Are you taking part in a mentoring program? Are you a a mentoree? Before you read our list of requirements for an effective mentoree, think about this for a minute:
What do you hope to achieve from this mentoring relationship? How do you plan on taking the reigns and ensuring that your time with your mentor is well spent and that you achieve the greatest benefits of this mentoring relationship that you possibly can? ………
…..okay, now you can read our list 🙂
Openness:Â Mentoree must be willing to consider other viewpoints, other courses of action from what s/he may be inclined to do and remain open to constructive criticism that can provide information about blind spots and how to deal with them successfully.
Motivation:Â The mentoree is the driver in this relationship and must accept that role rather than viewing it as a relationship whereby the mentor does “his/her thing” to the mentoree. This means the mentoree must be motivated to stay engaged in this relationship and to work toward achieving results.
Courage: Being a mentoree requires the ability to share vulnerabilities with another so that this can be considered when planning how one will develop. It means avoiding hiding those areas that we all tend to hide with respect to issues of self-confidence, abilities, etc. It is crucial that the mentor be capable of challenging the mentoree in identified areas. In turn, courage and the willingness to take risks is essential components for success on the part of the mentoree.
Commitment:Â Honoring appointments, arriving on time and, most importantly, completing agreed upon tasks are crucial if a mentoree wants the mentor to feel that his/her investment of time and effort is worthwhile.
How did our list match up to yours? We’d love to hear what your thoughts were before and after you read our list. Please feel free to leave them in the comments section below.