One way to enhance your mentoring or coaching experience is to take a few moments after a session to sit down and write some comments. In a busy world, this can be a little taxing, but it can really provide you with valuable insight as the relationship develops on what your experience was like and be able to share some of this with your partner.
To help you in this practice, below are some suggested questions to answer after you’ve had a mentoring or coaching session:
- What was primarily discussed at today’s session?
- What were the results of having this discussion?
- What did you learn about yourself from today’s session?
- If you were to describe today’s session to a friend of yours, what would you say?
- Is there anything you want to do differently the next time you meet?
- Is there anything you want your partner to do differently the next time you meet?
You need not answer all questions and you may want to come up with some of your own. The key is to do a little 5-10 minute reflection shortly after a session when your thoughts are fresh. In rereading these over time, you might see obvious patterns that may prove important for you to be aware of and you’ll also see the progress of the relationship.