Guide to Being a Good Mentor
To provide mentees with encouragement and recommendations for development. Learn about your mentee - our student body is very diverse range from no experience in business to well established professionals. Mentees will have differing levels of needs from their mentors. Please prepare for the meetings and if rescheduling or cancelling a meeting is required, follow the guidelines established in your first 1:1 session. All communication should be conducted in a professional manner, and using methods that are appropriate for both participants. Mentors should be conscious of their position as a trusted advisor to the mentee and not overstep any social boundaries.
Suggestions for Best Practice in Mentoring
Staying in Touch:
- Mentors often expect the mentee to do all the contacting, and 'drive' the program, but mentees are often reluctant to seem too demanding. To avoid this, plan for the next contact or meeting at the end of each communication. While mentees are responsible for arranging meetings, encouraging emails from the mentor can be very helpful.
- There will inevitably be times when either the mentor or mentee has to cancel, but ensure you follow the guidelines established in the first meeting and arrange an alternative date straight way to avoid loss of momentum. Balancing time pressures is a common difficulty, so discuss issues openly and renegotiate as required.
- If you have not been in contact for a while, it can be hard to re-establish the link. However, an email takes only a few seconds and is usually all that is required. For mentors, sending a quick 'how are you going' email can be the trigger to reconnect.
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Finding Direction:
The mentee is required to establish a series of goals in their Training and Preparation session. This will assist in providing direction and structuring meetings. Of course, this is only a guide so flexibility is encouraged if it supports the development of the mentee or provides an opportunity to gain additional skills or experience.
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