Succès de la relation de mentorat

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During a workshop on the evolving relationship between mentors and mentees at the 13th annual Rendez-vous annuel du mentorat pour entrepreneurs hosted by Réseau Mentorat, Pierre Chagnon and Clément Limoges emphasized that the role the mentor players has a tremendous impact on the level of trust within the mentor-mentee relationship. They mentioned a number of signs and steps involved in determining how well trust has been established.

Their insights encouraged me to take a fresh look at some of the experiences I have had with my own mentors. I thought back on a number of things they did during our first sessions to put me at ease. I also realized that, as a mentee, I played a part in laying the foundations for our relationship, which went above and beyond the Réseau Mentorat program. I guess I figured out that my role in the success of our dyad could be a deliberate one. I approached it by asking myself the following questions: What can I do as a mentee to build up trust between myself and my mentor? What will keep my mentor interested over time, through all the ups and downs?

Here’s what I came up with: six things that mentees can do to develop a better relationship with their mentor.

Before reaching out to a mentor, I think it’s very helpful to analyze your own strengths and weaknesses. For example, it’s important to have a clear idea where you are right now and where you’re headed. This step is an essential one. It helps you define the kind of mentor you would like to have in order to work toward your objectives. One of my first mentors, for example, helped me acquire key entrepreneurial skills at the pre-startup and startup stages. Over time, my status as a business owner and my goals changed. I am currently working with a mentor who is guiding me as I develop a more rational mindset to continue to grow my company.

I think it’s a good idea to learn more about your mentor before your first session. I did some online searching and asked around beforehand. It helped me know who I was dealing with, find out more about their specific interests and accelerate the getting-to-know-you process. Based on this, I was able to make adjustments to my approach and the kind of information I wanted to share during our initial sit-down.

I think one of the secrets to a successful mentoring relationship lies in asking your mentor questions about their own experience and what they’ve done or would do in a given situation. For example, I make it a point of sounding out my mentor about situations they’ve been through or how they’ve felt in a specific set of circumstances. They become more relatable as a result, and I don’t feel like I’m the only one experiencing certain emotions. It’s also a great way to keep us on an equal footing.

Make sure you do your homework before your mentoring sessions. I’ve noticed pretty glaring differences between meetings I’ve prepped for ahead of time and ones I haven’t. If I’ve done what I needed to do ahead of time, I inevitably leave the mentoring session with new thoughts and tools that can help me achieve my objectives. Otherwise, I tend to be all over the place and the outcomes aren’t as clear. What I suggest is that mentees give their mentors a list of points they would like to address about a week in advance. My mentors have told me how much they appreciate this approach. It also gives them the time to go looking for any extra information they might need.

Based on my experience, sharing your thoughts and passing along the titles of interesting articles and books can be very helpful. It’s something I’ve always done with my own mentors. We email each other about what we’ve read or make a quick comment about a specific topic. The links and statistics I forward to my mentors also give them an opportunity to learn more about my line of business. And I let them know if I run across any articles or topics I know are of interest to them.

A quick check-in outside of your regularly scheduled meetings can be an informal way of keeping your mentor apprised of your progress. I’m usually pretty proactive in emailing my mentors to let them know how a given course of action or piece of advice of theirs has worked out. Initiatives like these are also great in keeping our actual mentoring sessions short and sweet, and focused specifically on issues and ideas that are really important.

Author: Kim Auclair