Mentorship relationships can be mutually beneficial for both the mentor and the mentee. The mentee gets to learn from the expertise and knowledge of the mentor and the mentor gets to learn from a different mindset, understand others and their perspectives which might help them be better leaders and team members. The gains though are much more significant for the mentee and thus the responsibility of maintaining and owning this relationship lies with them. I have had many mentors over my career and how that relationship with them will evolve and continue has been my responsibility. I want to share a few of my top suggestions and notes for when you are in a mentorship to own that and ensure you get the most out of the time with your mentor.
1. Always be responsible for reaching out, maintaining and scheduling all meetups.
I can’t emphasize this enough but the mentee needs to own and drive a mentorship relationship. While the mentor does have more experience and bring their valuable knowledge to the conversation it is the mentee’s responsibility to drive the relationship. A part of driving that relationship is scheduling meetings and updating in case of any schedules and conflicts.
For example if your mentor has to cancel a meeting with you due to some conflict it is your responsibility to check back in to find an alternative availability on their calendar. Sometimes mentors might themselves automatically provide alternate timings but if they don’t then it would be within your responsibilities to reach out to reschedule.
2. Have an Agenda - More is better, if you get through less have it for next time.
Never ever go into a mentorship conversation without an agenda. For first time meetings have a plan for doing introductions followed by setting general expectations of what you hope to achieve from this mentorship relationship. For ongoing mentoring come into each conversation with an agenda for each meeting. This is important to stay organized and make the most of your time with your mentor. This also shows that you are prepared and put enough time and effort into preparing for this conversation which shows your commitment to the process and will make the mentor more invested into the relationship as well.
I have always been an agenda person, I walk into every conversation with a rough agenda in my mind but I always note down a list of items to cover. I make sure I have more items than what I think we will have time for in case we get through them more quickly than expected. There is nothing more wasteful than time with someone you could have learnt something from, it is a missed opportunity! If you don’t get through all the items, that’s okay you can table them for next time but never walk in with less items. You need to value your mentor’s time and make the most of this opportunity.
3. Provide updates and check in with your mentor and present the progress you are making.
Accountability is the cornerstone of any relationship, whether personal or professional. We need to be held accountable for the commitments we make and mentorship relationships are no different. You will have conversations with your mentor where they will probably share with you some valuable insight that you will commit to implement and it is extremely important to show you are progressing and implementing the suggestions that were provided to you. Accountability will also drive you to be more driven to ensure you do work towards the goals you have set for yourself as you are answerable to someone and have to report back on your progress. It can be a great motivator when you feel scared or hesitant. It also shows your mentor how they have been able to impact your life and a great way for yourself to track what you have gained from this relationship.
I use my mentorship template to track every meeting, the agenda, action items from each conversation and how I am progressing on those items. I don’t necessarily share these files with all my mentors, I do depending on my relationship with them but I always have them to be accountable to myself and I leverage them in my conversations with my mentors to verbally communicate the progress and items I am working through.
I have said this many times but it is so important, it takes a village to build a career and mentors are essential members of this village. I hope you start actively pursuing a mentorship relationship and follow these tips to make the most out of this wonderful experience! For learning about different types of mentors, how to build a mentorship relationship or for my mentorship template follow our campaign on <LINK HERE>
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