Making Mentorships Matter: Tips for A Productive Relationship

Making a mentoring relationship meaningful can be a challenge. As a mentor, it can be difficult to juggle your own work while also helping someone else complete their work; as a mentee, it can be intimidating to ask a bunch of questions when your mentor looks busy.

One way for mentees to bridge the gap is to change their perspective. Instead of asking for an answer, make positive use of everyone's time by asking for validation.

One of the best things that one of my mentors ever said to me was “Come to me with a solution, not a problem.” Although that may seem harsh, it's a sentiment similar to the adage: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

A mentorship is about learning and developing your skills in the work environment. We want employees to learn by attempting tasks and getting confirmation or suggestions regarding their solutions. Simply getting the answer handed to you on a silver platter, while that may be the quickest and easiest way in the short-term, does not advance your skills for the future. That investment in a little bit of time up front can pay off hundred-fold over the course of one's career.

That said, coming up with the solution is easier said than done. Here are some ideas and tips for mentees.

Embrace Your Problem-Solving Potential

You need to trust in your own skills and abilities -- and maybe complement those with a few Google searches -- and brainstorm a solution or two before approaching your mentor. The added benefit of this is that self-teaching helps you remember your thought process, which can be repeated in the future whenever a similar challenge comes up.

Don't Waste Your Own Time

It's important to remember that you need to make effective use of your time. Don't spend all day on one problem -- and if you can't find a solution, approach your mentor and explain what you've discovered, and why they may not work.

This approach shows that you've put in the effort to solve the challenge, but that you still need help.

Also, it's important to make sure that perfect doesn't get in the way of better. If you come across a way to resolve a challenge that's going to work, don't spend hours, upon hours, searching for that one perfect solution.

Shadow Your Mentor

If you are not busy or if your mentor is completing a task or working on a project that you really want to learn, ask to shadow. This helps you to understand the workflow and processes.

And what about the mentors? I have some suggestions for them as well.

Communicate!!!

This relationship is not a one-way street. As a mentor, you need to reach out and check in with your mentee, especially in his or her first few days and weeks.

Remember back on your first few days. It can be intimidating coming into a new place, running into a lot of blocks and challenges, but worried about asking too many questions.

You need to re-assure your mentee that you are available when needed, and encourage that curiosity and questioning.

Break Down Unintended Communication Barriers

It is important to let your mentees know how to communicate with you if you look busy. It can be as simple as saying, “send me a Slack message if I have headphones on or if I look busy."

This simple statement establishes that even if you are busy, you will acknowledge the problem and help out when you are available.

Take an Active Role in Onboarding

One of the most important things you can do is help your mentee feel comfortable at work. At Digital Echidna, we want all new employees to feel comfortable around the team, and mentors can play a significant role in integrating new employees into the group.

The process can be really easy: invite him or her to eat lunch with you; encourage them to attend social events or activities; and make sure to introduce your mentee to other team members.

A mentoring relationship can be whatever you want it to be. You may decide to communicate multiple times a day or you may decide to have check-in meetings once a week. And, if done well, that mentoring relationship can have tremendous reciprocal benefits.

As much as being a mentor helps the new employee integrate into the team, it also can be an opportunity for the mentor to learn. Whether it's new work-related skills, leadership abilities, or improved communications, mentoring enables you to not only share your experience, but also expand your own knowledge and abilities.

After all, no matter how long you've been with a company, no matter how experienced or inexperienced you may be; and no matter how busy you are, there's always time to learn, share, and grow.