Role of Mentor
Mentors are encouraged to:
- Act as a role model
- Listen actively
- Be a sounding board
- Mentees should be encouraged to make their own decisions. Mentors provide a place where mentees can bounce off ideas and try out solutions. Advice is not always needed or desired.
- Provide coaching and guidance
- Assist with skill development
- Mentors may assist mentees with practice for important meetings and/or invite them to some of theirs to share good practices.
- Create a safe learning environment
- Understand the mentee’s objectives
- Encourage and inspire
- Maintain confidentiality
- Consider diversity in mentorship
- Careful consideration of issues that may arise with mentorship across boundaries of gender/race/ethnicity/sexual orientation/religion.
Role of Mentee
Mentees are encouraged to:
- Manage the relationship
- Mentees take equal responsibility for working to build a rapport with their mentors and ensuring that times and locations are booked for meetings. Be prepared with an agenda for your meetings with mentor.
- Set clear goals
- Create SMART goals (see Individual Development Plan). Identify barriers to goal achievement and provide potential solutions. Undertake honest self-assessment regularly. Share mistakes and perceived areas for improvement
- Be clear about objectives
- Mentees need to consider what they want from their mentors such as: advice about a particular career path, advice about a particular skill set, or some other goal or objective. Mentees communicate these objectives to their mentors, recognizing that these may change over time. Set goals and timetables for completion of projects and invite reflections on progress towards them.
- Take advantage of opportunities provided by the mentor
- Accept responsibility for your own development
- Seek information
- Maintain confidentiality
- Consider diversity in mentorship
- Careful consideration of issues that may arise with mentorship across boundaries of gender/race/ethnicity/sexual orientation/religion.
Role of Staff Mentorship Working Group
Members of the working group:
- To review each submission and pair mentors and mentees based on skills, experience, and what they hope to get from the program while keeping in mind equity, diversity, and inclusion.
- To collect feedback and make continuous improvements/enhancements with the program.