You have a mentoring session coming up. How can you make sure it’s effective?

Más allá de la definición de metas claras, es crucial fomentar un ambiente propicio para la participación activa y el diálogo efectivo durante la sesión de mentoría. Alentar al mentorizado a compartir sus ideas, experiencias y dudas de manera abierta es esencial. La utilización de preguntas abiertas que promuevan la reflexión y la expresión de ideas también es una estrategia efectiva. Al implementar estas prácticas, no solo se está proporcionando orientación, sino que también se está cultivando un ambiente colaborativo que facilita un aprendizaje interactivo.

I appreciate when mentees show up to sessions (particularly the first) with questions / an agenda / goals. But I think it's important to acknowledge, particularly when working with someone entry level: a) sometimes mentees come along completely bamboozled by the industry they're trying to get into / unclear on basics like roles and day-to-day responsibilities, b) it may be the mentor who is clearer on the initial steps to be taken / initial aspects of the industry it would help to discuss. That's why I feel an organic, person-centred approach is vital to a good mentoring partnership and I like to spend at least the first session getting to know my mentee and figuring out with them how best to proceed for their individual needs.

Before a mentoring session, make sure the discussion is contextual and time bound. Let the mentor know what you want to talk about, what area you are stuck on or need insights, when it is due and how long you think the conversation will take. This helps everyone focus and something productive will be covered in the meeting.

For a successful and valuable mentee session, I recommend mentors ask themselves two simple yet profound questions: "What inspiring insights or ideas can I share to stimulate my mentee's curiosity and learning?" and "What key lesson do I want my mentee to take away from our session?". By regularly self-reflecting on how to stimulate mentees’ growth while ensuring they walk away with lasting wisdom, we can have an enormous impact on developing talent (particularly, on young mentees).

My 2 cents: 1. First and foremost understand and know the needs of the Mentees. Only where there is a "Need", sow the appropriate "Seed". Give them what they lack and need. It'll work wonders ?? 2. Help and enable them to be Purpose Driven, Value Based and having Goals which are short term and measurable. 3. Empower them through constructive feedback "Tough Love" which will equip and prepare them to embrace and celebrate failures. 4. Share personal life experiences to challenge them. 5. Encourage them to have a Growth Mindset and NOT ?? and fixed mindset. Should be innovative in their approach. Innovation is the biggest gift of covid. 6. Mentees to adopt a few habits - Deep Reading/ Deep Work/ Time Management/ Strict Discipline.

Rapport is an interesting one. I used to think that two people inherently have a certain level of rapport with each other. From undertaking a mentoring qualification, I have come to realise that rapport is critical in mentoring for learning to occur. What I understand now there is a natural level of rapport which we intuitively sense when we meet someone new, but we can build on this even when the levels are low. Some of my most impactful engagements have been with people whom I initially felt that I had a low rapport with. I think it is important to acknowledge rapport or the lack of it early in a relationship and then plan how you intend to improve it so learning can occur. For me, finding points of common interest or alignment helped.

To build rapport and ensure an effective mentoring session: 1. Create a welcoming, open environment to establish trust and open communication. 2. Demonstrate empathy and understanding of the mentee's experiences and perspectives. 3. Foster a positive and supportive relationship by focusing on their strengths and offering constructive feedback.

What have been effective in mentoring for me is to disclose key learnings and mistakes I have made in my career. That’s right. Being honest about our doubts and struggles as a high level executive, has led me to profoundly interesting conversations with my mentees. Besides teaching a thing or two, leaders can show a much needed vulnerability in a time where everyone wants to show perfection. That leads to closeness, better rapport and makes it a psychologically safe environment.

Building trust is what i prefer to use than rapport. Once you build trust with the other person, the rapport will comes in. In a virtual world, the way I do this is to be very open and authentic to the mentee. I acknowledge I will not know everything but will look into ways to help them if I don't. I display the willingness to share my most personal stories as stories help to break the ice and build connection.

To build trust and rapport in mentoring check out the following: - Establish clear expectations. - Confidentiality strictly: This creates a safe space for open and honest communication. - Empathy and understanding. - Be approachable and accessible. - Share personal experiences. This vulnerability and authenticity can help mentees feel more comfortable and connected. - Celebrate! Acknowledgment of milestones and achievements.

Además de utilizar herramientas efectivas, la incorporación de una retroalimentación constante puede potenciar significativamente la eficacia de la sesión de mentoria. Fomentar un ciclo constante de retroalimentación permite ajustar y mejorar la dinámica de la mentoría en tiempo real, adaptándola a las necesidades cambiantes del mentorizado. Durante la sesión, solicita retroalimentación sobre la efectividad de las herramientas utilizadas, la claridad de la información proporcionada y la relevancia de los ejemplos compartidos. Asegúrate de que tu mentorizado se sienta cómodo, expresando sus pensamientos y sugerencias.

Prepare an agenda outlining key topics, encourage the mentee to bring specific questions or challenges, and create a comfortable and focused environment for discussion. Foster open communication, active listening, and collaborative problem-solving to ensure the mentoring session is productive and addresses the mentee's needs effectively.

If you have the option,face to face mentorships work much better.it helps the connection become more natural. Removing barriers and distance is beneficial

Tools are...tools. I have gone from phone calls to videoconferencing and sharing tools. The only important thing is that you can communicate properly. Hearing one word out of three because of a bad connection...won't help.

Use tools that can help simplify the mundane tasks. Tools should act as an aid to help take your notes, plans and processes to the next step by better structure and guidelines but ensure that the tools don't take over. There are various tools like scheduling apps, tracking apps that can be helpful in the process but one thing that is essential is a tool to track goals and objectives. This document provides accountability to this relationship and plays a crucial role in setting expectations from both sides. You can use One Note, Google sheets, word document, Confluence to take notes and track your progress.

Part of a mentor's mighty role is to guide you. In that, honest and constructive feedback will be given. You certainly don't have to agree with it. In fact, a great mentor will not be offended at all if you disagree, but it is essential to listen to the feedback and ask yourself, "perhaps my mentee is right."

Don’t try to solve the problem with the mentee. Always try to ask questions to get the other person to try to figure out the solution on their own. This concept also applies to managers, leaders, and parents.

Put yourself in your mentees shoes n walk a mile… you’d understand what needs to be addressed to and how to make the mentoring experience effective yet bring in a smile It’s all about being human in a gravely mechanised world .

Constructive and positive feedback is key. Use: "You're at your best when" or "I would do less of that" if your Mentee is sensitive to critiques. Above all, ensure the Mentee knows you are invested in their success. You exist to serve them. The worst thing is to say nothing. Why have a Mentor then? You can't serve them if you don't point out opportunities for improvement. Let your Mentee provide feedback to you, to become better at supporting them.

Drawing from my Agile coaching journey, a key aspect in ensuring effective mentoring sessions is the art of listening. Actively engage in a two-way dialogue, grasping not just the words but the nuances, and use this insight to tailor your feedback. In Agile, where feedback loops are sacred, treat mentoring as an ongoing conversation. Integrate mechanisms for regular check-ins, creating a dynamic flow that aligns with the iterative nature of Agile. This ensures that feedback isn’t a one-time event but a continuous, evolving process, mirroring the heartbeat of Agile methodologies.

The learnings during the course are important and one need to understand pitfalls, failures and mistakes that occurred so these are not repeated. Quantification of benefits and appreciating those who supported during the process is important.

The learnings are important and need to understand pitfalls, failures and mistakes that occurred so these are not repeated. Quantification of benefits and appreciating those who supported during the process is very important.

Además de promover la reflexión, es esencial llevar esa reflexión un paso más allá al fomentar la aplicación práctica de lo aprendido. Crear un plan de acción con metas específicas y plazos concretos basados en las reflexiones de la sesión proporciona a tu mentorizado una guía clara para aplicar los nuevos conocimientos y habilidades en su vida cotidiana. Al finalizar la sesión, trabaja con tu mentorizado para establecer un plan de acción que se alinee con los objetivos discutidos. Asegúrate de que cada paso sea alcanzable y medible. Establecer hitos y plazos proporciona una estructura que facilita la rendición de cuentas y el seguimiento del progreso.

Sometimes the problems are such that, mentors have to go extra hand to explain things to mentees . Reflection allows Mentors to realise their own hidden potential.

In addition, the start of the subsequent mentoring sessions can begin with a review of the action items from the previous sessions. I have found this helpful in keeping track and accountability of the mentee on the actions they have committed to make. The wins give great energy to the start of the mentoring sessions while challenges experienced provide an opportunity for deeper reflection, agility and new insights to consider.

Follow-up is crucial in mentoring as it ensures continuity, accountability, and progress in the mentoring relationship. It demonstrates commitment and support growth and development. A follow-up should be timely, personalised, and focused on the goals and needs. Mentoring a a longterm relationship which requires follow up on each session. Why not implement after each session a debrief and prior each session and follow up?

This is why I enjoy being a mentor and hopefully you will too. Going back later and checking in can be so rewarding. Remember to not stop talking to someone just because the "mentorship time frame" ended. the mentee is lifted high when you say, "Great job with that!" and you get a soulful boost when you see them shine. A neat thing to do is to ask them their opinion on something. It can really bring the experience and learning together and lift the person you are mentoring.

For effective mentoring, ideally at the final stage but also during the course of the mentoring phase, there should be opportunities to practice the development skills and abilities. Thus, not only conceptual goal setting and follow up mechanism but also a well established practice zone should be made available so that the mentee can directly try his/her developing skills. A so called room of practice, i.e. training area is critical which is probaby going to be a set of selected real life excersizes and opportunities to put efforts into and collect the learning reflections out of them.

Follow up is important to keep mentee involved and motivated. When needed, the follow up includes support and more ressources that help the meentee to overcome any challenges that the mentee could face in their way.

The follow up is critical for success. HOW this is done is also essential. Be mindful that you offer a space for a check in and not to micro manage. Also offer space to reflect what style is best suited by asking the question. This will establish a mutual expectation and reduce any barriers.

Don't worry if you don't have an extremely specific goal for your mentorship session. What matters is to have topic areas / conversation starters to build on and through the conversation with your mentor you can expand on these and turn some of them into formal goals to work through.

The key goal in any mentoring session is how best to move a mentee forward today. Your experience may help remove a block for them or add an opportunity to them. It may not be a short term issue buy also could be a long terms strategic issue that is eluding them. We mentors need to use all our experience and skills to determine the real issue if its not obvious.

Clear Objectives and Agenda: - Ensure the mentoring session is effective by establishing clear objectives and an agenda. Define the specific topics or goals to be addressed during the session and communicate them to both the mentor and mentee in advance. Having a structured plan helps maintain focus and ensures that key areas are covered. Active Communication and Feedback: - Encourage active communication between the mentor and mentee during the session. Create a supportive environment where both parties feel comfortable sharing thoughts and asking questions. Provide constructive feedback and guidance, fostering a collaborative exchange of ideas. Regularly assess progress and set action items for continuous development.

My daughter @Kelsea Best gave me some advice years ago, when I first began public speaking. She said to make sure to give people what they need and want, not show how smart I am. That's great advice that also fits here. Like with mediation, don't assume you know what's best for someone. We don't. Work to uncover what your client needs and wants and then design a path forward from there, empowering them to make their own choices. Don't forget to make room for feedback, evaluation, and mistakes. I don't even like to use the word mistakes. It's trying-and-learning-from.

For my mentoring session, I aim for practicality. Firstly, I focus on my mentee's specific strengths and challenges, tailoring advice accordingly. Secondly, I keep the conversation open and honest, peppered with my experiences to connect on a relatable level. Thirdly, I set achievable goals for my mentees and work through practical steps for growth.