What are the responsibilities involved with being a mentor or a mentee?

Effective relationships in mentoring are essential to ensuring a successful experience and outcome.  The principle of creating a mentoring relationship may seem obvious. However, to ensure that both parties have a valuable and enjoyable experience, both mentor and mentee should be aware of their responsibilities within the relationship.

Joint Roles and Responsibilities

Both mentor and mentee should ensure that they:

• Understand what mentoring is and each role within the relationship
• Agree and maintain expectations and the level of confidentiality
• Prepare ahead of each meeting
• Feel comfortable to proceed
• Reflect and share feedback after each meeting
• Maintain commitment whether one-off, short-term or long-term
• Close the relationship at the right time, in line with the personal development objectives agreed

Roles and responsibilities of the mentor

“The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.”

Steven Spielberg

A mentor should ensure that they:

• Have a genuine interest in helping someone achieve their personal development objectives
• Seek further clarity to be clear on the personal development objectives
• Have the skills and experience to mentor
• Share your experience to provide validation of how you can help
• Increase their skills, knowledge, confidence and motivation
• Provide different perspectives on problem solving, career options and opportunities
• Be a role model and provide connection with other role models
• Deal professionally with any conflicts of interest  

Roles and responsibilities of the mentee

 “Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen and a push in the right direction.”

John C Crosby

A mentee should ensure that they:

• Where appropriate, get agreement from your line manager
• Select a mentor
• Set and share your personal development objectives (using SMART) and outline how mentoring could help you achieve your outcomes
• Organise and arrange the meetings and the agendas at appropriate times and venues for both people
• Keep a record of your conversations to capture what’s important
• Establish and maintain contact
• Track progress and results of personal development