RAAUZYUW RUEWMCS0000 2701722-UUUU--RUCRNAD
ZNR UUUUU
R 261722Z SEP 08
FM CNO WASHINGTON DC
TO NAVY-HQ-NAVSTAT
NAVADMIN
BT
UNCLAS //N05050//
NAVADMIN 275/08
MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/SEP//
SUBJ/NAVY WOMEN E-MENTORING PILOT// 
RMKS/1.  THIS NAVADMIN ANNOUNCES THE CREATION OF THE NAVY WOMEN E-
MENTORING PILOT.  THE FOCUS OF THE PILOT IS TO INSPIRE STRONG 
LEADERSHIP WHILE PROVIDING PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT FOR WOMEN 
IN ENVIRONMENTS WHERE FEMALE MENTORS ARE SCARCE.  
MENTORING IS A LEADERSHIP ISSUE THAT AFFECTS THE CAREERS OF EVERY 
SAILOR - THIS PILOT WILL MEASURE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ONLINE MENTORING 
TOOLS AND THE VALUE ADDED TO THE PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS THEY 
SUPPORT.  COMMANDING OFFICERS AND COMMAND MASTER CHIEFS ARE ASKED TO 
SHARE THIS PILOT WITH THEIR COMMANDS AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION.  
FLEET SUPPORT AND FEEDBACK ARE VITAL TO THE EVALUATION OF THIS PILOT 
AND ANY RESULTING DECISION TO USE ONLINE MENTORING AS A FUTURE RESOURCE 
FOR ALL SERVICE MEMBERS.
2.  THE NAVY OFFICE OF WOMEN'S POLICY IS LAUNCHING THIS CUTTING-EDGE 
ONLINE MENTORING PILOT FOR ALL NAVY WOMEN (OFFICER AND ENLISTED) 
THROUGH AN INNOVATIVE MENTORING WEBSITE.  
AS WOMEN CONSTITUTE ONLY 15 PERCENT OF THE TOTAL FORCE, E-MENTORING 
PROVIDES ACCESS TO WOMEN ROLE MODELS ACROSS GEOGRAPHIC DISTANCE.  EACH 
NEW MENTORING MATCH IS MADE ONLINE AND THE RELATIONSHIP IS DEVELOPED 
AND CONDUCTED THROUGH EMAIL COMMUNICATION, WHICH ALLOWS MENTOR PAIRS TO 
CREATE A 
RELATIONSHIP THAT IS FLEXIBLE IN DURATION, INTENSITY AND PURPOSE.   
E-MENTORING RELATIONSHIPS ARE FORMED AND CONDUCTED ONLINE, VIA EMAIL, 
WHEREVER THE USER HAS ACCESS TO THE INTERNET.  MENTOR PAIRS MAY ALSO 
CHOOSE TO CONNECT BY PHONE OR IN PERSON AND PURSUE A MORE TRADITIONAL 
MENTORSHIP STRUCTURE.  
3.  THE PILOT SERVES ALL ACTIVE DUTY AND RESERVE NAVY WOMEN, TO INCLUDE 
OFFICERS, OFFICERS-IN-TRAINING, AND ENLISTED MEMBERS. 
UNIFORMED NAVY WOMEN OF EVERY RANK AND RATE ARE ENCOURAGED TO VOLUNTEER 
AS MENTORS.  NAVY VETERANS WHO HAVE SEPARATED WITHIN THE LAST FOUR 
YEARS MAY ALSO PARTICIPATE AS MENTORS.  THE OVERALL TIME COMMITMENT IS 
MINIMAL; AN EFFECTIVE ONLINE MENTORING RELATIONSHIP CAN BE ESTABLISHED 
AND MAINTAINED IN 1-2 HOURS PER MONTH.  
4.  MENTORS AND PROTEGES ARE ENCOURAGED TO ENROLL DURING THE OPEN 
ENROLLMENT PERIOD:  1-31 OCTOBER.  ADDITIONAL OPEN ENROLLMENT PERIODS 
WILL COMMENCE EVERY SIX MONTHS.  MENTORS WILL ENROLL 1-15 OCTOBER AND 
PROTEGES (MENTEES) WILL ENROLL
16-31 OCTOBER.  
    A.  STEP 1:  MENTORS AND PROTEGES LOG-ON AND CREATE PERSONAL 
PROFILES, INCLUDING AREAS IN WHICH THEY NEED AND/OR ARE WILLING 
TO OFFER GUIDANCE.   
    B.  STEP 2:  THE PROTEGE COMPLETES AN ONLINE MENTOR SEARCH AND IS 
PRESENTED WITH A LIST OF PROFILES THAT MOST CLOSELY MATCH HER MENTORING 
NEEDS.  SHE CAN FURTHER NARROW HER SEARCH ON ANY NUMBER OF OTHER 
VARIABLES SUCH AS:  LOCATION, EXPERIENCE, DESIGNATOR/RATING, AND RANK 
IN ORDER TO FIND THE MOST COMPATIBLE MENTOR. 
    C.  STEP 3:  THE PROTEGE SELECTS AND CONTACTS HER PREFERRED MENTOR.  
SHE MAY CHOOSE TO FURTHER INTERVIEW THE POTENTIAL MENTOR, OR 
IMMEDIATELY INVITE HER INTO A MENTORING RELATIONSHIP.
    D.  STEP 4:  THE MENTOR PAIR ESTABLISHES GOALS AND DEVELOPS AN 
ACTION PLAN.
5.  THE PILOT SOFTWARE ASSISTS PROTEGES IN SELECTING A MENTOR WHO WILL 
OFFER THE PARTICULAR ADVICE, SUPPORT OR SKILLS THEY ARE SEEKING.  WEB-
BASED TOOLS ASSIST THE MENTOR AND PROTEGE IN COMMUNICATING EFFECTIVELY 
AND SETTING AND TRACKING GOALS FOR THEIR RELATIONSHIP.  THERE IS ALSO 
ONLINE TRAINING AVAILABLE THROUGH A BRIEF VIDEO TUTORIAL AND 
PARTICIPANTS MAY RECEIVE COACHING ON ANY ELEMENT OF MENTORING THROUGH 
EMAIL AND PHONE CONTACT WITH PROGRAM STAFF.
6. THE OFFICE OF WOMEN'S POLICY WILL MONITOR AND ASSESS THE PILOT OVER 
A ONE YEAR PERIOD.  METRICS FOR SUCCESS WILL BE BASED ON SURVEY RESULTS 
FROM PROTEGES THAT INDICATE GREATER ACCESS TO ROLE MODELS, ACCELERATED 
PROFESSIONAL SKILL DEVELOPMENT, GREATER CONFIDENCE IN CAREER SPECIALTY, 
AND EXPANDED PROFESSIONAL NETWORKS.  A SUCCESSFUL EVALUATION FROM 
MENTORS WILL REFLECT A GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF JUNIOR SERVICE MEMBERS, 
AWARENESS OF ISSUES AFFECTING THE NEXT GENERATION OF NAVY LEADERSHIP 
AND A VALUED OPPORTUNITY TO IMPACT THESE RISING LEADERS BY PASSING ON 
WISDOM AND LESSONS LEARNED. DEPENDING ON THE SUCCESS OF THE PILOT, 
DEMOGRAPHICS MAY BE EXPANDED IN THE FUTURE.  
7.  TO PARTICIPATE GO TO HTTP://WWW.ACADEMYWOMEN.ORG/EMENTORS/
SIGNUP AND COMPLETE THE ONLINE FORM.  WHEN THE PILOT GOES LIVE IN 
OCTOBER YOU WILL THEN RECEIVE AN EMAIL INITIATING THE E-MENTORING 
PROCESS. 
8.  POINTS OF CONTACT:
- LT HOPE BRILL, OPNAV N134W, AT (703) 695-1414 OR EMAIL AT 
elizabeth.brill@navy.mil.
- YNCS DEE ALLEN, OPNAV N134W, AT (703) 695-1391 OR EMAIL AT 
dee.allen@navy.mil.
9.  RELEASED BY VADM M. E. FERGUSON, N1.// 
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