eMentoring Tips

WO LEARNING CHAMPIONS ONLINE MENTORING

General Suggestions or “Hot Tips” for Mentors

• Being an effective mentor involves a willingness to commit quality time and energy to the process.
• Develop a brief mentoring agreement, clarifying the goals and expectations of the partnership.
• Discuss learning/working styles or take the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory. The results might give you a better understanding of how to work and communicate more effectively.
• Maintain confidentiality. A positive mentoring relationship is built on trust and confidence.
• Listen, listen, listen! Even if you’d love to interrupt and share your personal experiences with your mentee, this is your mentee’s chance to share professional problems, questions, or frustrations with you. So let your mentee talk, be a good listener, and then provide feedback—constructive feedback to empower, not tear down.
• Share your expertise with your mentee: successful teaching techniques and strategies; how to maneuver through policies, procedures, and paperwork; how to balance professional and personal lives for mental/emotional well-being.

General Suggestions or “Hot Tips” for Mentees

• Why do you want a mentor? Clarify the goals and expectations of the partnership.
• Be willing to be mentored. Critical, honest feedback is sometimes hard to accept, so be open to suggestions and look at the intent of the feedback.
• Ask questions—don’t be too shy! Remember that your mentor wants to work with you.
• As you get to know your mentor, talk openly about what is and what is not working in your mentoring relationship. Open communication is a key to a successful partnership.