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4. Drive Active Relationships

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22 mins

What to do in a Mentoring Meeting as a Mentee

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Mentoring works best with a structure. After having mentored thousands of people across many countries, we’ve developed a tested structure.

A structure will help both you and your mentor make your meetings more productive. Discuss the format with your mentor and ensure it suits them as well.

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1. Feedback And Update (10 Minutes)

Do a time check. “We scheduled an hour for this meeting. Does that still work for you?”
Describe your progress-to-date.
Keep track of the time.

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2.Discussion (30 minutes)

Spend most of your time on the Discussion. Your mentor may ask questions to help you think more deeply about your options. Don’t just ask for advice straight away; explore the possibilities. This is your time to have an in-depth discussion. After you’ve thought through the options, you can ask your mentor to share their experiences and advice.

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3. Close (20 minutes)

Review your tasks and goals with new timelines. Make edits if necessary.

Discuss each action. Do you understand them?
Do a reality check. Is your plan doable given other constraints? Update your goals to be realistic.

Determine when and where you will meet next. Set up a recurring meeting if you mutually agree on a time that works for both of you. Make sure this is in both of your calendars. Set an agenda, sync your Calendars, select your preferred video conferencing tool or choose a location for meetings.

Thank your mentor.

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What to Do in a Mentoring Meeting as a Mentor

Having a structure can help you and your mentee make your time more productive.

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xyz_mentor

2 mins

Having a structure can help you and your mentee make your time more productive. The format can be adapted to suit your requirements so there’s a natural flow.
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1. Feedback And Update

Remind your mentee about confidentiality as well as any ground rules.

Talk to your mentee about:

Feedback on their progress on the action plan.
An update on what has happened in their work or personal life since you last met.

Progress on what you committed to do since the last meeting.

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2. Discussion

This is where you will spend the bulk of your time. Ask your mentee to go through the discussion points on their agenda, and identify the issues they want to discuss.
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Example of prompting questions:

“What would be most useful for you to discuss today?”

“What would you like this session to focus on?”

Ask questions to clarify the issues your mentee has presented; be sure you fully understand before moving on.

Guide your mentee to think about their issue more thoroughly. Ask open-ended questions to encourage them to think more deeply.
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Example of prompting questions:

“What options have you considered?”

“What do you see as the pros and cons of each?”

You can then share some of your experiences and advice, if it's requested.

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3. Close

Action Plan - Ask your mentee to put together an action plan of what they would like to work on before the next meeting. If needed, help them to think through options. Make a note of anything you could provide, such as an article or video, to help them. Make sure you send them to your mentee.

Discuss and schedule your next meeting. Set up a recurring meeting if you mutually agree on a time that works for both of you. Finally, sincerely thank your mentee for their hard work.

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