How?
Good mentoring is definitely an art. Fortunately there are numerous books and online resources to help you (see the References and Select Bibliography).
Three major things a mentor can do to help make mentoring work is:
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Relate
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Communicate
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Motivate
Relate
Mentoring is first and foremost a relationship, so anything that builds a relationship will improve mentoring. For instance:
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Honesty
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Openness
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Trust
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Regular Communication
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Spending time together
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Finding common interests
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Respect
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Balance
Communicate
Without communication shared learning does not occur. Communication can occur by a number of different means (see Where), but it can be fostered by:
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Listening
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Questioning
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Feedback
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Discussion
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Storytelling
Motivate
Mentees often need help reaching their goals. For example, to help motivate them you can:
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Share what each want to get out of the the mentoring program
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Communicate regularly
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Plan together with your mentee
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Be passionate and enthusiastic
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Show example
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Give appropriate and specific praise
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Challenge your mentee to perform
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Coach your mentee through various challenges
A useful place to start is Gibbon 's article.
This page was last updated at 03-April-2009