The Austin Technology Council believes community connections and mentoring relationships have been a critical reason for our tech ecosystems success. Below is a great blog post to get you thinking.
Five Ways to Maximize your Mentoring Relationship
By Marny Lifshen
Mentors can have a huge impact on the lives of the professionals they mentor. Like all professional relationships, they need to be managed properly in order to thrive. First, it is important to remember the true role of a mentor – to provide insight and advice based on their own experiences to help mentees overcome challenges and evaluate opportunities in their careers. Mentors should help mentees develop their skills, improve their confidence and grow their network. It is equally important to understand what a mentor is not. They are not supportive friends to complain to, nor are they an employment agency. They might be willing to look at a resume or LinkedIn profile, but they are not there to help mentees find a new job.
Here are five ways to maximize your mentoring relationship:
1) Make sure you are on the same page. Sometimes mentors and mentees have different expectations about the relationship. Mentors should be clear about their role and their boundaries, explaining to mentees how often they are available and how to best communicate with them. Mentees also need to be clear about what they are hoping for from the relationship.
2) Be prepared for meetings. Nothing frustrates s a mentor more than meeting with a mentee who does not have a clear idea of what they need help with. A mentoring session should be a focused conversation on specific issues or opportunities, or on an agreed upon topic. For example, a mentee might be interested in gaining more leadership experience at work on in an organization but may not know how to begin that process – mentors can help with that!
3) Create and foster trust. Trust is key for a successful mentoring relationship. It will take time to build trust, but it is necessary for mentors to give frank advice and constructive criticism. Trust is also important for mentees to feel like they can be honest and vulnerable, and to really listen to the advice and feedback of their mentors.
4) Establish meaningful ways to follow-through. Mentoring meetings should have clear next steps. They may be small, simple steps but if no actions or changes are discussed it will be difficult to determine if the mentoring is really helping. At the end of a meeting ,confirm what the mentee and/or mentor is going to do until you get together again.
5) Evaluate the success of the relationship. Not every mentoring relationship will be a home run. Sometimes it’s just not a fit, and that’s okay. Be proactive in acknowledging it isn’t working, which will free up both parties to find a better fit.