How can you maximize the benefits of having a mentor who is a subject matter expert?

By expressing specific goals, you enable a focused collaboration that optimally utilizes your mentor's expertise to address your unique needs.

Even if you're not clear about your goals that's something that your mentor will help with. Most will have a specific reason for seeking mentorship from a subject matter expert. Working together to create a plan and outcome for the sessions will help increase effectiveness of your time with a mentor.

In my opinion, wether you have your goals or not, by the time you are done speaking with a great mentor you will have some. The key is knowing why you even want a mentor. All will work out from there.

Being in a mentoring relationship is incredibly valuable when you are clear about what you are looking for and needing. Consciously choosing to approach someone to be your mentor is essential so that both of you benefit from the time, energy and connection. Finding and connecting with the right mentor for your current situation, objective and future aspiration is vital.

Having goals is an important way to guide your mentoring journey but recognize that these goals will likely evolve over time. As you gain experience and insights, your priorities may shift, leading to new aspirations and directions in your mentoring journey. Embrace the fluidity of your goals, allowing them to adapt and grow alongside your own personal and professional development. Remember, flexibility in your objectives can open doors to unexpected opportunities and enrich your mentoring experiences.

Craft a strategic agenda that concentrates on crucial areas requiring guidance. By steering clear of trivial matters, you ensure each session is a concentrated exploration of relevant subjects, making the most of the mentorship opportunity.

A Subject Matter Expert as a mentor is a dual advantage. An SME will help you gain clarity not just by asking questions, he/ she will help you understand the consequences of the outcome. An SME mentor knows to ask the right questions and also knows the answer to the topic and that is the biggest advantage than to take generic inputs from someone who can ask the right questions but doesn't know the topic well. There are some areas where a mentor can help, but there are most areas of our life where an SME mentor will make a major difference in our decision-making. I personally work with Mentors who know their subject well and have mastery over it, that's how I gain maximum advantage.

Not preparing for your session is doing a great disservice to yourself and wasting your mentor's time. Prepare a list of questions that you'd like your mentor's help with and ask for their support. Their perspective and experience is available to you. Just be prepared to take advantage of it!

To maximise the value of any mentoring relationship, it's essential that you use your time together for what needs to be discussed or explored together. Anything that you can do by yourself, reflecting or researching is a waste of the mentor's time and insight.

A mentors job is to fill the huge gap between theoretical classroom lecture based knowledge and understanding / questioning of relevant theoretical concepts in a real world practical scenario which can sometimes even be contrary to what has been taught / learnt in a classroom. Mentors who are subject matter specialists give the mentee the phenomenal confidence boost to deviate from/even question application of theory in certain unique practical situations. It's a huge confidence booster

The temptation to avoid or shy away from feedback is human. No one likes to hear negative feedback or be told what they are doing wrong. But approach feedback with curiosity and understand that it represents an opportunity to grow -- and that's the main reason why you're working with a mentor in the first place.

Capitalizing on a mentor's subject matter expertise involves actively seeking candid feedback. Fearlessly request evaluations, attentively absorb insights, express gratitude, and seek clarification or examples when necessary.

Your mentor is there to provide you with feedback and guidance. Be open to their feedback and be willing to apply it. This is one of the best ways to learn and grow. My mentor was always honest and candid with me. He gave me valuable feedback on my business plan and helped me to identify areas where I needed to improve. He also introduced me to other entrepreneurs who could help me on my journey.

Going into a mentoring session requires an open mind, or even better, a growth mindset. An experienced mentor should provoke thinking and incite action, but the attitude of seeking for feedback has to come from the mentee. Once feedback is provided, it needs to be acted upon and progress should be discussed in the following sections.

In all of my experiences, there hasn't been anything more impactful than the ability to lean on those that have more experience/knowledge than myself in any given subject or process. Take full advantage of those relationships and ask as many questions as you can. Take notes and apply that advice to your current workings to continuously improve yourself and your working world.

Ask your mentor questions about their experiences, insights, and advice. Be respectful of their time and expertise. Remember, they are volunteering their time to help you. I was also always curious and respectful of my mentor's time. I asked him questions about his experiences, insights, and advice. I also expressed my appreciation for his help and guidance.

A mentoring session will be productive if there is an active participation, curiosity, openness to new ideas and perspectives. Active listening, self-reflection and positive engagement are great attitudes to have when speaking to your mentor. Make every second count!

Acting on advice provided is probably the best form of appreciation someone can give to a mentor. Tell your mentor the impact he or she are making in your learning and career. If there is something that is not working well, it is better to discuss it. Mentorship is a two-way road, the more feedback you give, better the experience for both.

One area that is often overlooked is the value in two-way mentoring.... What is it that you can help your mentor with in return? Whilst at Airbus, there was a huge success from senior leaders mentoring newer recruits and for the mentoring relationship to be flipped so that the newer recruits were able to mentor the senior leaders in newer digital solutions and ideas as they were the subject matter experts in these areas.

Let your mentor know how their help is benefiting you. Express your appreciation for their time and guidance. This will help to strengthen the relationship and make them more likely to continue mentoring you.

Setting clear goals and the outset of your mentoring relationship can be powerful. However, refining them as your relationship develops is also important. Setting up processes to self-reflect after each conversation with your mentor will help individuals navigate on the journey.

Also, be clear and check in regularly with how the mentoring relationship is working for both the mentor and mentee and decide how long the mentoring relationship is valid / relevant for both parties

At the end of each session, take some time to reflect on what you learned and how you can apply it. This will help to solidify your learning and make it more likely that you will achieve your goals

Be honest, if you are not willing to put in your effort, do not waste a mentors time and life. This is for you and mentors are taking out time and energy to invest in you, so honor that.

Entering into a mentor relationship with someone is a wonderful way to learn. For the engagement to be meaningful and productive, the individuals need to build trust and have mutual respect. As a first step individuals should discuss their understanding of the expectations and ways of working. Since trust is a necessity, it is beneficial for individuals to choose who they want to work with rather than having someone assign pairings. It is also good to remember that your mentor is providing one perspective, theirs. Be open to exploring other perspectives before deciding what steps you are going to take.

Coaching and mentoring are different. Though on occasions a could and should mentor. Ideally these should be where the coach anticipates a mental block that needs to be moved out of the way to make progress in the coaching journey. The coach being an SME is an advantage to help understand the coachees context and provide help if needed. The only caution is that the coach shouldn’t get carried away. That’s the key.