Mentor Circles

Mentoring Circles and Resources

Overview: Audio mp3 - The Art of Mentoring & Book Review by Shirley Peddy, Ph.D.Mentor Circles

Mentor Circles is a program where people are placed in a small group of 5-10 participants for a 6 week session. This group consists of people from different career experience levels and functional groups, and is open to both men and women. The group meets one hour a week during a session of 6 weeks, and shares advice, insights and experiences on various topics relating to personal and professional development in an encouraging and nurturing environment. Everyone in the group is on equal standing, everyone is a mentor AND a mentee, and is free to give or receive advice and share insights.

What does a Mentor Circle meeting look like?

The Mentor Circle meeting typically meets in a conference room or coffee shop area of the campus and will typically be one hour, but may be longer depending on the group's agreement. Some groups may schedule structured meeting time and allow for networking time before or after meeting. The group meeting follows this structure as a guideline:

    • Begin with greeting time and review of goals (may be group and/or individual)

    • Discussion about the topic (article, audio, book or podcast)

    • End with sharing of one key takeaway from the session and next step toward SMART goal