As a mentor with the University of Toronto Scarborough's Partners in Leadership program, we ask for your cooperation with the following:
- Value the mentee as a person. Make yourself available to discuss potential career issues or questions via an agreed upon method of communication, and meet with your mentee at least once per month.
- Develop mutual trust and respect. Don't be afraid to be a friend to your mentee. However, both of you should clearly establish and remain mindful of personal boundaries early on.
- Focus on your mentee's development. More than anything else, this program is about your mentee. Listen to their ideas, provide feedback and encourage their professional ambitions, but resist the urge to produce a clone!
- Be flexible. Your career or experience may not match the mentee's expectations precisely, but this does not mean it won't be appreciated! Remember that your insight and your experiences are valuable.
- Typically spanning over 4-5 months, mentors and mentees are expected to connect at least once a month in the communication vehicle of preference (i.e. Zoom, phone call, emai, in-person). Mentees are asked to be as flexible as possible to their mentor's time schedule and will coordinate accordingly.