Here we’ll be walking through some tips for developing successful mentoring relationships. I hope we’ll be able to remove some of the roadblocks to mentor success. Additionally, I hope those of you who will soon need mentors will learn some tricks for developing successful mentoring relationships with owners and associates who aren’t naturally gifted with mentoring skills.
I own a small animal hospital and have enjoyed working with several talented newer graduates. I have also been matching mentors with mentees for several years, through the VIN Foundation’s Vets4Vets® Mentor Match program. I’ve learned a great deal from working with my team members.
``Good judgement comes from experience, and experience ~ well, that comes from poor judgement.``
I’m not sure who authored this quote, but it’s an excellent description of my hospital ownership- employer- mentor learning curve! I hope this discussion will help you avoid some of my more interesting experiences!
You may be asking yourself “How am I qualified to mentor anyone, and what does being a mentor mean, anyway?!
Anyone in a position to help a colleague work through a case or get comfortable in a new position is dabbling in the dark arts of mentoring.
Here are some of typical concerns that mentors and mentees bring up when we first start working together:
These pages — one for mentors and one for mentees will address those concerns. Let’s walk through those concerns, one at a time. When you’re done reading the suggestions for mentoring or being mentored, consider visiting the other page to get a glimpse into the concerns of your partner.
Mentees:
Mentors: