The Mentor Toolkit Worksheets

Edition 2.0

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ContentsMentoring Expectations ....................................................................................................................................................... 4

Mentoring Definition ............................................................................................................................................................ 5

Best Mentor Worksheet ....................................................................................................................................................... 6

Mentor Readiness Assessment ............................................................................................................................................ 7

Individual Development Plans .............................................................................................................................................. 8

Conversation Context Role-Play Scenarios ........................................................................................................................ 10

Relationship Boundaries and Ground Rules ...................................................................................................................... 11

Mentor Application / Biography ........................................................................................................................................ 12

Personal Vison Statement .................................................................................................................................................. 13

Mentor Agreement Template ............................................................................................................................................ 14

Story Map ........................................................................................................................................................................... 15

Real-World Learning Checklist ........................................................................................................................................... 16

Note-Taking Template ........................................................................................................................................................ 17

Effective Behavior Chart ..................................................................................................................................................... 18

Conversation Starters ......................................................................................................................................................... 19

Delivering Feedback Discussion Worksheet ...................................................................................................................... 20

Progress Worksheet ........................................................................................................................................................... 21

Final Conversation Checklist .............................................................................................................................................. 22

Workshops and Products ................................................................................................................................................... 23

Mentee:

Mentor:

TOOLKIT PAGE: 7 Mentoring Expectations

The following set of mentee and mentor expectations are examples that work for informal and formal mentoring relationships, as well as different structures such as one-to-one, or mentor-led groups.

MENTEE MENTOR

Every mentee has the responsibility to take charge of his/her own developmental experiences. The mentee is expected to have ownership over the direction and content of the mentoring relationship. Learners can expect to spend 5-8 hours per month on their partnership.

Every mentor has the responsibility to sponsor, coach, and facilitate the development of their assigned mentee(s). Mentors are expected to share their expertise, connect learners with their network, and provide guidance when possible. Mentors can expect to spend 3-5 hours a month on each mentoring relationship.

Expectations:• Fully engage in the relationship• Be open to constructive feedback• Set meetings and agendas• Follow-up on action items• Identify and track goals• Align key learnings with your own situation• Demonstrate a good faith effort toward goals

Expectations:• Meet on a regular basis• Be available for unscheduled conversations• Give quality feedback• Provide positive facilitation and

development experiences• Demonstrate the core values of the organization

Use the space below to write your own expectations. Include and share what behaviors are expected by everyone in the relationship, including how to engage and show ownership. You want to be sure that everyone is clear about their role(s).

5

Write Your Own Mentoring Definition:

TOOLKIT PAGE: 8 Mentoring Definition

If you are participating in a formal program, locate your program’s definition of mentoring. What parts of the definition resonate with you? Why?

If you are not in a formal program, write your own definition for mentoring using some of the examples below as a starting place.

Mentoring at XYZ Organization is a relationship between a more experienced employee and a less experienced one, built on mutual trust and respect, for the purpose of developing talent to its full potential.

Acme Bank believes that our people are our future. Mentoring relationships ensure each employee receives a personalized development experience. The ultimate goal is an investment in each employee’s professional development and career at Acme Bank.

Mentoring relationships provide mentees an opportunity to learn from experts to develop and grow into who they want to become. Mentoring shows a commitment to all participants, and their success.

Mentoring is a social learning relationship occurring between a designated mentor (a more experienced member of a team) and at least one mentee (someone less experienced in a specific area), with the aim of giving guidance and sponsorship, and working together towards agreed objectives.

Mentoring helps the transition between roles, and assists in retaining the talent we have invested so much in. We define mentoring as a relationship between a more experienced and a less experienced consultant built on trust, mutual respect and appreciation for the skills both members bring to the table. It is a strength-based approach with the goal of providing guidance and expertise needed to succeed.

1. Who was the best mentor you ever had?

2. How did they become your mentor? (For family members, friends, or childhood role models, describe specifically how the relationship became a learning relationship instead of just a social one.)

3. How long were they a mentor to you?

4. How did your mentor introduced new ideas or skills? Did they demonstrate or encourage your own experimentation? Describe at least one specific situation here:

5. How did your mentor react when things went well for you?

6. How did your mentor react when you encountered obstacles or failure?

7. What specific behaviors did your mentor demonstrate that made the relationship so valuable?

8. Which of the behaviors described in questions 4-7 are authentic behaviors you could leverage in a mentoring relationship?

9. Which of the behaviors described in questions 4-7 are outside of your comfort zone, and therefore, you are unlikely to use them as a mentor?

10. What additional strengths do you bring to the mentoring role?

TOOLKIT PAGE: 9 Best Mentor Worksheet

A series of reflective questions designed to help you identify positive mentor attributes.

7TOOLKIT PAGE: 10 Mentor Readiness Assessment

A review of time and effort requirements for mentoring relationships. Circle “Y” (yes) or “N” (no).

Are you passionate about helping an individual’s growth over the next several months to a year? Y N

Are you willing to commit the time to a mentoring relationship? (Between 5-8 hours per month)? Y N

Are you committed to the purposeful effort needed to prepare for all mentoring conversations? Y N

Are you committed to the purposeful follow-up to each mentoring conversation? Y N

Are you comfortable and capable of asking questions as a primary skillset to help facilitate your mentee’s own problem solving? Y N

Are you comfortable and capable of providing direction when only as needed to help your mentee create momentum? Y N

Are you comfortable giving both positive and critical feedback to your mentee? Y N

Are you comfortable receiving both positive and critical feedback from your mentee? Y N

Are you prepared to help your mentee set challenging developmental goals? Y N

Do you have any additional concerns about engaging in the mentor role? Y N

Use the space below to reflect on your readiness for the mentor role. If you have indicated “N” on any of your responses above, what actions do you need to take to change your answer to a “Y”?

TOOLKIT PAGE: 11 & 20 Individual Development Plans

Name: Top 3 Strengths:

1.

2.

3.

Short-Term (1-3 Year) Goals: Long Term (4-5 Year) Goals:

(IDPs) can be powerful tools for envisioning successful progress in development. Consider writing an IDP goal for yourself as a mentor.

9Individual Development Plans (continued)

Development Goal Description:

Describe how you would like to enhance your knowledge, skills, abilities and effectiveness. Use this space to write a 3-5 sentence description of your primary development goal. Generally, developmental goals do not focus in areas that are quantitative measures of productivity. Your description should include behavioral language which others can observe. Also, describe WHY you are working on this goal and the IMPACT of not making progress on the goal.

What are the action items for developing this area?

Specific activities that will be performed to develop that the skill targeted in the developmental goal above. Action items may be meetings, observations, role plays, practice, research, readings, etc. Activities should be specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and timebound. Identify resources needed for each item.

Vision for Success: What does it look like, feel like and sound like after you have completed your goal? How will your daily work be different? How will your interactions or meetings with colleagues or friends and family be different? Use this space to write a descriptive and specific vision for success.

1. You are working with a new mentee. She tells you that her goal for the mentoring relationship is to get promoted within one year. How would you work with her to refine her goal to be developmental and realistic in nature?

2. Your current mentee has hit what he calls a “rough patch.” He normally has a positive and cheerful outlook, but you have noticed that he has been very negative in the last couple of conversations. What questions could you ask to determine what is going on?

3. Several months into the mentoring relationship, your mentee has shown incredible progress on her development goals. She has worked hard between conversations to experiment and learn. How would you acknowledge and celebrate her progress?

4. After six months, your mentee has started to reschedule and even miss some of your meetings. When you do meet, he’s engaged, but he hasn’t done any work outside of the mentoring relationship. How would you approach your mentee to discuss the change in behavior?

5. You are getting ready to conclude the formal part of your mentoring relationship with your mentee. He’s done very well and made a lot of progress, but there’s still a lot of work for him to do. How would you help your mentee be prepared to continue on his learning journey after the mentoring relationship is over?

TOOLKIT PAGE: 12 Conversation Context Role-Play Scenarios

Situations that reflect the dynamic nature of mentoring conversations to be used as role-plays. These role-plays are generic ideas to be used with another person. Feel free to add more detail as needed for you to successfully use the role-plays.

11TOOLKIT PAGE: 13 Relationship Boundaries and Ground Rules

Setting boundaries and ground rules helps to establish and nurture trust within your mentoring relationship.

Both you and your mentee should have input into this conversation, as both of you will have to live with the results. Be mindful about keeping a balance between being too rigid or too permissive, as both can be problematic.

Use the questions below to begin a brainstorming session with your mentee about the rules and boundaries that are appropriate for your relationship. Add additional information below as it comes up during your discussion.

• How much time can you both commit to the relationship, keeping in mind the minimum program commitment per month?

• What are your expectations surrounding follow through on meetings, and how much notice do you prefer if a meeting needs to be rescheduled?

• Are you available for emergency meetings and what constitutes an “emergency”?

• How much personal and professional information are you comfortable sharing and receiving?

• Are there topics that are considered to be off limits?

• How do you define confidentiality and what does it look like within the context of your relationship?

• What is the best way for your mentoring partner to give their feedback respectfully?

• If a boundary is crossed, or your expectation is not met, what is the process for resolving it?

• What can be done to prevent the likelihood that boundaries will be crossed or expectations will not be met? (You might consider a check-in or check-out at each meeting where you provide one another with feedback)

Brainstorming Notes:

TOOLKIT PAGE: 15 Mentor Application / Biography

Use the following survey / template as a starting point for matching participants in a mentoring relationship.

MENTEES MENTORS

Contact Information (Name, Email, Phone) Contact Information (Name, Email, Phone)

Why are you interested in joining the program as a mentee?

Why are you interested in joining the program as a mentor?

Please provide a brief bio (250 words or less): Please provide a brief bio (250 words or less):

Choose all of the areas you would like to work on during a mentoring relationship:

Fully engage in the relationship

Be open to constructive feedback

Set meetings and agendas

Follow-up on action items

Identify and track goals

Align key learnings with your own situation

Demonstrate a good faith effort toward goals

Choose all of the following areas in which you have significant experience and expertise:

Fully engage in the relationship

Be open to constructive feedback

Set meetings and agendas

Follow-up on action items

Identify and track goals

Align key learnings with your own situation

Demonstrate a good faith effort toward goals

Briefly describe expectations you would have for your assigned mentor.

Briefly describe expectations you would have for your assigned mentee.

Describe up to three (3) goals for your Mentor relationship.

Describe up to (3) goals that you would like to accomplish as a result of the Mentor/Mentee relationship.

What career milestones do you want to accomplish in both short-term (next 1-2 years) and long term (5-10 years) timeframes.

Please give 1-3 examples of major professional goals you have accomplished.

What resources and knowledge do you need to accomplish these goals?

What resources and knowledge could you provide to your mentee to help develop them?

Identify any communication preferences you would like to share with your mentor.

Identify any communication preferences you would like to share with your mentee.

13TOOLKIT PAGE: 16 Personal Vison Statement

Draft a personal vision statement which highlights the best of who you are and who you are growing to be. The best mentors are aware of their own development needs and model proactive self-development. Be prepared to share your personal vision with your mentee during the early part of your relationship and help them to develop one of their own.

You may need to revisit this from time to time, as you grow and change in your professional life. Three Verbs and a Noun is an easy exercise that you can use to develop your personal vision statement:

Here is space for you to brainstorm until you find one that fits:

Three Verbs and a Noun:“I (verb), (verb), and (verb) (noun)”

Example:“I ignite, sustain, and motivate leadership in others.”

TOOLKIT PAGE: 17 Mentor Agreement Template

Date:

Mentee:

Mentor:

Expectations/Conduct:

Mentee: I expect my Mentor to guide me in my professional development. This may include suggestions for training, education, resume preparation, coaching and assisting me in ways that will contribute to the progression of my career. I will be mindful of my Mentor’s time and commitment to my progress. I hope to gain insight from my Mentor’s expertise and knowledge.

Additional Comments:

Mentor: I expect my Mentee to be committed to actively participate in their professional development. I will commit to act in my Mentee’s best interest with diplomacy and patience for the professional development process. I will not make decisions for my Mentee, but will strive to assist in the decision making process by providing knowledge I’ve gained within my profession. I will strive to include my Mentee in networking opportunities and to knowledge-building events as appropriate.

Additional Comments:

Confidentiality We will treat all communications as confidential, unless we agree otherwise.

Communication and Meetings We will strive to meet (frequency)

Additionally, we will connect by phone, email or virtually, based on the following schedule:

Closing the Relationship Either of us may terminate the relationship at any time. We will agree to discuss our decision with one another, in a no fault manner.

Mentee Signature:

Mentor Signature:

An example form to be used for outlining specifics of the mentoring relationship including frequency and type of meetings, goals, and ground rules.

15

Chart your Story using prompts and milestones. When mapping out your story, identify not only where you are, but how you ended up there. Who helped you along the way? What advice or feedback did you receive? What mistakes did you make? How did your strengths and passions serve you? What books, videos, training, conferences, or events helped you? Was your path winding or straightforward?

Use the space below to journal the important aspects of your Story.

TOOLKIT PAGE: 18 Story Map

TOOLKIT PAGE: 23 Real-World Learning Checklist

A list of the most common learning opportunities and form for identifying specific resources relative to the mentoring relationship. After beginning a mentoring relationship, use this checklist to brainstorm specific learning opportunities. Use the right column to identify titles, names, and descriptive information

Stretch Assignments

Stretch Assignments

Role Model Observation

Role Model Observation

Purposeful Experimentation

Purposeful Experimentation

Books and Videos

Books and Videos

Workshops / Formal Learning

Workshops / Formal Learning

Professional Events

Professional Events

Journal / Reflection

Journal / Reflection

Other

Other

Other

17TOOLKIT PAGE: 24 Note-Taking Template

A RONAR process for taking organized notes during mentoring conversations.

Review: What has happened since our last conversation? What was applied / tried? What success has been felt? What has been learned?

Overview: Where does this conversation need to go today based on our overall goal and today’s reality? What is the goal of this conversation?

Notes: Keep track of important items from your discussion.

Actions: What are the tasks the mentee and mentor are responsible for, and when will they be done?

Reflect: To be completed 1-2 days after the conversation. Spend 15 minutes reviewing your notes and reflecting on the most recent conversation. What additional thoughts have surfaced for you in the time since your conversation?

Review

Overview

Notes

Actions

Reflect

TOOLKIT PAGE: 25 Effective Behavior Chart

This is a reference list of effective and ineffective behaviors for mentors. Put a * next to the behaviors in the Effective column which are a strength for you. Put an X next to the behaviors in the Ineffective column which are a risk, something you may have to be cautious about.

EFFECTIVE INEFFECTIVE

Facilitate problem-solving Try to fix mentee’s problems

Act as a sounding board Assume responsibility

Show support in positive and negative situations Get defensive on mentee’s behalf

Give feedback Avoid difficult topics

Encourage mentee to set direction Control learning direction

Make occasional suggestions Rely heavily on “telling” instead of “asking”

Find resources and connect to network Fail to follow-up on commitments

Push and challenge mentee Play “devil’s advocate”

Enhance confidence Give artificial praise

Provide alternative perspectives Discount mentee’s feelings or concerns

How will you avoid your X behaviors?

How will you leverage your * behaviors?

19TOOLKIT PAGE: 26 Conversation Starters

A list of questions and prompts to encourage questioning and improve the quality of conversation. Use this as prompts to help get a conversation going, or to re-focus a conversation.

1. Tell me more about...

2. I heard you say, “__________.” Can you explain what you meant by that?

3. How did you feel about that?

4. What was the result of your action?

5. How would you do things differently next time?

6. I’m curious about why you think...

7. I’ve had a similar experience. If you want, I can share what I did in that instance.

8. What were your thoughts before that happened?

9. We should explore that a little more.

10. How does this impact / help / hurt your goal?

11. What was different this time?

12. Who do you have to support you?

13. What has your experience been with this in the past?

14. Let’s practice that conversation...

15. How can I help you to be successful next time?

Delivering feedback in a meaningful and caring way is one of the most important tasks that you may perform as a mentor. Keep in mind that feedback can be positive, as well as critical. Just be sure not to mix the two in one conversation! Here are some tips to keep in mind and a worksheet to help you plan for your feedback conversation (critical and positive).

• Focus on one behavior and be sure it is something the mentee can change or duplicate.• Be specific when describing the behavior, including when the behavior was observed, the immediate outcome

of the behavior and the further impact it may have.• Offer feedback at an appropriate time.• Make sure you have all the information about a situation before offering feedback. Don’t be afraid to ask

questions to achieve clarity.• Offer the feedback in a way that fits with your mentee’s learning style preference and check for understanding.• When offering critical feedback, be sure that your language is not accusatory or threatening.• Practice active listening and be prepared to answer questions.• Express confidence in mentee to overcome or duplicate behavior.

Delivering Feedback Discussion WorksheetTOOLKIT PAGE: 27

The purpose of the conversation. Focus on one behavior and be specific.

Strategies for mentor to practice active listening.

Questions that mentor may need to answer.

Brainstorm action items with mentee about ways to overcome or duplicate behavior.

Follow up details.

Describe mentee’s behavior including situation, when/where observed, immediate outcome and further impact.

Planning for your discussion:

21

Mentor Worksheet

1. My mentee is proactive about his/her self-development. 1 2 3 4 5

2. My mentee is on time and prepared for each meeting. 1 2 3 4 5

3. My mentee regularly completes his/her action items after each meeting. 1 2 3 4 5

4. My mentee is focused on specific development goals. 1 2 3 4 5

5. In the last month, my mentee has accomplished the following:

6. In the last month, my mentee has accomplished the following:

7. In the last month, my mentee has accomplished the following:

8. In the last month, my mentee has accomplished the following:

9. In the last month, my mentee has accomplished the following:

Mentee Worksheet

1. My mentor is engaged in my development. 1 2 3 4 5

2. My mentor is on time and prepared for each meeting. 1 2 3 4 5

3. My mentor regularly follows-through on commitments after each meeting. 1 2 3 4 5

4. My mentor is helping me with specific developmental goals. 1 2 3 4 5

5. In the last month, I have accomplished the following:

6. In the last month, I have made progress in the following areas:

7. In the last month, I have experienced the following setbacks:

8. In the next month, I will be focused on accomplishing the following:

9. In the next month, my mentor will support me by:

TOOLKIT PAGE: 28 Progress Worksheet

A simple status survey intended to help assess progress frequently throughout the mentoring relationship.

1. What have you learned that you can carry over to other situations?

2. What could you have done better?

3. What did you do well in the relationship?

4. What insights did you gain?

5. What goals were achieved?

6. How will you apply what you have learned? (specific steps)

7. Milestones/accomplishments to celebrate: (list)

8. Will we connect in the future? If so, what will that look like?

Final Conversation Checklist

It is important to have a meaningful ending to your mentoring relationship and reflection is an integral part of this. Use this checklist to lead the discussion to assess the overall effectiveness of and growth within the relationship.

QUESTIONS

TOOLKIT PAGE: 30

23

Mentoring Out of the Box!

• A ready-made desk reference for all things mentoring!

• Every tool a mentor might need:

• Self-Assessments

• Mentoring Agreements

• Individual Development Plans

• Journey Planners

• Agendas

• Conversation Starters

• …and more!

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