How to Mentor Someone

February 4th, 2024 (12 months ago) • 3 minutes

Something that I had always been trying to improve myself is to be a better mentor, to be able to guide and grow someone else into what they want to be.

Why I want to do this?

Mentoring allows me to focus on the collective success of the team, instead of my own. If I am able to guide someone to excel in what they do, I personally feel that I have achieved something.

It also helps me to understand a certain topic better. If I am not able to explain something that another person asked, that means I did not know it beforehand or my understanding is fragmented. Questions from mentees helps me identify them and work together to close that gap.

Jordan Cutler explains these strategies really well and here's my quick notes on it.

How to get started with the relationship?

1. Start with getting to know them

   • Where are you from?
   • What do you like to do for fun?
   • What are you most passionate about?
   • Do you like to read books? What kind?
   • Do you have any pets?
   • How was your weekend? Do you have any weekend plans?
   • What’s top of mind for you?

2. Understand their long term goals and how you can help them

   • What would your ideal future looks like in the next 1 -3 years?

3. Set up a growth plan

   • Gather inputs such as existing feedback & guidelines on promotion
   • Assess your current and desired States
   • Prioritize 3-5 skills/competencies to focus on
   • Set a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) goal for each focus area
   • Identify Dependencies and Support What or who might be key to achieving your goals? Write down any resources, tools, or individuals you might need

4. Meet regularly and discuss on challenges, reflections, and relationships

What to do during 1 on 1s

1. Ask follow-ups: Don't jump into solution, cast question to them to prompt them to think and dig deeper. Let them tell you and you listen.
2. Empathize: Provide a way to relate to their situation. Think about a time when you were in a similar situation and how you handled it.
3. Suggest Approaches: Ask what they had tried and suggest ideas from there. Even better, create prompts to get them to answer their own questions.
4. Tailor advice: Understand their personality and tailor your advice to their style. Some people are more analytical, some are more emotional.
5. Compliment: Motivate them by giving them compliments. It's important to recognize their hard work and dedication even when the problem is not solved.