How do you assess a potential mentee's motivation and commitment?

But it is important to remember that everyone is unique. What motivates one person will be different to another, and the commitment cycle always varies between individuals. So as you start to assess your potential mentees, keep in mind that you will want to dive a little deeper to find out who they are and their likelihood of becoming your next star student.

I would add in asking how the experience they gain from working with you will change their life - what will be different for them. Ask it a few times, in different ways so you can get at what they are really after. In fitness, for example, we ask people what the hope to get from working with a trainer. They usually say lose weight or something to that effect. But following up with how that will change their life gets at what they really want. It’s a better assessment than a vague goal.

As a mentorship program manager, I am in the process of implementing a Mentorship Readiness assessment for potential mentees so they can understand what mentorship involves and determine their motivations for being matched with a mentor.

It's also important to understand the contributing factors to low motivation or commitment. Poor diet, low activity levels, high-stress relationships or even a rapid change in weather can all affect your mentees mood, behavior and actions. So you might want to ask them about these factors if things aren't going the way you had both initially planned, and be prepared with some great apps or digital tools and professional networks on hand, as this may very well be the difference between you continuing to foster a strong and fruitful relationship built on trust and care, or calling it a day.

I agree with Matt Riemann, all valid points! A point I consider sometimes is, "could I be a contributing factor?" I've found myself in that position not because I did something wrong per se, but because I appeared too high-level. For example, "Amy, I could never do what you do, because of xyz." I want to be relatable not unattainable.

As a Success Coach, I talk to people all the time that say "Oh! I'd love to hire you to help me achieve X!" Then when we discuss a few strategic things it takes to achieve "X", one of two things happen: 1 - They fidget and make countless excuses as to why they can't or won't do it. 2 - There's a 5 second pause in the action as their mind whirls. Then because their dream is bigger than their challenges, they become a client. This is an easy "tell" into a potential client's attitude, motivation and commitment. You can make excuses or make success, but you can't have both. Many people talk about their dreams, but the people I coach who REALLY transform their lives are willing to take action (without excuses) even when it gets uncomfortable.

On my experience motivation is a bit of challenge. People think motivation is going to happen to them. It doesn’t, at least not all the time. Discipline has to kick in when motivation is nowhere to be found.