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Developing an Effective Mentoring Relationship
Developing an Effective Mentoring Relationship
Conversation Guide for Building Relationships
Conversation Guide for Building Relationships
Adapted from The Mentor's Guide, Zachary (2000)
Communication is Key!
Communication is Key!
Choose a communication mode that works best for BOTH intern and mentor (eg. Monthly or Semi-monthly check-ins by phone or email; short coffee meetings before or after board meetings and workshops – to prepare & debrief, etc.)
Discuss your goals and expectations for the internship.
If any contact information changes or any circumstances affecting ability to carry out your role in the relationship, please inform both your partner (mentor or intern) and the program coordinators immediately.
Be accessible and be aware that you each have many demands on your time.
Be honest, open, and direct in all communication.
Remember that good communication also includes active listening.
*Mentors: If available, you may want to offer the intern a virtual tour of your organization or an on-line volunteer orientation. The intern may be able to get a greater sense of the day-to-day work of the organization and how board decisions influence operations.
*Interns: You may want to keep a journal of your learnings/experiences throughout the internship. There will be a mid-point reflection in January.
Menu of Mentoring Activities
Menu of Mentoring Activities
The following are some activities that mentors and interns can do together to enhance their mentoring relationship. Activities should be selected and adapted based on your learning goals.
Board Member Stages: Mentors can discuss the different roles an Intern might experience throughout their involvement on a board from observer to contributor to committee chair to board chair.
Organizational Challenges: Discuss the challenges your organization experiences and how the board goes about handling these challenges. This could help development ideas for project outcomes.
Career History: Mentors can discuss their career path, and how their involvement in the non-profit sector compliments their career. Sharing tips on transitioning from school to work will be helpful in identifying transferrable skills from one role to another.
Intern Presentation: The intern can prepare a presentation on a relevant topic and present it to their mentor and the board at a later date. The mentor can evaluate the intern on the content and delivery of the presentation and give them constructive feedback on how to improve.
Progress Reports: Interns can share a sample of their project as it takes shape and get evaluated on it by their mentor prior to the project being due. This can help interns recognize their areas for improvement. Mentors could also share some of their own work or work done in their field to discuss its merits, strengths and weaknesses. This is a good chance for mentors to clearly communicate expectations.
Reading Resources: A mentor can suggest an influential book, periodical, or journal article to the Intern. The mentor and intern could then discuss the literature and its application towards the intern’s goals.
Volunteer Orientation: The intern may wish to participate in a full volunteer orientation to get to know the organization from a volunteer’s point of view. If no volunteer orientation exists, perhaps the intern can interview volunteers or volunteer coordinators to find out what information is essential to the volunteer experience.
Learning Journal: It’s suggested that interns keep a learning journal to track progress and concerns. This is an invaluable tool the interns can use to document their thoughts and feelings about their goals, learning objectives, their progress in reaching those goals and their discussions with their mentors during their meetings. Here are a couple of prompts: The most important work we did today was… To apply what I’ve learned, I will… The questions or challenges that exist for me are…
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