3 tips for clarifying what you can offer as a mentor
Imagine somebody has asked you to be their mentor. You want to help them, but are not sure what you can offer. Here are three things you can do before the first session.
* You can clarify whether you really want to be a mentor.
Mentors are wise and trusted advisers. They pass-on knowledge in a way that helps the mentee to achieve their personal or professional goals. Good mentoring calls for being prepared to spend quality time with the mentee. The frequency of the meetings can be worked-out together, but you may need to set aside at least 2-3 hours every quarter. Try completing the following sentence.
On a scale 0 – 10, the extent to which I
Mentors are wise and trusted advisers. They pass-on knowledge in a way that helps the mentee to achieve their personal or professional goals. Good mentoring calls for being prepared to spend quality time with the mentee. The frequency of the meetings can be worked-out together, but you may need to set aside at least 2-3 hours every quarter. Try completing the following sentence.
On a scale 0 – 10, the extent to which I
feel motivated to be a mentor is: ____ / 10
Make sure the motivation is at least 8/10. Assuming you are ready to make the necessary commitment, move onto the next step.
* You can clarify what you can & can’t offer as a mentor.
Try tackling the exercise below called Mentoring: What I can & can’t offer. One person wrote: “I can offer the mentee time; encouragement; an overview of their situation; problem-solving skills and knowledge of this organisation. I can’t offer magic solutions or do the work for them.” Try completing the following sentences.
The things I can offer as a mentor are:
*
*
*
The things I can’t offer as a mentor are:
*
*
*
* You can clarify the kind of mentee with whom you will work best.
Frequently we ask mentees to clarify the qualities they want in their ideal mentor. Similarly, it is important for the mentor to understand the kind of mentee with whom they work best. One mentor wrote: “I like working with somebody who is positive, hungry and intuitive. For example, they like learning from many different fields, such as business, the arts and sports. I also work best with people in the ‘newer’ industries. Such people like to write the new rules, rather than be strait-jacketed by the old ones.” Tackle the exercise on this theme called My ideal mentee. Try completing the following sentence.
The kind of mentee with whom I work best is somebody who:
*
*
*
You will then be ready to go onto the next step – facilitating the actual mentoring session. Many tools for making this happen can be found in the free download, The Mentor's Pack, at:
Make sure the motivation is at least 8/10. Assuming you are ready to make the necessary commitment, move onto the next step.
* You can clarify what you can & can’t offer as a mentor.
Try tackling the exercise below called Mentoring: What I can & can’t offer. One person wrote: “I can offer the mentee time; encouragement; an overview of their situation; problem-solving skills and knowledge of this organisation. I can’t offer magic solutions or do the work for them.” Try completing the following sentences.
The things I can offer as a mentor are:
*
*
*
The things I can’t offer as a mentor are:
*
*
*
* You can clarify the kind of mentee with whom you will work best.
Frequently we ask mentees to clarify the qualities they want in their ideal mentor. Similarly, it is important for the mentor to understand the kind of mentee with whom they work best. One mentor wrote: “I like working with somebody who is positive, hungry and intuitive. For example, they like learning from many different fields, such as business, the arts and sports. I also work best with people in the ‘newer’ industries. Such people like to write the new rules, rather than be strait-jacketed by the old ones.” Tackle the exercise on this theme called My ideal mentee. Try completing the following sentence.
The kind of mentee with whom I work best is somebody who:
*
*
*
You will then be ready to go onto the next step – facilitating the actual mentoring session. Many tools for making this happen can be found in the free download, The Mentor's Pack, at:
Labels: mentoring
posted by Mike Pegg at
16:33
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