Introduction
Congratulations! Your mentoring program has begun. We've designed this guide to detail the various aspects of the mentee role. If this is a first for you, there may be many uncertainties, and you may, for example, be wondering:
How do you build a relationship with your mentor and establish a climate of trust? How are sessions organized? How can you make the most of your exchanges with your mentor?
Although this guide is intended to be general in scope, it deals specifically with internal mentoring within companies, and does not cover other forms of mentoring, such as associative or external mentoring. It does, however, offer a number of tips to help you make the most of this adventure.
Should you have any queries during the program over the coming months, the Pathline team is at your disposal at contact@pathline.fr.
Let's get started!
- What is the purpose of mentoring?
- What you need to know before you start mentoring
- Cultivating a successful mentoring relationship
What is the purpose of mentoring?
A mentor is an experienced professional who supports the development and evolution of his or her mentee. This relationship is designed to foster the mentee's personal and professional growth by providing guidance and learning opportunities. For the mentor, it's a question of passing on his or her knowledge within the specific framework of the program, but also of gaining a better understanding of the company's current context and challenges.
For you, the mentee, this is the most effective way to :
- Accelerate your goals
- Overcoming obstacles
- Developing new skills
- Expand your network
In short, your mentor is there to inspire and support you professionally. Let's take a closer look at the different forms this support can take.
Solving problems
A) Overcoming obstacles
Here are a few examples of challenges you may encounter: Difficulty accessing a position with more responsibility, Feeling stagnant and no longer evolving, Uncertainty about the direction your career aspirations will take, Lack of a sense of belonging to the team during your telecommuting sessions. Mentoring is the most effective way of overcoming professional challenges by providing a different perspective and an experienced outside view.
B) Developing skills
Through personalized advice and guidance, your mentor will help you develop your full potential within the company. In fact, the employees and teams of our customers (BlaBlaCar, Bouygues, OVHcloud, etc.) have developed skills in response to the challenges they face in their various businesses, as part of their programs:
- Time and team management for managers.
- Speaking up or organizing work for new recruits.
- Leadership development for new managers.
- Self-confidence and impostor syndrome management for employees facing discrimination issues.
Now all you have to do is find the right mentor to help you achieve your goals.
Understanding corporate culture
By taking part in this mentoring program, you will benefit from the experience of your company's executives, who have been through the same stages as you and have successfully navigated this environment. There are different types of corporate culture, each with its own characteristics. Understanding corporate culture means understanding all the informal codes and rules expected of an employee within a company, even if they are not necessarily written down. Mastering these codes and immersing oneself in the spirit of the company will enable you to adapt better to situations and people.
In practical terms, this means being able to identify the appropriate person to contact when encountering a problem or stumbling block, as well as adopting best practices in exchanges or negotiations with management.
For example, some organizations place great importance on tradition and the preservation of know-how, while others are innovative and seek modernity in all things. Another company may choose to cultivate transparency as an important value, and the hierarchy will then be available and accessible, so that employees feel at ease.
The trick is to grasp these nuances, which are not always apparent at first glance, and what better way to do so than with an experienced mentor?
What you need to know before you start mentoring
The difference between mentoring and coaching
Before the program, get ready - A few ideas for personal reflection
- Think back over the major milestones in your career so that you can present yourself to your mentor in a comprehensive way.
- What are your specific objectives for this mentoring program?
- What are your longer-term professional goals?
- To go further: Think about what makes you dissatisfied, and draw up a list of skills you could develop in response.
Prepare to meet your mentor
- Consulting your mentor's LinkedIn profile will help you understand his or her career, skills and expertise, as well as his or her network.
- From this observation, try to understand which stages of his career could be a source of inspiration for you.
- Avoid listening to rumors about him. Give yourself the opportunity to make up your own mind.
- Finally, if you have any doubts about matching, contact the administrator to discuss the matter. If you're not completely convinced, give it a try for the first session.
Once you've done this introspection, contact your mentor and be proactive. Given his or her position, the mentor's schedule is likely to be full. That's why it's a good idea to try to arrange a convenient time to talk as soon as possible.
The first session
For the relationship to be successful, mentors and mentees need to define their roles and expectations of each other. What do you expect of each other?
You must decide in advance, and we suggest a few topics to discuss with him/her:
- Why did he take part in the mentoring program? How long has he/she been a mentor? Has he been mentored in the past?
- What is his or her professional background, and how long has he or she worked for the company (even if you read it on LinkedIn, it's important to have his or her version)?
- Don't hesitate to make a note of the key moments to which you can return during your mentoring program.
- If you have any doubts about confidentiality, don't hesitate to express them. It's essential to clarify this point before you start.
- Present your mentoring project with a clear ambition and ask specific questions. If you don't feel mature enough on the subject, explain to your mentor what's standing in your way.
- For the first session, choose an informal setting, such as lunch if you're lucky enough to meet. If you're communicating remotely, it's best to avoid doing so at the end of the day, when you're most likely to be tired.
- Set session dates in advance if possible. Also determine the mode and channel of communication your mentor prefers (Slack, e-mail, Teams, WhatsApp, etc.).
Best practices to keep this relationship alive
Throughout your program, you'll be learning and evolving. To optimize this experience, it's a good idea to establish a few rules to follow:
Be enterprising
As a mentee, it's up to you to take the first step. To make the most of what you learn from your mentor's experiences, you can :
- Prepare an agenda of what you want to cover before each session.
- List concrete examples of problems you've encountered since the last session.
- Present the concrete actions you've taken to get your mentor's feedback on them.
Contact your mentor
Your mentor can't guess what you want from him or her. So don't hesitate to express your expectations clearly, to get the most out of your discussions. For the mentor, it's also by focusing on your needs that he'll be able to develop the right strategy to support you.
If you find a piece of advice unclear or irrelevant, don't hesitate to discuss it openly with your mentor. Your aim is not to please him or her, but rather to further your own development. Try to communicate openly in all circumstances, and don't spare any sensitivities.
Keep track of progress
At the very least, consider a mid-course review to assess progress in relation to the objectives you set at the start of the program.
We recommend a progress review every 3 sessions, so if your program gets longer, don't forget to keep these points to challenge the progress of your objectives.
What if the relationship doesn't work out?
It's possible that, despite your best efforts, the mentoring relationship won't work out as planned. This can be due to a variety of factors, such as differences in communication style, misaligned expectations or a lack of chemistry between you.
If you feel the relationship isn't working, it's important to talk openly and honestly about it with your mentee.
If necessary, don't hesitate to contact the program manager to discuss your concerns and explore other options.
Keep in touch with your mentor once the program is over
Above all, mentoring is a human adventure, which enables you to forge links with an inspiring collaborator. If he or she doesn't spontaneously hear from you, don't hesitate to ask to meet again to talk about your progress after your program: he or she will be delighted to know that his or her advice has been of concrete use to you.
A study by Réseau Mentorat France shows that 70% of mentees kept in touch with their mentor after the program ended, and 75% of mentees would be willing to become mentors themselves. These promising figures speak volumes about the benefits of mentoring for both mentees and mentors.
So, perhaps the success of this program will give you ideas for becoming a mentor in the future? We're counting on you!
Conclusion
We hope this guide has answered any questions you may have about the exciting practice of mentoring, and your role as a mentee.
We've tried to share with you the best practices we've seen from our mentors and mentees who practice this method. Obviously, there are as many practices as there are participants, but it's always a good idea to draw inspiration from what others have done - that's the very spirit of mentoring!
3 success factors for successful mentoring:
- Clear communication
- Transparency
- Willingness to learn
.png)
.webp)
.webp)
