EWE Mentor Academy: Workshop 5
27 March 2023
Workshop 5 was held online on 7th and 9th March 2023. Its main purpose was to adapt lessons learnt to effective planning, as it gathered a focus group of new and experienced mentors to help design the agenda of the next three workshops.
As always, the Early Warning Europe Mentor Academy (EWEMA) workshops have been an enriching and rewarding experience. And rightly so! The overwhelmingly positive feedback from participants across Europe is telling. The workshops are highly interactive, hands-on, as they tackle real cases studies, and the 5th workshop was no exception. Workshop 5 was held online on 7th and 9th March 2023. Its main purpose was to adapt lessons learnt to effective planning, as it gathered a focus group of new and experienced mentors to help design the agenda of the next three workshops. The most popular themes identified were: Family business succession/Business transfer, Personal beliefs / typology, Exit from the business, Conflict resolution, and Motivation.
On Day 1, the workshop focused on self-analysis as a mentor. Participants self-reflected on their communication skills using the Johari window as a tool to improve their self-awareness and generate trust with mentees. They also considered the application of two types of supervision (group and one-to-one) to develop the mentor's competence to come to their own solutions. These are all essential aspects of mentoring especially when diagnosing and dealing with challenging situations/cases. They also learnt about moderation and facilitation as approaches to problem-solving in mentoring.
On Day 2, the workshop turned to planning the future. Participants gained insights into the five megatrends for the future presented by the InFuture Institute, which could be used for strategic planning in businesses: • Mirror World • Bioage • Symbiocene • Multipolar World • Demographic Shifts.
Our experienced mentor highlighted the Four-Stages of Learning (Kolb, 1984), which are important in adult learning:
1.Concrete Experience; 2. Reflective Observation; 3. Abstract Conceptualisation; 4. Planning Active Experimentation. These stages will be integrated into the Modules of the upcoming online Learning Programme.
As always, the ambiance of the workshop was empathetic and professional, facilitating a positive, passionate dialogue. All five workshops have been effective in promoting peer-learning, and the exchange of know-how. The 6th Workshop will be held on 23 & 25 May 2023. To participate in the workshop, apply here until 15 April 2023.