How do you measure the impact of your feedback on your mentees' performance and development?

In my experience, the mentor-mentee relationship works best when the mentor seeks first to understand the mentees long term goals. Then, helps the mentee bucket three to six functions areas with objectives. For example, if a mentee wants to get promoted one function area may be time management and another professional dress. Once, the function objectives are identified this becomes the the initial goal for which to define SMART goals. SMART goal mapping should be a solo project for the mentee, before discussing as a mentor/ mentee team. It is important for the mentee to (1) have ownership in the goals and (2) gain the confidence of leading the process.

In order to reach any goal, you need two things: (1) To know where you are (2) To know where you want to go SMART goals help you articulate clearly HOW you want to get from (1) to (2).

It's important that the goal also has meaning to the mentee. In an age hyper efficiency and productivity, the human aspect of what makes a goal important is often lost. Wouldn't you rather work towards something that's meaningful, measurable, and time bound.

A demonstration of physical or attitudinal change tends to be a typical way of measuring qualitative impact; positive demeanour, comfort level with more fullesome queries and depth of engagement, willingness to take on new and more challenging tasks/projects. Quantitative impact can be measured through improved results; sales, performance review scores, retention or production numbers.

I agree SMART goals are very impactful to your mentees. The “T” is for Time-Bound and for the last two decades I have experienced the growing sentiment of what is a persons career path. As a mentor it is important to create and collaborate with your mentee on the time line of reaching the goals that are being set. Further it will make it better for all parties of this relationship if the time lines are set in micro increments in order to obtain a sense of accomplishment and growth. Multiple goals over a short term in order to reach a long term goal.

This part depends on what the mentee wants to achieve. More often than not, it is about confidence building and I like to give simple exercises to follow. We measure progress by looking at whether the exercises have been done, what the learnings are and how the mentee is progressing/feeling. The data can be as easy as number of tasks achieved/outstanding, content being produced/or not.

Multiple sources of data are of absolute necessity. Research shows that people are not very good at objectively rating other people. A candid and curious conversation with the mentee can allow for much reflection and self-identification of what's working good and what needs work.

In my experience self-assessment by the mentee, observations by the mentor and peer review used as a baseline or goal level measurement work best. Peer review is a useful feedback tool that can help in the beginning of mentor/mentee relationships to help both parties with setting of initial direction to obtain or reach goals.

I agree; feedback should be both informal and formal. It is important to establish trust and open dialog in the relationship with time for free flow conversation. The mentor should also have a more formalized process for feedback. This can be done in the check in sessions or written after check ins.

This is where you can ensure your meetings are useful. Sessions should be geared towards helping with the now while keeping an eye on the future. Solicit reviews of your part in these meetings as well as whether the sessions are meeting your mentee's needs. Mentoring isn't about you, although it can seem that way at times. Mentoring is about sharing and guiding the next in line. Sometimes that individual needs more time to be guided. Sometimes they need more time to absorb the guidance they've received. Sometimes they need more time to implement the things they've learned. While you will challenge and push them, let them guide you towards the best ways you can help them. It's their future your helping build.

I always ask if what I say makes sense because I use a lot of different sources drawn from my readings, experience, network etc. This is particularly important if I tell an anecdote to create a learning opportunity and leave it to the mentee to uncover its meaning. I adapt myself to the mentee hence it is important to know if our relationship and what we are discovering together works. Constantly asking for feedback helps us correct course if needs be.

It is important to establish a true, trusting relationship with your mentor on both a personal and professional level. This will be a long term relationship that will continue to flourish for years to come. It is important to establish boundaries as well. How does the mentor want feedback? What time is appropriate to give it? In the Morning? Before going home so they can contemplate it or maybe Fridays so they have the weekend to ponder the information. When assigning a mentee it is important that they have similar work styles which can help create better communication.

Feedback is a gift, and the best feedback flows naturally in conversations. Establishing shared objectives are key. Especially sharing in outcomes - both good and bad. Creating a safe space for team members to grow is critical. When I was playing sport my best coaches where not very visible when we woke or played well. They let the team / players get the “W”. When we lost or something suboptimal happened the better coaches stepped into the limelight and took whatever came to create space for the team to digest and respond. In the work environment this does not happen often enough.

It is important for me to set an open and equal relationship with a mentee rather that one of power where I have all the answers thanks to my grey hair. The learning is for both of us, and I like to thank the mentee every time I learn something new, every time I get to see something in a new light thanks to our interaction. Showing my openness for learning creates trust.

A great way to approach this is to ask mentees “what are you taking away?” at the end of each session. This isn’t about reviewing actions and between-session tasks. For mentees it’s about reviewing their “aha” moments, their perspective shifts, and the new connections they’ve made. It’s an opportunity to cement learning. For mentors it’s a chance to see what had the most impact.

This type of feedback loop is also very effective in organizations and relationships that have recurring feedback or mentor/mentee sessions. Giving the mentee time to take back information and have ample time to critically think about answers may help generate more open channels of communication. This will also create a more robust conversation between the mentor and mentee.

Have your mentee restate the feedback you've given and explain the usefulness, fairness, and impact (or lack thereof) of that exchange. Give your mentee an opportunity to sit in the mentor chair and help you to be a better mentor for them. Goal setting is important. Offering guidance is important. But neither of those helps you help your mentee better. Give your mentee the opportunity to not only show what they've learned, but maybe show you a more effective way to communicate that in the future. This is your assessment. This is how you evaluate whether the mentoring sessions are hitting home. This is almost reverse active listening.

One of the best ways to help a mentee feel confident and that they are making progress is to celebrate the small wins. If a mentee is looking for guidance or advice on their current project or goal and is making progress but not completely achieving their goal yet, you as a mentor can take that moment to celebrate how far they have come this far. A strong method, especially for those new to their industry or job.

One of the strategy I have used for myself is to celebrate once a decision is made and progress is being made towards a difficult outcome. This might sound counterintuitive but it helps to build momentum, to acknowledge grit and the graft needed in fast moving environments like a start-up. I like to celebrate the efforts with my mentee, the movement towards a goal rather than just the achievement of the goal.

I have used 3 questions as measurement tools for mentees and especially those in direct reporting relationships to help asses create feedback loops. They are “What else can I be doing for you?”; “What am I doing that I could be doing better for you?”; and “Is there anything that we no longer need to focus on?” In many interactions mentees and direct reports are surprised that this kind of feedback loop is being presented and often are very appreciative of it.

My questions are: What can I do for you? Is there anything that we agreed upon that is not working well and you think we need to change? And if in the duration of our previous meeting to the next one, I’ve found additional resources or discovered some experts that I can link them to I offer that.

As a mentor, hold space for mentees by taking the time to critically reflect on your words and actions and be open to restating information from a humble perspective. This creates a space of psychological safety and allows mentees to feel comfortable expressing their thoughts and ideas. Additionally, it is important to be open to any critical assessments to your input and be willing to apologize when needed. By creating a safe and open environment, mentees can feel comfortable to explore and express themselves.

It’s always good to iterate on whatever you’re doing, providing feedback or otherwise. Just as you use an A/B test to improve performance of a marketing campaign, you need to try various methods of providing feedback over time. This can improve not only the methods used to generate the feedback but - most crucially - the quality of the feedback itself.

Allowing mentee to have a process to self reflection is important. Data of present positions against target can help this processes. One thing I found is that my opinion matters much less than what they thought they achieved. Feedback skills are more likely a curated honest agreement rather than a singular thought about your team effort.