From the course: Being a Good Mentor

Start your mentoring relationship

From the course: Being a Good Mentor

Start my 1-month free trial

Start your mentoring relationship

“

- "The beginning is the most important part of the work." I really wish this was my original quote, but alas, I have to give credit to one of history's all time great mentors. This quote is from the famous Greek philosopher Plato, who was a protege of Socrates. In turn, Plato served as a great mentor to Aristotle. Great mentors are often part of a lineage of mentors. As you develop your relationship with your protege think about how exciting it is, because you are creating your own great lineage. Congratulations, by watching this video you are already taking the first step into becoming a great mentor. You are getting yourself informed and mentally ready to meet with your protege. Before I meet with my protege for the first time, I set objectives like these. First, get to know each other as people, not just professionals. Instead of the typical boring questions, spend some time thinking about some provocative and interesting questions to discuss. For example, I like to ask, what have been some of your unwanted learning experiences in your life and career? If you had a time machine, where would you go and who would you meet? What are your core values and major stressors? Two, discuss logistics and communication styles. Consider the myriad of ways we can communicate these days, in person, on the phone, in our cars, Twitter, Facebook, texting, instant messaging, LinkedIn, and the list goes on. Decide who will be in charge of initiating communication. Decide how and when you wanna connect with each other, and how often. Three, create a plan for next steps. Develop a few action items for the two of you. For example, I like to ask my protege to bring a movie clip of what their ideal mentoring relationship would look like. You can tell a lot from Harry Potter versus The Godfather. After your first meeting concludes, I encourage you to reflect on what went well, and anything you want to do differently the next time. Remember, the beginning is the most important part of the work. A strong beginning sets you and your protege up to succeed.

Contents