User Guides

Back to all Guides
4. Drive Active Relationships
12 more guides
22 mins

How to Give and Receive Feedback

Download as PDF

The objective of feedback is to help your mentee learn and improve, and not to criticize them. Done well, feedback can:

  1. Enhance communication and trust.
  2. Clarify expectations, and help partners be more open and honest about what each expects of the other.
  3. Increase engagement and commitment, so both mentoring partners feel they have a stake in the journey.
    ‍

Giving productive feedback

Feedback needs to be consistent and constructive. Here are some tips on how to give productive feedback. 

  • Permission: Ask permission before giving feedback.
  • Intention: Question your intentions. Why are you giving this feedback? Will it help your mentoring partner learn?
  • Be specific: Provide tangible examples of behavior you have observed. Discuss its impact.
  • Frequency: Give feedback frequently when it is still actionable.
  • Positive: Also focus on positive feedback. What’s going well? 
  • Two-way discussion: Allow your mentoring partner to respond and think about what they are saying. Discuss ways to move forward and potential solutions. 
    ‍

Receiving feedback

How you receive feedback is also important. Be sure to listen and think carefully about feedback. Here are some suggestions:

  • Listen: Listen attentively to what is being said. Don’t begin to plan how you will respond, and tuning out what is being said.
  • Be open to feedback: Try to have an open mind, and be willing to change your behavior if necessary. 
  • Reflect: Reflect back to your mentoring partner what you have heard to ensure you understand it clearly. Ask any questions. 
  • Two-way discussion: Together, discuss potential solutions so you can move things forward. 
  • Appreciate: Thank or recognize your mentoring partner for what they have shared with you.

Did you find this guide helpful?

Yes
No

Up Next

How to Prepare for Your Mentoring Meeting as a Mentee

To make your meeting productive, plan to spend at least 30 minutes preparing.
step_4
xyz_mentee
0
2 mins

To make your meeting productive, plan to spend at least 30 minutes preparing. Think about the following:  

  1. Task list: Were you able to complete your tasks? If not, why?
    ‍
  2. Notes: Use the Notes section to reflect and write down your thoughts and ideas. If you keep a journal, go through it and reflect on what’s happened in your life and career since your last meeting.
    ‍
  3. Goals: Are you on track to achieve your goals? Do you need to adjust them?
    ‍
  4. New Issues: What new issues/questions do you want to discuss?
    ‍
  5. Sessions: Schedule meetings and send an agenda at least a few days before.
    ‍
  6. Set the agenda - An agenda or discussion topics give the meeting a clear purpose and help both partners stay on track.
    ‍

To Schedule a Session, go to the Mentorship Tab and select View Relationship. You will see a button to propose a session.  Fill out the information for the session. If both parties have synchronized their calendars, you can set up a date, time, topic and set an agenda for your session. You can also choose your preferred video conferencing platform so that you don’t have to set up new meetings every time you schedule a mentoring session.

MentorCloud Inc, 90, Middlefield Road,
Menlo Park, CA 94025 USA
DisclaimerPrivacyLegalGDPR ComplianceSitemap
Made Possible by
Become