Here are 29 great questions to ask your mentor. Be in regular contact and communication with your mentor as the relationship develops.
Show up to meetings on time and check-in with them between these meetings. One of the best things you can do to build a successful mentoring relationship is to create a plan for your meetings. Doing this will show your respect to your mentor and that you appreciate their time. These resources help mentors and mentees focus their meetings on growth and not get off track. When the mentoring relationship concludes, remember to say thank you to your mentor for their time and commitment to you.
Workplace mentorships often last several months to a year. The process of the mentoring relationship is broken down into four stages. It depends on the communication style and comfort level of the participants. Mentoring program administrators have a role in each phase of the mentoring relationship, from pairing to checking-in at the mid-way point to collecting feedback from participants at the end.
Each relationship is different, but mentorships usually go through four different phases as it develops. Understanding these phases will help you get the most from your mentoring relationship. This is the consideration stage of mentoring. In this phase, the mentee defines why they want a mentor and what they hope to gain. It helps you learn something concrete and actionable each time you meet with your mentor.
It helps your mentor be prepared to guide you with their best advice. It also helps your mentor believe that you are taking the mentorship seriously and making good use of both your time. Last but not least, it helps the mentor feel good about the work they're doing. That feel-good feeling will strengthen the relationship between you and keep your mentor coming back to the table. Career goals and paths change. Mentor relationships aren't designed to last forever, and that's OK.
While your mentor will always be a valuable contact, it's important to know when the relationship has run its course. There is no one-size-fits-all relationship in the mentoring world.
If the two of you are working together on your own, the relationship can last as long as is mutually beneficial. Some mentor-mentee relationships last a lifetime and often grow more equitable over time. If you're part of a more formal mentorship program, there may be time requirements you need to follow, so make sure you're fully informed about your program.
Knowing the guidelines also shows that you're a good candidate for mentorship and that you're taking the opportunity seriously. A good rule of thumb is to meet once a month for six months and then reevaluate whether to continue together in your last couple of scheduled meetings.
A good mentor relationship gives you a powerful resource for advice, strategy and a deeper understanding of the world you're working in. That relationship can guide you through defining and understanding your job role, navigating any problems at work and empowering you to do your best work — which, in turn, can result in promotions in the corporate world or long-term business success in entrepreneurship.
All of these and many more! And for those in more formal programs where there is an assigned end date, keep in mind that you and your mentor can continue a less formal ongoing mentoring relationship if you are both open to it and still see value in connecting. When ending a mentoring relationship, you want to be as polite and amicable as possible, which means no ghosting! Awkward, right? The best thing to strive for is honesty. Whatever the reason, be forthright with your mentor and give them the chance to weigh in with their opinion and observations.
You might be surprised to find out they were thinking the same thing! Come to an agreement with your mentor on the status of your relationship and move forward from there. It can be hard to think about saying goodbye to a good mentor and a positive mentoring relationship, but it can be detrimental to push the relationship beyond its natural stopping point.
By knowing when to say goodbye, you make it easier for the mentor to say yes again at a later date. Do you want to see how mentoring programs powered by mentoring software can help support your mentors and help your mentoring program take off?
Whilst on a cruise ship in the Caribbean in April of this year, I sat down with a successful business owner and asked him how he has developed a multiple seven-figure income by the age of 35? These things that pay; the things that will help your business grow.
He then followed up with a single statement that will stick with me for the rest of my life. How long did that conversation last? No more than minutes. Yet, the impact on me has been profound. I personally believe that there is no definitive answer to the question that makes the title of this blog. The duration of the support and the value that is received is often determined by the needs of the mentee and their receptiveness to change. Fundamental to the relationship is to outline a clear goal from the very start — so you both have a clear sight of what the mentoring relationship hopes to achieve.
Achieving that is the important thing.
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