7 things every mentor and mentee should consider
By: Manatee Mentor
Tags: Mentoring, Mentoring Matters, Mentorship, Professional Development, Mentoringworks

Is mentoring an exact science? Yes and no. We wanted to give you our take on 7 things every mentor and mentee should consider. Fire up:

#1 Choosing the Mentor/Mentee for You

Mentoring is all about establishing a trusted relationship. At Manatee Mentor we will empower you to set your individual preferences and find the best fit to you as both a mentor and a mentee. The obvious criteria include matching on mentoring goals, expertise, language, location, industry knowledge. Beyond these there are the more difficult qualitative factors relating to personality, communication style and many more which all feed into what we call in simple terms — click and chemistry with the other person. Our Artificial Intelligence match-making model will help find the perfect match for you as an evolving human being and looking at these criteria holistically — by also continuously learning and adapting to you.

#2 Nurture Your Mentorship Network

Even with the advent of internet, we believe that there are many nuances in the human experience and knowledge which matter. At Manatee Mentor you will be able to have multiple mentors and mentees at the same time. Not only because different people bring different expertise and know-how, but also because having a diversity of views and experiences is often the creativity key to unlocking a really hard problem. As such we welcome and strongly encourage the diversity and inclusion in all its shapes and forms.

#3 Accountability means Shared Impact

Mentoring requires accountability on both sides. All Manatee Mentors, both Volunteers and Paid Mentors, will be provided access to the Manatee Mentor Learning Toolbox and resources.

On their side, mentees will get regular nudges from Manatee Mentor to help measure the success of the mentoring goals and the quality of the experience for both sides. We want to make it win-win for both of you — and double your success. Of course — mentees will also be able to access a library of valuable additional mentoring resources such as books, events and services by our preferred partners.

#4 Problem-solving or chemistry?

People are different and that’s ok. As we want to liberalize mentoring, at Manatee Mentor you will have the full control over nurturing or disconnecting a relationship if the match isn’t suitable. Be clear by giving open and constructive feedback to your match and try to solve problems, instead of blaming the person. Give someone a chance before you judge and/or burn bridges, you may get surprised. And if the chemistry isn’t there — well, that’s ok — Manatee Mentor will help you can find another more fitting match. Our smart platform will help you with these key decision-moments in your mentoring experience.

#5 Mentoring with few, but important shared Values

Solidarity, courage and curiosity are our core values. We expect the same from both our mentors and mentees to ensure a win-win relationship creating a positive impact for both sides, and naturally — also for the organizations to which the individuals belong professionally.

#6 Everybody can be a Mentor

Mentoring can take many shapes or forms. Anyone can be a mentor and any personal experience can be cherished and elevated into a mentoring opportunity if done right. You can mentor someone on one topic, while she/he can mentor you on a completely different one. Besides the more classic form of expertise seniority or tenure- driven mentoring, we encourage peer-to-peer and reverse mentoring. Think different.

#7 Mentoring in 15 minutes? Yes, it’s possible

Being clear in expectation settings and communication approach is super important in mentoring. Mentoring doesn’t need to be a heavy and all-time consuming commitment, as in many time-limited and session-limited mentoring programs. At Manatee Mentor a good mentoring relationship can give result even if you spend 15'min with your mentor as long as you ask the right questions, are open to experiment and test the shared by your mentor ideas as a hypothesis.