The first argument:
Both mentors and mentees need to understand your approach to mentoring to avoid misunderstanding each other
Today everybody knows about mentoring. Many has participated in a mentoring programme either as part of their job, as students, or as members of an association or a charity. This means that there are many kinds of mentoring taking place and many different approaches to what mentoring is and what mentoring can do.
When you start a mentoring programme, it is vital that you have defined your approach and clarified your understanding of mentoring. You may focus on the more traditional mentoring, where stereotypically the mentee is the learner and the mentor is the teacher, sharing knowledge, experience, and advice. Or you may focus on the more modern approach to mentoring where both mentor and mentee are learners and learn in a learning partnership. Both approaches will influence how the mentors and mentees collaborate in their relationships.
However, if the mentors and mentees are not clear on what you expect from them, they may have as many different understandings of mentoring as there are participants in the programme. This may cause uncertainty and misunderstandings between the mentor and mentee, may inhibit their openness with each other, and reduce the value of their collaboration.
The second argument:
With the same methodology and tools both mentors and mentees take responsibility for their collaboration and learning
It is a misunderstanding that only mentors need training for mentoring! When you want mentees to take responsibility for their own learning, they also need a toolbox and training to guide them in the relationship.
Mentors need training to understand their role in facilitating learning, to realize that mentoring is much more than giving advice and sharing knowledge, and to learn how to ask good questions, how to challenge mentee’s thinking, and how to listen without waiting to speak their opinion. A prepared and competent mentor can listen without intent, can be quiet and let the mentee think, can share their stories and knowledge without dominating, and understand how to vary their methods to adapt to the personality and learning needs of the mentee. This provides the mentors with the opportunity to identify their learning needs, a space for training these skills which can also have a significant impact on their behaviour in their daily work.
Mentees need training and preparation and understand the methods and tools of mentoring, to understand that they are responsible for their own learning, and to identify their learning themes and goals. Mentors are disappointed when mentees arrive to mentoring with no clear idea of what they are supposed to talk about! So, for mentees to identify learning themes and learning goals before first mentor/mentee meeting is essential for getting a good start for the mentoring relationship. Additionally, the better the mentee understands the methods and tools of mentoring, the better they can ask for the right support from their mentors, and they will feel safer in the relationship when they understand the mentor’s role and toolbox.
The third argument:
A kick-off with both mentors and mentees facilitate building solid relationships from the start
Without a kick-off session, what often happens is that the most committed pairs will get started and enjoy their mentoring, while some pairs never get started, and other pairs take too long to get started and lose motivation and energy for the mentoring even before they get started. With the kick-off session, individual mentor/mentee pairs have the opportunity to meet for the first time, start building their relationship, and plan for their collaboration.
Without a kick-off session, you miss the opportunity to create a strong network among all the participants where they can all interconnect and learn from each other during and after the programme. Building this kind of network will support both mentors and mentees in their long-term career in the organisation and can give them insight into other parts of the organisation, thus motivating them for different career paths and more mobility.
Additionally, the kick-off session will ensure that all participants have heard the same message about the mentoring programme, about the mentoring approach, their roles and responsibilities and understand the importance of the mentoring programme.
In summary
With the training, preparation, and kick-off you provide a foundation for psychological safety around the programme and in the mentor/mentee relationships, clarify expectations for what the programme is about and for what they can learn, as well as ensure that all pairs get started well.
