Mentoring

Mentoring knowledge and skills

Some of the knowledge and skills are the same for both mentor and mentee.

A mentor must want to be a mentor and must take the task seriously. Although mentors may be selected in an organisation, they must agree to undertake the role. They should also go willingly for training and briefing. Similarly, a mentee must be willing to be mentored.

Both must be clear about the purpose of the relationship and how it can be managed. Each must be aware of their roles and responsibilities and how these will develop over time. Each must be prepared to communicate openly and effectively.

The mentor

Above all, good interpersonal skills are essential. The mentor is an active listener (see below), focusing on the concerns of the mentee and trying to understand them. They will question and explore ideas with the mentee, often challenging them to look at issues in a different way. Ultimately, they help them to develop a new understanding of their concerns.

It is important the mentor does not give advice from their own point of view or relate experience of what happened to them in a similar situation. Comments and suggestions need to relate specifically to the mentee's context and the mentee's ways of reacting and responding. They must ensure that the mentee retains ownership of the issues throughout.

The mentee

The mentee will gain more from the relationship if they understand how it can work. They should be open and truthful in exploring issues and they need to understand that they are responsible for raising matters for discussion.

Active listening, a core skill for mentors, means paying great attention to a speaker and giving feedback in some form on what has been said. Feedback may be non-verbal, to indicate that you are still listening. It may be verbal, in the form of questions to gain clarification or further information (questions simply to satisfy your own curiosity are not acceptable). Verbal feedback can also provide assurance that you have heard and understood what the speaker has said. To do this, you may summarise what you have heard and ask the speaker, 'have I understood you correctly?'

Active listening means not jumping to conclusions about what you are hearing. It means listening for the important ideas behind what is being said and reacting to the ideas, rather than to the person. It means putting your own needs aside and listening to the needs of the speaker, prompting and encouraging further exploration and elucidation.

Training and practice can be helpful in developing these communication skills. For further information see

http://pgclt.cant.ac.uk/skills.htm