Do you consider yourself a mentor? Interested in being a mentor? Have volunteered for the speed mentoring at GHC '18. I wanted to share some of my tips and best practices for those that want to be a mentor…. now or in the future.
Best Tips and Practices to utilize when mentoring a mentee:
- Listen. I mean really listen. Be careful of starting the answer (in your head) before the mentee has finished asking the question. This will alleviate any misunderstanding of the question asked or information given. It may also prompt more questions if it is a group mentoring session.
- Be prepared to back up advice with a story or example. The best advice I have ever received has been through storytelling on my mentors’ part and I have had some great mentors! It’s the stories that stick with you.
- It’s all about the networking! Recommend resources and people. It is okay to have a cheat sheet of your favorite books, URLs, quotes, etc. to utilize when speaking to a mentee.
- Find out how to link up with the mentees to continue a conversation. This is especially important if you are mentoring during a conference and need to move on to another appointment.
- Pass on your LinkedIn profile for future connections. You never know who you are inspiring, but guaranteed you are inspiring to someone, somewhere. My best example of this was when I decided to achieve my bachelor’s degree (Yes, I was one of those late in lifers 😊). I was able to encourage others to achieve their goals. I became part of their support network. This was a pleasant surprise since I never set out to do this. It taught me that inspiration comes from very simple acts and encouragement comes from anyone and everyone around us.
- Think about the who, what, when, where and why people are seeking a mentoring relationship. Drawing on your experience, figure out which are the most appropriate questions to ask and see what you can offer to your mentee. Another technique that is very valuable to use (and yes, my past mentors have used it on me) is the 5-whys. The 5- whys is designed for root cause analysis, but by answering the simple “why” question(s), it helps a person focus what matters most. The 5-whys has been equated to peeling away the layers on an onion so think of this technique as…. you are helping your mentee peel away their layers until they can focus on what matters most to them. Want to know about this particular technique, check out this resource.
Resources:
- The 21 Irrefutable laws of leadership – John Maxwell
- Everyday Leadership (TEDx video) by Drew Dudley
- First Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman
- Great Overview Video by Callibrain
