Mentor's Mantra 01: Relationship building as a mentor.
As a mentor, building a strong relationship with your mentee is essential for a successful mentoring experience. At Thrive, we lay emphasis on building a solid foundation of trust, respect, and open communication that can help your mentee feel supported and motivated to achieve their goals during their six-month mentoring journey. Here are some tips for relationship-building with your Thrive mentee:
Be authentic: Building trust with your mentee is crucial, and being authentic is a key component of building trust. Thrive encourages mentors to share their own experiences, both successes and failures, and show vulnerability. This can help your mentee feel comfortable to share their own experiences and struggles with you.
Set expectations: Establish clear expectations for the mentoring relationship early on - possibly in your first meeting. Discuss the frequency and format of meetings, the goals and objectives of your six-month mentoring relationship, and the roles and responsibilities of both the mentor and mentee.
Listen actively: By keenly listening to your mentee and not just hearing them out, you understand their perspectives and show empathy. Encourage them to share their thoughts and feelings without any fear of judgment.
Be supportive: Encourage your mentee throughout their journey, celebrate their successes and provide support when they face challenges. Help them identify their strengths and work with them to address areas for improvement.
Be available: One of our thumb rules is that mentors make time for mentees and are responsive to their needs. It’s not always that a solution is needed for a problem, instead being available to listen and offer support can make a significant difference. Thrive mentors played a vital role during the pandemic by being there for mentees amidst the uncertainty and layoffs.
Be accountable: As a mentor, it's important to hold yourself accountable to your mentee. If you make a commitment, follow through on it. If you're not sure of something, let your mentee know and work together to find a solution.
Offer constructive feedback: Provide feedback to your mentee that is constructive, specific, and actionable. Help them to see areas where they can improve while also highlighting their strengths.
Celebrate successes: Celebrate your mentee’s successes, no matter how small. This can help to build momentum and keep them motivated to achieve their goals. Thrive Annual Awards are a great way to keep mentees motivated by nominating them for the ‘Mentee of the Year’ award’ and recognising their achievements.
Keep it confidential: Maintaining confidentiality is essential in any mentoring relationship. Assure your mentee that any information shared is just between the two of you.
Foster diversity and inclusivity: As a mentor, it's important to maintain a welcoming and inclusive environment for your mentee. This includes being open to diverse perspectives and experiences, as well as recognizing and addressing any biases you may hold.
Building a strong relationship with your mentee is crucial for a successful mentoring experience. Thrive offers abundant resources and tools for mentors to utilise and leverage so as to help mentees achieve their goals while building a mutually beneficial mentoring relationship.
