3 Ways Executives Efficiently Use Their Time for Mentoring

Posted on September 10, 2018

Most executives have a desire to mentor. It helps encourage growth within their own organizations, and it gives them a sense of fulfillment – putting their hard-won skills and talents to good use.

But mentoring is also time-consuming, and often, if the mentee isn’t fully engaged – or just the right fit for the mentor in the first place – it can mean even more lost time. And that’s just not something most executives are willing to risk.

So how do you continue to offer your expertise as mentor, while also ensuring your limited and valuable time is used to its fullest? Here’s a few tips:

Know the mentee’s objectives.

Before engaging in any mentoring arrangement, set up a quick discovery call with the potential mentee.

What are their career goals and objectives? What are they looking to get out of a mentoring relationship? What do they expect and what from their mentor? Evaluate their answers from two angles.

First, do they know what they want? If they’re wishy-washy or unclear on their objectives, it’s likely not a great use of your time. You want a mentee who’s goal-oriented and ready to get to work.

Second, make sure you’re the right fit for the unique objectives they have. Do you have the experience and skills to guide them toward their goals? If not, they may be best served by a different mentor.

Set time and resource expectations up front.

Make sure to establish a set schedule on which you’ll offer your mentoring services.

Will you meet once a week? Once a month?

Will it be by phone or by Skype? Will you follow-up after every meeting? Will you review the mentee’s work or presentations?

Set clear-cut rules regarding your arrangement, particularly regarding time usage and availability. You don’t want a mentee to go overboard and take more of your time than you want to offer.

Make sure the mentee is invested.

You want your mentee to have skin in the game. After all, you’re giving your time, skills and expertise to them (essentially money out of your pocket), so shouldn’t they have something at risk, too?

Consider a platform like iConnectX, which requires payment for mentoring services and ensure mentees have a real, vested interest in leveraging your skills and knowledge to the fullest.

An added bonus? Their payment goes straight to a charity of your choice, allowing you to better your community just for donating your time and expertise.

Interested in learning more? Sign up for iConnectX now and connect with like-minded professionals looking for your knowledge and expertise. Choose your favorite charities and causes, and start donating today.