Be a Positive Mentor to a Younger Professional

Take the time to understand the mentee. Before you can become a positive mentor, it is imperative to understand your mentee once they concur that the mentorship would be helpful and beneficial.  Understanding your mentee is the key to building the necessary trust.  Analysis of their strengths, weaknesses, personality and attitude and expected roles at your organizations is imperative.  It is, then, that you as a mentor can develop a written plan of action with recommendations that will add value into their lives and to help them succeed in their career.

Establish parameters. It is important to establish boundaries with your mentee and to let them know what topics are off-limits.  Moreover, it is imperative to articulate that respect and honesty are appreciated and will be reciprocated within the context of your professional relationship.  Also, it is important to discuss the fact that constructive criticism will be a part of the mentorship and that it will be given with tact, professionalism and positivity.

Establish commitments and goals. Depending on the agreed time limit (i.e., short-term or long-term), you should hold the mentee responsible for meeting established commitments and goals.  Again, constructive criticism will be given with tact, professionalism and positivity, if these commitments and goals are not met.

Retain confidentiality. It is absolutely essential for you and the mentee to retain confidentiality relative to information that has been discussed within the context of the mentorship.  In most cases, both you and the mentee may divulge personal information or struggles going on at the job or in your lives as the relationship become stronger and trust is developed.  If either party shares this type of information with other colleagues, it can prove to be severely damaging to the mentorship and the trust factor.