How can you help your mentee reflect on their own biases?

What has worked well for me is to ensure that the mentee knows that I'm disarmed and even more so that I'm looking out for them. Expressing my own vulnerabilities has helped in the sense that it shows mentees that it's natural to have biases and fears and that no one's perfect. Biases are also a form of emotional conditioning that we pick up at different stages of our lives from different people from childhood to adulthood but they are also capable of being calibrated or reduced over time. Helping mentees surround themselves with socially conscious people at work also helps. In all of this, it is most important to solve this attribute not by preaching but by overcoming this together as partners.

In my experience, I've often started by encouraging my mentee to be self-aware. This involves recognizing their own biases and understanding how these biases might affect their decision-making and interactions with others. Self-awareness is key and can be developed through reflective practices like journaling or mindfulness exercises.

Mentoring/ Coaching/Sponsorship is very important and should be taken seriously. Trust starts with removing egos and titles, then understanding what the mentee is seeking, being honest about if you can support them, and asking them if they believe it's a good fit for them. Next, if it hasn't been done already, it's important to humanize yourself as a mentor by being transparent and having a willingness to be vulnerable. To ensure there's value I've partnered with mentees to identify the top 5 areas they'd like support in. This helps to ensure that the sessions are focused on the mentee. As I deliver on my commitments of being transparent, vulnerable, and mentee centric I am able to build trust.

Transparency is important in the mentor/mentee relationship, in that, the mentor must be willing to be transparent with the mentee. This applies in exploring ways to recognize and address personal biases. Sharing examples of discovering and addressing bias helps humanize the mentor and encourages the mentee to explore and address their own. This would be in addition to sharing resources and being open to discussing challenges the mentee may have as they discover their biases.

In my opinion, open and transparent honesty while communicating with the mentee is the baseline to develop trust. As a mentor, you need to genuinely connect and be concerned and create a safe space for the mentee to be able to share their thoughts

While self-reflection is critical, as mentors we must also foster an environment where mentees feel psychologically safe to explore their own biases and skills gaps. Rather than taking an instructive approach, ask thoughtful questions to guide them on that journey of discovery. Be patient and listen without judgment. Help them see their skills and biases not as fixed entities, but as parts of an ongoing process of growth. Meet them where they are, encourage small steps forward, and celebrate wins along the way.

Be authentic and not condescending Be true to yourself Stick to Quality above Quantity of work nor social perception Don't expect anyone to take 'you' seriously if you are not willing to 'get your hands dirty' too, irrespective of your seniority

Asking questions and asking them to find the answer is a very effective method. It will be more permanent if the mentee finds the answer himself, rather than saying it in a didactic way. We can show the difference by asking separate questions for situations where there is bias and when it is not.

My favorite thing (and most successful thing to do) with mentees has been to simply ask questions to get to know them. I’ll know if they’re answering how they “think” they should answer vs if they really feel a certain way. Learning background can illuminate biases as well as certain interests and likes/dislikes. Conversation will open up what boxes they, themselves, have put themselves in and also give you an inside on how they see the world around them and how they feel. Our job is to be quiet and listen.

One thing that I've found helpful is to act with curiosity, ask non-judgemental questions to better understand their point of view. Pose other perspectives through asking open ended questions that can expose their biases in a non-confrontational manner, leaving them to consider other possible options. Be patient, give them time to consider the conversation and perspectives, especially if they're feeling defensive. Give them time to reflect.

Feedback is a blessing. Delivered well it can transform someone day, week or lifetime. Be kind, be honest and be fair. And give examples. Then see people grow, learn, challenge and be creative.

An important aspect of providing feedback, particularly once trust is established, is having courage to provide critical yet constructive feedback. As mentors our role is to be kind not nice, in support of helping our mentee grow and help them reflect upon and address their biases.

Feedback is critically important, but it goes both ways. The mentor can suggest it but it can and in many cases should be requested from the mentee. It's important to take ownership here and ask specific questions to be able to get valuable feedback that you may be seeking for your learning and development.

Giving feedback is important. Framing things to improve in a positive way while being direct and truthful is hard. This is where frameworks like SBI - Situation Behaviour Impact comes to play. Feedback should not be about the person, it should always be about the behaviour, action and sometimes habit.

Providing effective feedback is crucial in the mentoring process, especially when it comes to reflecting on biases. Here are some key considerations and tips for delivering constructive feedback: 1. Avoid Comparisons: - Avoid comparing your mentee to others. Instead, focus on their individual progress and growth. - Emphasize that the goal is continuous improvement rather than meeting a specific standard. 2. Acknowledge Subjectivity: - Acknowledge that feedback is subjective and based on your own observations. - Encourage your mentee to share their perspective and experiences to foster open communication.

Years ago I participated in some very impactful unconscious bias training. This curriculum included some very helpful exercises to make the concept of unconscious bias real, and not something to be ashamed of. Rather it's something we all must be aware of in ourselves and in others. It is our shared human condition.

As you share resources, give insight into what resonated with you most about these resources. This sparks curiosity and enables them to assimilate information better when they access those resources. Learning with an open mind is always the best way to learn!

Estimular uma vis?o circular ao seu entorno é primordial e papel do Mentor. A partir do momento que o mentorado aprende e desenvolve o hábito do olhar e questionar o que é possível fazer, ativando áreas e competências diversas em seu "modus operandi", ele está no caminho certo. Tudo e todos a sua volta s?o OPORTUNIDADES. Caberá, através do pensamento crítico, discernir se é aplicável aquele momento ou n?o e o que fazer.

Mentors suggest resources like books or websites to help mentees learn about biases. But the main point is that the mentor is the most important resource. Mentors use their knowledge and experience to guide mentees, making them more important than any book or article they might recommend. So, while other resources are helpful, the mentor's own guidance is key.

"Books are mirrors: You only see in them what you already have inside you." – Carlos Ruiz Zafón "Think before you speak. Read before you think." – Fran Lebowitz Mentor should be resourceful by all means. They are the catalyst for mentee to self learn. In this activity it is very helpful to challenge the mentee to go through resources which can help them to expand Mentee's own knowledge and allow mentee to do critical thinking. This is age old technique and always help to accelerate the process.

The central idea here is efficiency in mentoring. If a mentor doesn't see active steps or progress from a mentee, it may be more practical for the mentor to find another mentee who is more ready to act and benefit from the guidance. This approach ensures that the mentor's efforts and resources are used effectively and not wasted on unproductive mentoring relationships.

A great practical exercise to help your mentee to reflect while in action is to start small with self awareness about gender bias. I have done it and it works super well. In your session bring 2 bios of a parent of 4 children, one with a female name and other with a male name - have the same content, but change order of content and the format. Ask if your mentee would like to work with this person in a demanding project. With the same CV what would change is only the gender. Whatever difference is a bias, is an assumption based on gender. Ask then your mentee to reflect and give this exercise for the week. Take out the name of the people when analyzing anything and come up with a decision. The awareness of bias is immense!

Um grande número de Mentorados tem grandes dificuldades em reconhecer suas potências. N?o as reconhecendo, n?o é possível sentir sua for?a e capacidades plenas. O papel do Mentor é acreditar no seu Mentorado e inspirar-lhe a confian?a necessária para que dê os primeiros passos na nova dire??o. A partir do momento que o mentorado percebe evolu??o, repetir é natural.

Simple, clear actionable tasks that the mentee articulates are ideal. As a mentor, reminders and questions will help enable these actions to be complete.

Measure and track your road to success! By having specific milestones and goals you are looking to achieve with your mentee it becomes a two way street of support. You are there to help them stay on track, and they have a clear roadmap into how to get to where they want. It is important not to think of it as a checklist of actions, and be open to create a whole new path if necessary. And always take a step back and recognize how far they've come! sometimes in the rush of things we fail to stop and just acknowledge how much growth happened

Desenvolver no Mentorado o hábito de olhar sua jornada e pontuar conquistas e perdas, aprendendo a identificar a causa raiz tanto de um quanto de outro. Sem identificar a causa, impossível ativar ajustes de corre??o ou modelar para replicar sucessos.

One must also be careful not to imprint one's biases on the mentee. The mentee should seek other people's perspectives to acquire a holistic view of numerous criteria to define excellence.

Reflection could be in form of journal writing. A regular journal writing will not only lead to clarity of thoughts, but will also yield a positive impact on one's own journey. It will enable oneself to be expressive and gauge their progress.

I'll regularly discuss this topic in our meetings to monitor their progress, encourage them to reflect on their journey and share feedback on what's effective and remain flexible to adjust my mentoring approach to best support their needs.

Introspection: Create an environment that helps the mentee look within. Introspection- especially where one is trained to explore all possibilities. List down the pros and cons and eventually exploring answers to what suits the best will help the mentee to be independent and make decisions.

Reflecting on your own judgements - of yourself and of others - allows you to see what needs to change to support your growth. Often your judgements, especially of yourself, are rooted in beliefs that no longer serve you. If you can shift those beliefs into ones that serve the version you wish to be, so much can unlock for you.

Think about where and when you meet your mentee. You need to find and create a safe space and time. The best place is neutral (not your office) and may well be out of the office altogether (in a coffee shop) where you are not surrounded by curious colleagues, and where the mentee can relax away from the pressures of email etc. I often find end of the day is a good time for a personal discussion. This is when neither of you will be watching the clock and worrying about the next meeting: you can focus 100% on the topic in hand and give the mentee your full attention

Provide a supportive and nonjudgmental atmosphere when encouraging your mentee to explore their own biases. When someone trusts you enough to be vulnerable and open up to you, it’s important to acknowledge that vulnerability and meet it with respect and support.

Everyone is not like you and that's OK. Difference and diversity in person, mental, social, etc. statuses should be valued in conversations. If everyone in the room looks and thinks like you, something needs to change. Invite others in a positive way to share their experiences and thoughts. And if there's a dissenting voice in the room, really listen and seek to understand, not just react. After all, if we can't learn from each other then we're just going in circles. Keep an open mind!