Scribd
Upload
100 views3 pages

How To Be A Mentor

Mentoring involves a more experienced person providing guidance to a mentee. To be an effective mentor, one needs strong communication skills and experience in the relevant field. The mentor aims to help the mentee achieve goals or solve work problems through regular discussion meetings. While similar, mentoring differs from coaching and buddying in focusing on career development outside a managerial relationship. Effective mentors understand different perspectives, help develop networks, provide constructive feedback, and encourage mentees to find their own solutions.

Uploaded by

Muma Emmanuel
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
100 views3 pages

How To Be A Mentor

Mentoring involves a more experienced person providing guidance to a mentee. To be an effective mentor, one needs strong communication skills and experience in the relevant field. The mentor aims to help the mentee achieve goals or solve work problems through regular discussion meetings. While similar, mentoring differs from coaching and buddying in focusing on career development outside a managerial relationship. Effective mentors understand different perspectives, help develop networks, provide constructive feedback, and encourage mentees to find their own solutions.

Uploaded by

Muma Emmanuel
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

How to Be a Mentor

PMD Pro/Project DPro Competency 18: Motivation

To mentor someone is a great way to pass on your knowledge and experience. It


can also be a really good learning experience. If you would like to know how it works
and how you can do it successfully, read on!
Mentoring is defined as a confidential one-to-one relationship in which an individual
(mentee) consults a more experienced person (mentor) outside of their management
chain or organisation as a sounding board and for guidance. The "mentoring" takes
place through discussions at regular scheduled meetings between mentees and
mentors over a mutually agreed time period. It should not be open ended.
The mentor’s aim is to develop their mentee in his or her chosen aspiration or to help
to overcome a particular work (not personal) problem through discussion at regular
meetings. These can be face-to-face, either physical or through Skype, by
messaging or email:

1 What skills do I need to be a mentor?


Best practice in mentoring suggests that a
mentor will more effectively support their
mentee if they:
• Have relevant and appropriate experience
(gained over several years).
• Possesses good communication skills.
• Have a commitment to learning and development - and are willing to learn
themselves.
• Are committed to quality in their own work and clear about standards of
performance.
• Are able to devote sufficient time and energy to the role.
• Are committed to upholding their professional values.
• Have respect and credibility within their own profession.

How to Be a Mentor 1
2 How do I sign up?
Sign up as a mentor to your organisation’s mentoring scheme if you have one,
or start one if not! Alternatively, join the mentoring forum on DPro+ and offer
yourself as a mentor. Note that one of the recommended activities for people
wanting to be Project or Program DPro Practitioners (Level 2) is to be
mentored – either through work or PM4NGOs.

3 How does it work?


• A prospective mentee will contact you to arrange an Initial Meeting, either
face-to-face or Skype.
• At the meeting introduce yourself, review each other’s experience and discuss
the issues that need to be resolved.
• Decide whether or not to go ahead with a mentoring relationship.
• If you do decide to proceed, agree on the objectives for the mentoring
relationship and the timescales – relationships should never be open ended
• Decide how often you will meet (e.g. once a month, once a week) and where
you will meet (e.g. Skype)
• From time to time review progress and check that the mentee’s objectives are
being met
• When your mentoring partnership has finished, review and celebrate what you
have achieved.

4 Mentoring or coaching or buddying?

There is considerable debate about the use of the terms ‘mentoring’ and
‘coaching’ - some people do not distinguish between coaching and mentoring.
However, it is generally agreed that a mentor as a critical friend, or guide who
is responsible for overseeing the career and development of another person
outside the normal manager/subordinate relationship. A coach is someone
who plans an intervention “designed to improve the performance of an
individual in a specific task."
Buddying is a "subset" of mentoring whereby someone who is new to a job,
organisation or business unit is assigned a colleague who will introduce them
to other people, answer any general administrative questions and help them
settle into the area with all its individual quirks, etc.

5 10 Top Tips for Mentors

Here’s some helpful tips for mentors based on experience and best practise.
1. Understanding perspective – The mentor and mentee may have very different
set of experiences, values and ambitions from each other, especially if they

How to Be a Mentor 2
are from a different culture. It is therefore, important to recognise their
existence and validity, even if you do not fully agree with them. Having a good
understanding of each other’s perspective will lead to more fruitful discussions
and outcomes.
2. Developing networks – A mentor can help a mentee develop their networks by
sharing networking techniques and helping the mentee understand how to
develop and maintain relationships with others.
3. Being a critical friend – Plain, straightforward speaking is not always
comfortable either for the mentor or the mentee, but it is one of the things they
are most likely to appreciate. Plain talking and effective challenging will lead
to a more meaningful dialogue, deeper reflection and better learning
outcomes.
4. Listening - Both mentee and mentor must take time to listen to the other and
fully understand each other's position.
5. Giving advice – it is important for the mentor to hold back from giving advice
and jumping straight into solution mode. The mentee should be helped to
develop their own solutions through the use of effective questions. However,
there are times when a simple “This is what you need to do” is an appropriate
approach. The trick is to understand when to give advice and when to hold
back. This will undoubtedly come with practice and experience.
6. Encouraging and supporting – There will be times when a mentor just needs
to be there to listen and help a mentee regain their confidence. Jumping in to
solve their problem for them will not help build self-reliance.
7. Mentee-driven. The mentoring process driven by mentee – it’s for their
benefit! Don’t chase after the mentee.
8. Keep an activity log. Create and keep a log of your meetings, recording what
was discussed and agreed.
9. Time-bounded. The mentoring relationship should not continue indefinitely.
The mentor and mentee should agree a time period, which can always be
extended if necessary. Indeed, as a person progresses through their career,
they may benefit from a number of different kinds of mentor at different points.
10. What if you don't get along? - Successful mentoring depends on the forging of
a good relationship between the mentor and mentee. If mentor and mentee do
not 'gel' - for whatever reason - either party is entitled to seek to end the
relationship on a "no fault" basis.

Good luck in your mentoring relationships!

Access other “How to” guides, courses, and free resources at the DPro+ platform.

www.dproplus.org

How to Be a Mentor 3

You might also like