Teach What You Know: A Practical Leader's Guide to Knowledge Transfer Using Peer Mentoring

In the real world one can no longer hole up in a knowledge niche and only allow occasional bits of wisdom to fall out. Given the flexibility demanded by most firms wishing to compete in the global marketplace, doing so would not just be business-killing but career-killing as well. Consultant Trautman advocates using peer mentoring to quickly and efficiently transfer knowledge from person to person, generally horizontally, in which all affected are learning as apprentices from each other. He defines the roles of peer mentoring and the importance of understanding the language of management v. the language of mentoring, managing time and communication, focusing on the most important information, developing a training plan, practical techniques such as the five-minute meeting, leveraging learning styles, assessment, giving and getting feedback, peer mentoring from a distance, and setting up for practice. He includes sample training plans. Annotation 2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)