Mentoring Best Practices

1. Be Open and Honest
   • Share goals, struggles, and aspirations with your mentor.
   • Don’t be afraid to ask for help or guidance in decision-making.
2. Come Prepared
   • Have questions and topics ready for each meeting to make the most of your time.
   • Keep a journal to track progress, reflections, and action steps.
3. Set Goals
   • Work with your mentor to establish short- and long-term goals.
   • Use SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) to stay focused.
4. Practice Active Listening
   • Show engagement and respect by actively listening and reflecting on advice.
   • Ask follow-up questions to gain deeper insights.
5. Take Initiative
   • Be proactive—don’t wait for the mentor to always lead discussions.
   • Seek opportunities to apply what you learn in school and daily life.
6. Be Open to Feedback
   • Constructive feedback helps you grow and improve—don’t take it personally.
   • Reflect on feedback and use it to make adjustments.
7. Show Appreciation
   • A simple “thank you” goes a long way in building a positive relationship.
   • Consider writing a mentor appreciation letter or sharing how their guidance has helped.
8. Stay Committed
   • Make mentorship a priority by attending scheduled meetings and being engaged.
   • Even when challenges arise, stay connected and work through difficulties together.

• Proactive Communication
  • Mentors and mentees should discuss what constitutes proactive communication. What does it look like and how will it be received?  How does each like to communicate, in person or teams, by email or phone?
  • Consider styles and dimensions of communication, including cultural norms and expectations, backgrounds, disciplines, abilities, positions of power, etc.

• Aligning Expectations
  • Establish mutual expectations about the work to be accomplished. Set goals with the mentee and revisit those goals together regularly. Hold yourself accountable as well as the mentee.

• • Communicate expectations for both the mentor’s actions and the student’s, regarding hours worked, time off, accessing mentors, etc.

• • The relationship should be reciprocal, although perhaps at varying paces along a continuum. The mentor may need to invest more time and resources at the beginning when the student is taking courses and learning their way around the lab or classroom, and at other times, the mentee may need to invest more time and take ownership over aspects of the work.

• Assessing Understanding

• • Talk to mentees regularly to assess their understanding and integration of core concepts and processes.
  • Consider reasons for lack of skills or understanding (expert-novice, first generation, cultural assumptions).

• Addressing Equity and Inclusion

• • Build a relationship based in understanding of individual backgrounds, identities, and current knowledge, and work together to fill in gaps in understanding.
  • Consider the impact of conscious and unconscious assumptions, preconceptions, and biases of both student and mentor.
  • Above all, be honest and willing to own and correct mistakes (again, both mentor and mentees).

• Fostering Independence

• • Discuss the goal of mentoring to develop scholarly independence in students, with there being a continuum of independence from novice to expert.
  • Consider and discuss the challenges of working with novice researchers, including adjusting expectations of how much time it will take the mentor to train and how much time it will take the student to learn content and skills.
  • Help students identify others who can meet them where they are and encourage them on their pathway toward adult success.

• Promoting Personal and Professional Development
  • Embrace the concept of multiple mentors and mentoring networks. No one mentor can be everything to all people.  Mentors should identify their own strengths and weaknesses and help students identify their mentoring needs.
  • Mentees should develop and regularly revisit an individual development plan, outlining areas of strength and weaknesses, with a mentor’s support in identifying resources and providing referrals.
  • Try to provide time for students to be professionally developed. Support their attendance at events and plan events as appropriate to their interests and needs, and when practical, help mentees attend conferences/sessions and begin sponsoring them by introducing them to members of your network.

• Fostering Student Well-Being

• • We want students to be more aware of their mental health. Let your students know where they can turn to you if they are feeling stressed out or isolated. Encourage your students to make time for exercise, family, friends and leisure.
  • Encourage students to keep their education in perspective. While education is an important part of their career and scholarly development, it is only a small part of the rest of their lives.

Source: https://graduate.louisville.edu/mentoring-practices