Maybe you were assigned a person to mentor in your job, or you just decided on your own to mentor someone. Either way, congratulations! Of course you want to be a great mentor., but how? Practice. Here are five steps that I have learned in my experience as a mentor that you can apply:
1. Get your mentoring sessions on the calendar. Put your mentoring sessions on your calendar and stick to them. It is easy to cancel a session when you are under a time crunch, but to be successful, make mentoring a priority. Follow through on your commitments to mentor.
2. Get out of the office. Mentoring is best done in a neutral environment. Get away from the stress of the office, and dedicate time to focus on the conversation.
3. Have an agenda. Mentoring is more than a conversation. Make sure you have goals for each session, actions between sessions, follow up, and feedback. Put your discussion plan in an agenda. You don’t need to print it or email it, but it helps to organize your thoughts. An index card with notes may possibly help you on stay track. Don’t go to the meeting unprepared.
4. Coach, don’t tell. It is tempting to relate your experiences to your mentee to help them navigate their challenges. The truth is your challenges are different than theirs. It will be more helpful to listen and ask questions. Coaching provides a process for them to clarify their options and select their own solutions.
5. Care about your Mentee’s success. You should mentor for one reason. You must truly care about your mentee. Your desire to mentor must be founded in the desire you have to see them succeed. It has nothing to do with you, but all to do with them.
Following these five steps have improved my mentoring, and can hopefully help you. Take time today, to plan your next successful mentoring session.