To get the best out of a mentor-mentee relationship the mentee has a number of things they should keep up to. Here are some expectations of a good mentee to ensure a great relationship with your mentor.
Act of Service
A mentee should be able to acknowledge that a mentor is offering help with a skill set that he/she has more experience as an act of service. This understanding should establish a healthy boundary and respect.
Responsible
A mentor should lead the mentee to the stream, but it is not his/her place to force them to drink. They should be willing to take responsibility to absorb as much knowledge as they can.
Respectful and time-conscious
A mentor has a lot of potential for helping, but a mentee should keep in mind that they are most likely very busy. You are taking time out of your schedule to help teach the mentee. They should be able to respect appointments and keep to time.
(Tip: Never arrive at a meeting after your mentor, and always have a prepared agenda!)
Realistic and Open-minded
The mentor is a guide, not a miracle worker; keep that in mind. Your mentee should understand that you are there to guide them and not provide miracles to every hurdle they meet. With this in mind, both mentor and mentee can set realistic goals with the possibility of achieving them in a defined time.
Lifelong learning experience
Finally, a mentor and mentee relationship can be a beautiful way to achieve goals while developing a lifelong friendship. Be constantly aware and thinking of ways to better yourself in the relationship, and make yourself as available as possible. The mentoring experiences will hopefully be ones you look back on throughout your career. And, while there is serious work involved, don’t forget to have fun; laugh with your mentees and enjoy the good times.
Also read: What to expect from an effective mentor
Can you please tell us in the comments below your expectations from a mentee?
The article defines clearly what is expected from a mentee. It makes it obvious that the main beneficiary in a mentor-mentee relationship is the latter hence there is a numbet of pre requisites that they have have to fulfill and this inturn will improve their work with their mentor and benefit them more.
I agree on what it is written there . I wish to know if it is possible to meet the mentor physically because i don’t like online exchange , sometimes i can’t get completely what my mentor want me to do concretely. The appointment will be decided by the mentor since the mentee is always availabe
It is okay to prefer a mentor that you can meet physically. In that case, you will avoid getting a mentor who is based far away from you or who travels frequently. However, bear in mind that it limits your options of getting a good and effective mentor.
A mentee should first of all be willing to grow. If not it’ll be useless having a mentor. It is your place as a mentee to make your mentor see that you are interested in the relationship. How? By being proactive, responsible, respectful and time-conscious.
At the end of the day it’s a win- win relationship.
What an excellent write-up! With this one can clearly define the mentor-mentee relationship and apply it efficiently.
The ability to start without a mentor
A mentee should have the mind of do and die. This is because is something that will end one day and need to do all you can to get your expectations.
the piece is well summarized. the language is plain and simple to understand. a mentee should be open minded and stick to his/her objectives
Very explicit and precise!I think a mentor should also encourage his/her mentee when it’s necessary.
This is a very good write-up.
A mentee should be responsible, conscious of the task, proactive, inquisitive and collaborative.