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4. Drive Active Relationships
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22 mins

How to Give and Receive Feedback

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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.
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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. 
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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.

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How to Prepare for Your Mentoring Meeting as a Mentor

Your mentee is responsible for most of the preparation for their mentoring meeting.
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2 mins

Your mentee is responsible for most of the preparation for their mentoring meeting; however, here are some things you can do to make it more productive -
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1. Be in the right frame-of-mind:

  • Take time before your meeting to reflect on your mentee’s progress-to-date. Is the relationship working as expected?
  • Be fully present. Eliminate distractions (especially your phone!).  

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2. Review the agenda and action plan:

  • Your mentee should have sent you an agenda before your meeting. It should include a timeline, an update from your last meeting, and input needed from you. Be prepared to suggest any needed changes to the agenda.
  • Review the action plan and tasks set from your last meeting and ask for an update at the beginning of your session.

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3. Goals: 

  • Review the stated goals and milestones from your initial meeting and reflect on your mentee’s progress-to-date. 

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4. Your Action Items: 

  • Have you done your action items from the last meeting? Be prepared to provide an update. 

Your mentee should be setting the agenda and sending an invite before each meeting. Be prepared to help them at first if necessary. Ensure you have synchronized your calendar so 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
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