DEVELOPMENT of the Mentorship Relationship

Have you been a Mentor or been Mentored in the past? 

What advise would you give to

Mentors and Mentees to guide them with the Development of their Mentorship Relationship?

 

If you've watched any of the video interviews that we've done with dozens of people who have experienced Mentorship you know that the process works!

* Haven't seen them yet?  Click here to view them when you've got a moment, and then come back to this BLOG Post to provide us with your comments to one of the key questions that we've asked those we've interviewed.

We're looking forward to hearing from you and sharing your comments to our audience.

To get you started, here are a few comments that we've picked up from some of our earlier interviews with people. What other comments might you add? 

BTW - Simply 'Click' on their name to view the video interview with that person.

Craig Hutscal says that as with a friendship, Mentorship requires frequent contact in order for it to get started, to figure out your common interests, and share some of your struggles. Business aspects need to be shared in an environment of trust, a place where participants are willing to give honest and open feedback, and are willing to take the time necessary to talk about both their successes and failures.

Tony Bishop encourages those involved in Mentorship relationships to work on developing their level of comfort and trust with the other person. Start with the sharing of information. Try a few of the ideas offered by the other person, discuss what happened and what was learned. Keep in mind that it is the Mentee/Protégé who is responsible to make any decisions that need to be made. Mentors supply options and concepts to explore, but the decision is up to the business owner/or person being mentored.

Dave Abday recommends celebrating milestones along the mentorship journey. Asking great questions will help both Mentor and Mentee discover the best way for them to proceed. David talks of how both parties will definitely benefit from the Mentorship relationship. He talks of having several Mentors, with each adding value into various aspects of the Mentee’s life: personal, business and spiritual. David also provides some excellent examples of both the Mentor and Protégé benefiting from the relationship, through his wonderful personal anecdotes.

Dan Gaynor encourages Mentors to help the Protégé develop a sense of purpose. Dan talks about the importance of simplicity versus complexity in Mentorship relationships.
 

• Beginning – the importance of taking an interest in the other party and encouraging them to grow,
• Establishing – Set some goals for the relationship and establish a schedule for your meetings, making every effort to keep those meetings;
• Strengthening – to keep growing, it’s important to keep learning, be open about what's working in the relationship, and get to know each other over time;
• Transitioning -  Dan poses the question: “Do these relationships need to end? He then talks about one of his personal mentorship relationships where they still periodically connect - even after 10 - 15 years! The nature of the relationship changes, but the contact is still maintained.

Dan asserts that mentoring relationships can definitely be mutual beneficial and that the right Mentor can inspire growth.