III module. What does it mean to be a Mentor?

To be a Mentor means: give constructive feedback to the mentees; help the mentees to do a development plan; ask the right questions (what is the problem, whose is the problem); show different alternatives to solve the problem; evaluate the decision made by the mentee; protect a mentee from a wide range of beginners mistake; help to build or increase self-confidence of a mentee; stimulate professional behaviour; teach by examples; confront negative behaviour and attitudes; helps in career growth; relay professional and experienced advise; stimulate to reach determined goals.

Main areas where the Mentor should be active/supportive: he/she has to be a discussion partner – good listener, good adviser, excellent interactional skills, plenty of time and energy willing to devote, good role model, reliable, perceive a mentee as a partner in discussions; great communication skills, ability to pass needed information on; constructor of bridges – networks, open doors; Inspirer – encourage, support self-esteem, belief in own knowledge, ability to teach an interesting steps and approaches.

A good mentor should be able to be self-critic and self-reflector, reliable in complying with the obligations, be able to receive and provide a feedback, interested in further self-development, looking for new possibilities for learning and professional discussions, overview of current trends in management of individuals and teams, be able to be flexible, creative and use wide range of tools and identify needs of others.

A Mentor benefits from the mentoring process – gets an increased awareness of the issues the representatives of target groups are facing, a chance to help the mentees succeed, positive publicity and image, new contacts, increased self-awareness, personal growth, new ideas and methods.

Relationships between mentor and mentee(s)

Relations between mentor and mentee during the mentoring process are based on the mutual inspiration and learning from each other; it is voluntary but it has its rules - mutual respect of time and duties of each other, possibilities are not misused beyond the frame of mentoring, proactive attitude: mentor challenges and support and mentee deals with any area of development, never one-sided and never defined by the superiority and subordination.