How do you celebrate the successes and learn from the failures of your mentee or mentor?

When we say set clear goals, I'd say set clear experiences you want to have together, or facilitate for each other. Experiences are memorable -- checked items on a list of tasks are not!

I'll like to add that there are two key things in this step that should not be ignored and they are Clarity and Agreement. ?? Clarity: mentor and mentee should ensure that the expectations, visions or goals they set are clear. By clear I mean well defined, easy to communicate to each other and easy to understand by both parties. ?? Agreement: mentor and mentee must agree on what they set and have communicated to each other. For where there is no agreement, there can be no successful mentoring relationship.

I not only believe in celebrating upon reaching a milestone, accomplishment or overcoming a challenge - I make it a point to start each coaching session with a request to share something positive that has or is occurring. Coaching requires stretching beyond one's current confidence to achieve and I like to remind people that they are competent and capable and to not look at the loss/gap/deficit. I also conclude the session by asking what positives have come out of the session (what will you take away, what are you committed to doing, how has this helped, etc.). Again, to keep the focus on DOING and not on LOSS or INABILITY.

Most of my greatest learnings have been through unintentional failures—they often reveal our blindspots. And give us opportunities to reflect, grow, and apply lessons to future situations! A good mentor guides you; a great one encourages and walks with you—especially through the not-so-great experiences.

My perspective here is simple... regular feedback is such an essential part of any successful mentorship relationship. This fundamentally strengthens the bond between mentor and mentee and helps both parties to grow and develop. It's truly a win-win situation when both parties are open to giving and receiving honest, constructive feedback. I like to use a model here of 'where was I most effective' and 'where could I be more effective'...

Feedback is absolutely essential. Both mentor and mentee should have the opportunity to provide feedback regularly on each other's performance and the mentoring relationship. Having scheduled time at regular intervals is essential.

It is very important to discuss how and when you like feedback delivered. When I was a new associate veterinarian, I worked in a clinic where a boss would tell me on Monday we had "things to discuss" and schedule a meeting for Thursday. I would spend the week panicking leading up to the meeting. I finally decided to ask that any impromptu meetings for feedback be given the same day i was notified of the need for a meeting. I was okay adjusting my schedule on short notice to limit my anxiety. So if you find yourself needing to schedule impromptu feedback time, ask your mentor or mentee how much notice they'd like to receive prior to the meeting.

In my experience, reflection is indeed a powerful tool for personal growth and appreciation. It's amazing to see the progress and transformation that can happen in a good mentoring relationship. In addition, making the time to celebrate the journey often helps to cement the lessons learned and motivates us to continue striving for success.

Sending information about books, articles or events you think might be of interest to an ex-mentee is a great way of maintaining light touch contact