Mentoring New Parents at Work

Nicki Seignot is an established coach, mentor and facilitator as well as the creator of ‘MumtoMum’ an innovative maternity mentoring programme introduced to the Asda Wal-Mart Home Offices in 2011. She has recently supported the development of internal career and family coaching at Ernst and Young, is working with the NHS on their pilot parental mentoring programme and leads parental mentoring and supervision with the Royal Society of Chemistry. David Clutterbuck is co-founder of the European Mentoring & Coaching Council, Visiting Professor at Sheffield Hallam, York St John and Oxford Brookes Universities in the UK, and practice lead for the global community of Coaching and Mentoring International.

• 1. One Maternity Leave – two perspectives 2. An international map of Maternity Leave 3. The Business Case for Maternity Mentoring 4. Maternity Coaching and Mentoring 5. Phases of a Maternity Mentoring Relationship 6. The Journey Framework and Mentoring Support 7. Mentoring Roles in this Context 8. E-mentoring as an Alternative Means of Support 9. Being an Effective Maternity Mentee 10. Being an Effective Maternity Mentor 11. Building your Business Case 12. Getting Started 13. Preparing Mentors and Mentees 14. Preparing your Line Managers 15. Ending well 16. Supervision 17. Evaluating Parental Mentoring 18. A Mentor’s Toolkit 19. Extending the Maternity Model 20. Towards a Research Agenda for Maternity and Parental Mentoring 21. In Conclusion

‘This is an excellent resource for an organisation wishing to support maternity returners; it should be on the shelves of any HR director—and acted on. It is directed at medium to larger organisations but has much to offer to any workplace which wants to encourage working parents (of either gender) to thrive rather than strive in their jobs. The book is helpfully organised to give an overview of the subject, practical exercises, case studies and information on evaluation. Interwoven into the more structured sections are personal reflections from various perspectives, which make the book a compelling read for anyone who has been touched by the issues parents face either directly or as colleague, friend or line manager, which is pretty much all of us. I was personally moved by many of the stories showing the difference mentoring can make, wishing I’d had some for myself many years ago and being glad that the adult children in my family have a better prospect of support.’ - Esther Cavett, Executive Coach and Director of the Cityparents Mentoring Scheme, UK‘The power of mentoring in internal organisational mentoring programmes never ceases to amaze me. I see people transformed, meaning in life restored and hopes fulfilled. To me a robust parental mentoring programme epitomises what is best about formalised mentoring activity. It creates the opportunity for parents who would not otherwise receive the support they need, to take control and make this incredibly unique and special time in their lives unfold in the way they want it to. From personal experience, managing work and having children is the hardest thing I have faced in my own working life, and having an effective mentor during my maternity transitions would have certainly impacted the career choices I made at that time more positively.I believe this book is invaluable to any employer considering the implications of maternity on the careers of their professional women employees and who genuinely want to know more about how to support them through this fundamental and key transition in their life and career. It is a superb resource on how to implement maternity / parental mentoring and for those who want to learn more about best practice in this specialised field of mentoring. A most comprehensive and robust book, which I wholeheartedly endorse as a resource for both organisations and individuals wanting to develop their knowledge in this area.’ - Lis Merrick, Managing Director, Coach Mentoring Ltd, UK