As a mentor, you will be supporting the mission of the BCO and offering your skill and expertise to the broader OD community. Your efforts will help new OD practitioners become established in their field and will contribute to the development of community organizations that need assistance and do not have access to consulting.
Accountability/Authority:
- As a mentor on a BCO project, you represent the BCO’s mission and values
- You are accountable to assist the project team and to ensure that the client is receiving what was promised in the project proposal
- You will report to the BCO committee and use the committee as a resource for any action required that is outside your agreed upon duties
Role Summary and general duties:
As a mentor, you will support a specific project team comprised of volunteer OD consultants. The general duties will involve coaching, resource sharing, advising and supporting the team process using the approach defined by the BCO Committee.
Essential Mentor responsibilities include:
Coaching
- Support volunteer consultants through project challenges
- Ask thought-provoking questions to help the project team create their own solutions
- Uncover any gaps in the project teams process
- Recognize good work and acknowledge the team’s successes
Resource sharing
- Provide team with templates or examples that can assist their project work
- Direct team to articles, books, and other relevant sources of information
Advising
- Draw on personal experience to advise the team throughout the project
- Review the team’s work and provide feedback (Project proposal, final deliverable, etc.)
- Course correcting
Supporting the team process
- Attend team meetings and provide team development support using resources provided by the BCO committee
- Intervene when team dynamics are getting in the way of success
- Act as a “safe space” for volunteers to access and seek advice on team process concerns or questions
Mentor Term:
Your responsibilities as a mentor begin once the project team is created and the BCO committee has approved the client organization project. Your role ends when the final deliverables are completed, and you conduct a team debrief with the volunteer consultant team. You will also be asked to provide feedback to the BCO after project completion.
Expected Participation:
- Attend regular team meetings, in person and/or via telephone or video conferencing
- Answer volunteer consultant questions within a reasonable time frame
- Become familiar with consulting process and resources provided by the BCO
Responsibilities:
- Review project materials before the client see them
- Update the BCO committee on the project status and ask for assistance from the committee if needed
- Help prepare the team for client meetings
- Leave client communication to the volunteer consultants unless unique circumstances require your involvement
Time Commitment:
- Project length: 4-5 months
- Average weekly commitment: 3 hours
Qualifications:
Mentors should have 10-15 years of OD experience in the field. Mentors should also have an appreciation for supporting the learning and development of others.
Contact our BCO Liaison at bco@bcodn.org for more information.
To be a project mentor, please fill out the Mentor application form by August 1st, 2023 for the upcoming season.