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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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How to Help Your Mentee Set Goals

Realistic goals that can be measured and achieved will improve both party’s experience and satisfaction.

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xyz_mentor

4 mins

Here are some requirements a goal should meet -

1. Inspiring

Your mentee should be excited and enthusiastic about working towards these goals.
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2. Challenging, Yet Achievable

Your mentee will grow if there’s a bit of a stretch to the goal, provided it’s attainable.
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3. Measurable and Time-Based

Goals should be measurable so you both know when they are achieved. They also should have a time-frame.

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5 Steps For Goal Setting

Ideally, your mentee should have at least three primary goals. Here are steps to help your mentee set goals. Use the MentorCloud worksheet to document and track progress.

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STEP 1: Explore

You and your mentee should look at all the major friction areas of their work and personal life. Your mentee needs to identify at least three areas to focus on through their Mentoring Journey.

Here are some open-ended questions you can ask your mentee:

What do you want to accomplish in the upcoming months?
What are some things you would really like to learn or do?
What comes to mind in terms of personal or professional friction areas impacting you?
What else have you always dreamed of doing?
What would you like to see in your life that currently is not there?

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STEP 2: Identify

From these areas, you can help your mentee identify their goals. Eliminate goals that are not relevant to the mentoring journey
Encourage your mentee to record their goals using the MentorCloud worksheet.

Here are some questions to ask your mentee:

Does the goal meet the requirements of being motivating, challenging, achievable, and time-bound?
How will you measure success and know when you have achieved the goal?

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STEP 3: Needs Analysis

After the goals are recorded, help your mentee think about the steps to achieve them.

Questions to ask your mentee:

How do you see accomplishing this goal?
What will you need to achieve it?
What resources, knowledge, help, or collaboration will you need?

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STEP 4: Obstacles

What could prevent your mentee from achieving their goals, and how could it be overcome?

Questions to ask your mentee:

What do you fear could prevent you from reaching these goals?
How can I help you?

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STEP 5: Milestones And Action Plan

Milestones will help your Mentee measure their progress. Start by identifying a milestone and timeline with each goal. Ensure your mentee has a reasonable action plan for each goal.

Questions to ask your mentee:

What milestones will help you track each goal?
What help, or collaboration will you need?

Once your mentee has identified some goals, discuss it with them, and ensure it’s entered in the Goals & Tasks sections under Mentorship so you can refer back to it. If a goal seems too broad or unrealistic, help your mentee break these down into doable tasks and review their progress.

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