O’Leary - recommended by a mentee as “something that I listen to when I have to do mundane task, it's uplifting and is a source for positive energy”

• The Sheri & Nancy Show - hosted by life-long sister friends who in "a chardonnay-inspired dreamstorming session” decided to join forces to elevate their lives and consciously create more happiness, success and abundance.

• Unlocking Us with Brené Brown - recommended by one of our inaugural program mentors because it “reflects both the magic and the messiness of what it means to be human.”

• Women at Work from HBR - a series of podcasts that look at the struggles and successes of women in the workplace. This episode titled “Too Shy to Be a Leader?” talks about the tension that comes from feeling like you are a shy person, but also an ambitious one who want to lead a team. They share advice on balancing assertiveness with persuasion and discuss strategies to overcome aspects that may hold you back at work.

• Podcast Tool Blinklist – helps you dive into what you are looking for by offering key insights from thousands of podcasts. As a mentor in our inaugural program described it: “Blinklist is a great resource. It's not free, but the information contained in these 15-20 minute podcasts really trigger your mind to see the other side of what you are looking for.”

TED Talks

• How Great Leaders Inspire Action - Simon Sinek

• How to make stress your friend – Kelly McGonical

Books

• Cultivating Culture by Brad Federman

• Don’t Shoot The Dog by Karen Pryor

• Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff by Richard Carlson - Simple ways to keep the little things from taking over your life.

• Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey - From one of our mentors: “I suggest the audible version, which is narrated by the author. He has a lot of interesting thoughts about YOU deciding what constitutes success for you. He also speaks about prioritizing what’s important and eliminating that which isn’t important from your life.”

• Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go by Beverly Kaye - recognized internationally as one of the most invested, knowledgeable, and practical professionals in the areas of career development, employee engagement and retention, and mentoring.

• Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em by Beverly Kaye

• Machiavelli for Women by Stacey Vanek Smith

• Multipliers by Liz Wiseman

• One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard - especially great for new managers.

• The Empathy Edge by Maria Ross

• What’s Going Well - The question that changes everything by Greg Bell

• How To Read a Financial Report by John Tracy and Tage Tracy - even if you’re not responsible for a P&L, it’s essential to understand them. A mentor in the Fall 2021 Session highly recommends this book.

• Finance for Non-Finance Managers - there are several on-line and in-person courses offered by universities. Many of our mentors recommend this course as a great supplement to the above book.

• Accountability Now! by Mark Sasscer - Living the 10 principles of personal leadership.

• Daring Greatly, Rising Strong and Dare To Lead by Brené Brown - all three are great books.

• Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott - Achieving Success at Work and in Life One Conversation at a Time.

• How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie

• How Women Rise: Break the 12 Habits Holding You Back from Your Next Raise, Promotion, or Job by Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith - recommended by one of our mentors as “offers great insights into habits you may think are ‘good’ but perhaps are holding you back”

• I’m Judging You by Luvvie Ajayi – great book on diversity, especially in today’s climate.

• Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg - Take risks, take your seat, and remain passionately engaged.

• Nice Girls Still Don't Get the Corner Office: Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers  by Lois P. Frankel, PhD - recommended by one of our mentees who said there is a quiz you can take to help you identify your specific area of focus so you read it section by section instead of from front to back.

• Rethink by Andi Simon – Smashing the myths of women in business.

• The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C Maxwell - a classic must-read.

• The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

• The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive by Patrick M. Lencioni

• The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale - another classic must-read.

• This is the Day – by Tim Tebow. For people trying to find their confidence or passion, this was a great read.

• Thriving on Chaos by Tom Peters – Handbook for a management revolution

• Up is not the only way by Beverly Kaye , Lindy Williams - “another great book” recommended by one of our mentees “which has provided me guidance on how I want to view my growth and career.”

• Wolfpack by Abby Wambach

Training & Programs

• Women In Leadership Empowered - The only program for women offering all four aspects of leadership development: Coaching, Networking, Peer to peer mentoring and skills training. Founded by Vicki Bradley - an energetic, inspiring women focused on helping other women succeed. Check out the podcast she did with KJ and Stacey to talk about the Empowering Women Mentorship Program.

Other Resources

• Mind Mapping - one of our mentoring pairs used this to brainstorm ideas for one of the topics they were discussing.

• MyAnalytics - a Microsoft tool in Outlook to help with planning, focus, and well being.

• Predictive Index - a behavioral assessment to understand the personality traits that make employees and candidates tick.

• Self-Assessment Tool in the book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C Maxwell.

• Strength Finders - for the personality test.