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 -
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!).
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.
3. Goals:
- Review the stated goals and milestones from your initial meeting and reflect on your mentee’s progress-to-date.
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.
