The benefits of mentorships are well-documented. Mentors benefit from these relationships by building leadership and expanding their understanding of their own roles. Mentees get career guidance, room for growth in their own skills, and greater connection to the organization. Mentorships are linked to increased employee retention, enhanced diversity in the workplace, and positive office climate. Depending on our experience level and mobility, we are likely to serve as a mentor, mentee, or both at some point during the long arcs of our careers.
Formal vs. Informal Mentoring
Some organizations offer formalized mentorship programs, but many mentoring relationships are voluntary and may evolve through existing personal relationships in the workplace. Rather than pairing mentors and mentees, organizations tend to get better results from pairings that evolve organically, but it’s important for organizations to create space to encourage these relationships to form.
If mentoring relationships are formalized and assigned, organizers should turn an eye to bringing compatible personalities, as well as teaching and learning styles, together. Great mentoring relationships involve genuine interest and commitment from all parties, strong knowledge and experience, willingness and ability to give and receive feedback, active listening on both sides, and compatibility. However a mentoring relationship forms, the relationship shouldn’t be viewed as a corrective or disciplinary measure.
What Great Mentors Do
The best mentors recognize mentorship as a personal relationship, not just an extension of job training. They take the responsibility seriously and share enthusiasm for their field as much as they share skills and expertise. They are motivated within their own careers, seeking out new learning opportunities for themselves, making and meeting their own goals. They’re excited and motivated in their own careers and feel excited and motivated to share with others. They also strive to provide a safe space to allow their mentees to process challenging feedback and work through difficulties.
Within the mentoring relationship, an exceptional mentor may encourage their mentee to pursue goals and career avenues that may lead the mentee beyond their current position or company. These mentors focus on the best interests of their mentees and their long-term success, whatever form that success may take. These mentors may even offer up their own contacts for networking opportunities.
What Great Mentees Do
To get the most from a mentorship, mentees must be open to learning and change, but they shouldn’t take a passive role in the relationship. Great mentees come to the mentorship with defined goals and self-awareness. They have realistically assessed their strengths and weaknesses, and they know the value of feedback that comes from an experienced source. When choosing a mentor, they seek out people they trust and feel a connection with, but they also seek mentors who complement their own skill sets—they know it’s better to have mentors who challenge them to be better versions of themselves.
Getting the most out of a mentoring relationship doesn’t necessarily mean mentees follow every piece of advice they receive from a mentor. They listen carefully, consider what their mentor offers, and they integrate the feedback that makes sense to them. They ask questions that inspire reflection as well as professional and personal growth. Great mentees see the value in what their mentors have to offer, but they don’t expect their mentors to make decisions for them.