Category: Blog

Setting effective mentoring goals can be the definitive reason why mentorship works. They are the mold that allows the mentee to grow, and eventually break through. But in order to be an effective mentoring goal, there are 5 parts that always have to be present. By ensuring that you always have these 5 attributes, you can be certain that your mentoring goals will be effective and useful for both you and your mentee.

The Ultimate Goal

This is, of course, the reason why a mentee has a mentor to begin with. It could be to improve their leadership skills, their ability to make sales, or simply how to better manage their work-life schedule. You may often hear that goals should be clear, set, with no ambiguity. Depending on the kind of goal, this is true, more on that later. But when it comes to an overall goal, it’s better to be vague. This allows the mentor to know what general direction they want to go, while giving the mentee room to expand their horizons and improve upon other skills along the way. Your mentoring goals will be set along this path, so treat this one as a framework to build your mentoring career with your mentee.

Small, But Direct Signifiers of Results

This is the part that absolutely needs to be clear. An effective mentoring goal has clear ways to know when that goal is being achieved. Say you want to set a goal to improve one’s sales acumen, an example, a smaller goal would be “close five more deals than your average.” And when the mentee meets or fails to meet this goal, then you have a much clearer view into potential strengths and weaknesses they have. It also gives them a direct way to apply the skills that you have taught and fostered within them, making their progress visible to themselves as well as you. Before you can set an effective mentoring goal, you need to know ways your mentee can know when they meet it.

A Clear Timeline

Not only do you need a clear way of knowing that a goal is being achieved, you also need a good time frame of knowing when they are. Having a direct signifier of results means little if there’s no set time to meet them. This isn’t to say that a mentoring journey needs to only be glorified to-do list, but it is extremely helpful to both the mentor and mentee to have deadlines. To return to the example with sales, instead of just saying that we want to “close five more deals than your average”, we can change it to “close five more deals than your average this quarter“. By doing this, the mentee knows how much time they are working with, and can maintain focus on the task at hand.

What to Do When it’s Met

A common pitfall in many mentoring journeys is that they set too many small goals, meet them, and feel accomplished without gaining much. Remember, everyone can improve on something, nobody is perfect. If your mentee is excelling at the tasks you’ve given them, ensure that they can continue this momentum moving forward. This is also when a healthy and communicative relationship with your mentee is paramount, too many times a gifted mentee has had their potential stifled when their mentor sees them developing fast and then saddles them with too much. Be wary of your mentee’s weaknesses as well as their strengths, and ensure that they can continue to grow while avoiding being the straw that breaks their backs. Back with the sales example, let’s say that they’ve met their goal of the extra five sales for their average, now it’s time to continue your plan for the mentoring journey, do you want to increase the amount they want to shoot for or aim for them to do the same amount consistently? On one hand, it seems a good idea to play by the ear from time to time, and it can be, but it’s important to have a plan beforehand to ensure that the mentee has a consistent plan moving forward.

What to do when it isn’t

Setting too large of a goal is just as much of a problem as setting too small of one. The best way to achieve anything in life is to both hope for the best, and yet prepare for the worst. Being a mentor is no different. In order to properly set a mentoring goal, you need to hope that they succeed in a benchmark you set, but also know what to do when they can’t, won’t, or don’t. Once again, you must know your mentee, and how well you do will determine how you move forward. The more you know your mentee, the better chance you have at properly evaluating why they couldn’t measure up. Were you too hard? Did they stumble somewhere? Was there some third factor that neither of you can control? Whether or not you set smaller goals, help them understand and address their failings, or simply try again will be based on these answers. Did the lack in an increase of sales happen because the mentee failed to use your teachings effectively, did you not properly give them the tools to improve, or did it happen because this is a slow quarter for their company? As their mentor, you must know how to respond to these major variables.

As cannot be stated enough, the goals in mentoring can be the difference between an effective mentorship program and one that fails to help the mentee. There are many things that can go south in a mentorship program, things as personality conflicts between a mentor and their mentee, a lack of communication, or general poor alignment between the two. These problems often get the most attention, but you have to be certain that all your bases are covered. By ensuring that you know each of these 5 things before setting them, you can be sure that your mentoring goals are the absolute best that they can be. Good luck!

Source:   ~ By:  ~ Image: Canva Pro

Mentorship is often studied from the perspective of the mentor, but here are ten quick ideas for becoming an effective mentee.

Innumerable studies and books have been written, and many conversations have been had, about mentorship. In fact, the amount of information that is available on how to be an effective mentor is almost overwhelming. However, for those who are seeking a mentor, the experience can be different. There seems to be an unstated assumption that being a mentor is active while being a mentee is passive. Perhaps this assumption needs to be challenged.

The benefits of a mentoring relationship are undeniable. Effective mentoring can lead to career success in the form of promotions, raises, and new opportunities.¹ Being a mentor encourages self-reflection. It can also help a person improve their communication skills and expand their professional network—competencies that carry far beyond the person-to-person mentorship relationship.² For an organization, having a mentorship program can result in higher employee engagement, stronger employee retention, and increased collaboration.³ Companies like Google, GE, Boeing, and Caterpillar (just to name a few) boast about the influence that their mentorship programs have had on their organizational cultures and effectiveness.

Amid this strong evidence, though, exists a potentially harmful assumption for anyone who is seeking a mentor. Mentoring would seem to be a good thing in and of itself, but most research has focused on the impact of being mentored without describing how the relationship operates. For example, a poorly designed or implemented mentorship program may honor outdated models of work and cause more harm than good. Poor experiences can cause the mentor and the mentee to have negative emotional and psychological reactions as well as poor feelings about their respective organizations.⁴

One important aspect that distinguishes successful mentorship experiences from unsuccessful ones is how they are designed. The best versions are intentional and focused. They create the expectation and space for mentees to take ownership of their experiences instead of relying on their mentors to “take them under their wing.” Through a survey and multiple interviews with mentors and mentees, the EDUCAUSE professional learning team sought to discover the most important things mentees can do to help ensure they have a positive mentorship experience. Here are ten actions for mentees to consider:

1. Drive the relationship.
   Mentees should drive the mentorship relationships. Oftentimes, mentees and mentors believe that a mentor, as the senior person in a company or group, should maintain the relationship, but in reality, mentees are often in a better position to do this. Mentees should set goals to review with their mentors, agree on the amount of time each person can invest, and suggest how they would like to work with their mentors. Driving the relationship may be uncomfortable at first but doing so will keep the focus on the mentee’s needs.
2. Balance formal and informal mentoring.
   Mentees should work intentionally to balance formal and informal mentoring. Our survey showed that mentees benefitted nearly as much from mentors who were formally assigned to them through a work program as they did from mentors who acted informally by doing things such as providing feedback after a meeting, reviewing a project, or having a conversation over coffee. Effective mentees should be on the lookout for mentors in all spaces.
3. Seek the most personal means to connect.
   In the world today, people often default to impersonal methods of communication, such as emails, text messages, or Slack conversations. Respondents to our survey almost unanimously spoke about the benefit of mentees asking for more personal ways to communicate. In-person meetings, shared meals, or virtual meetings make mentors and mentees feel more valued, but mentees may need to ask directly for such time.
4. Be courageous.
   An effective mentee is a courageous mentee. Mentees should ask questions even if the answers may seem obvious. They should make it clear through words and actions that mentors can openly give them feedback—even if it is critical. Mentees should understand that setbacks are learning experiences and be willing to stand in the discomfort of growth even when doing so is challenging.
5. Be clear about the ask.
   Mentees who grow the most as a result of the mentorship experience are often the clearest on what they want and need from it. Mentees should be specific about their goals and articulate how mentors can help them the most. Even if mentees are not yet clear on either, they should be clear that they are unclear. Mentees should not be afraid to let their mentors know that they need to brainstorm.
6. View feedback as a gift.
   Mentees know that feedback—whether it is positive or negative—is a gift. Feedback requires people to manage their egos and be open. Mentees should assume their mentors have the best intentions and recognize that their feedback is also a gift. Mentees who struggle to accept feedback from their mentors may find it helpful to talk with their mentors about how they would like to receive feedback. This may help mentors to grow as well.
7. Provide value.
   Mentees should recognize their capacity to provide value to their mentors and identify opportunities to provide value by learning about their mentors’ interests and connecting the dots. This could mean sending their mentor an article based on a discussion, attending a speaking engagement, or just listening when their mentor may need an ear.⁵
8. Be prepared.
   Each time a mentee interacts with their mentor in a formal way, they should have a plan. Mentees should always arrive with an agenda and questions to ensure the meeting is productive and be willing to adjust as needed.
9. Have realistic expectations.
   Mentees know that everyone is a superhero in their own right, but mentors most likely put their capes on for emergencies instead of wearing them all day, every day. Give mentors space and grace to be human. No one is perfect, including mentors (and mentees shouldn’t want mentors to be perfect).
10. Show gratitude.
    Giving thanks may not be formally required in a mentoring program; however, it is always welcomed. Mentors are sharing their time, knowledge, and resources in an effort to help their mentees advance. Mentees should express gratitude and provide specific feedback about how their mentors have impacted their professional lives.

A mentoring relationship is a symbiotic experience that can pay dividends in the long run. Getting the most out of the experience will require an investment of time and action to see results. Once a mentee has advanced in their career, they should be sure to return the favor and make an investment in another promising individual. No one knows better than a mentee the impact such an investment can have.

Source:  er.educause.edu~ By: Shana Campbell and Ryan MacTaggart ~ Image: Canva Pro