Mentee resources
We’ve put together a few resources to help mentees get off to a great start.
Mentee resources
We’ve put together a few resources to help mentees get off to a great start.
Mentee resources
We’ve put together a few resources to help mentees get off to a great start.
Once we confirm program eligibility, the matching process can begin. Finding the right mentoring match is critical and can take time. This process could be as short as two weeks but usually takes longer. We’re dedicated to identifying the best possible match and will always prioritise this over an expedited process. Here’s how we do it:
Tell us about yourself
Potential mentor and mentees both start the same way – by telling us about their background, experience, and interests. For mentees, this takes the form of a self-evaluation where you’ll be asked to select the areas you’d most like to address in your mentorship. This information sets a foundation to work from throughout the rest of the process.
Meet with us
We will then meet with you one-on-one to explore your skills, experience, current role, organisation, personal preferences, challenges, issues, and goals. We use this information to determine your suitability for the mentoring program and to identify a mentor with complementary skills and experience.
Service agreement
If you are successful in being accepted into the program, we will request that you sign a service agreement outlining the program terms and conditions.
Matching
Once the signed service agreement is returned, we’ll identify a potential mentor and send you their information to review. If your proposed mentor looks like a suitable match, the next step is for you to advise us that you are interested and to contact the mentor to arrange an in initial meeting. At this point, you’re welcome to reach out to us with any questions.
Initial meeting
Both you and your proposed mentor will then have an initial meeting to determine if you would like to work together and think you can build a trusting and effective working relationship. This initial conversation is an opportunity to get to know more about each other’s skills, experience and discuss both of your expectations.
Mentoring agreement
If both parties agree to continue, they will be required to sign a Mentoring Agreement. The agreement outlines mutual expectations, obligations to each other, as well as your learning needs and development goals.
Evaluation checkpoints
After being matched we will check in with you at regular intervals to see how you're progression. There are two checkpoints in the first year and a single check in for each year after. Additionally, we provide each mentoring pair with ongoing support and management as the mentorship progresses, as needed.
Events and ancillary programs
Mentees are invited to participate in our workshops, events, and ancillary opportunities throughout the year, delivered by Kilfinan and our alliance partners.
Be accountable
You are the driver of this mentorship. Schedule meetings with your mentor in advance and come prepared with an agenda. This optimises the time you have together and shows respect for your mentor’s time.
Develop trust
Trust between you and your mentor must be developed over time. You will both need to work to establish trust at the beginning of the relationship. Having trust opens up a channel of communication, allowing you to be really honest, which is important to the success of the mentorship.
Set goals, share progress
A successful mentee sets goals and expectations at the beginning to base the mentorship on a solid foundation. When both you and your mentor are clear on the goals, you can work together to reach it and share that sense of accomplishment.
Be open about your progress
Give your mentor a clear view of your expectations and aspirations. Telling them what you need from them will allow you to flourish as a mentee. Be honest if you need something to change and let them know if you don’t understand something.
Be responsible for your own learning
Your mentor is there to give you tools and guidance to help you grow and become an even better leader, but you must be willing to take charge of your learning by asking questions and exploring their suggestions.
Be available and committed
A mentorship is often a long-term commitment. Go into it with a long-haul mentality and commit to putting in the work. The more work you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it.
Engage with your mentor's advice
Your mentorship offers you the opportunity to have someone else be committed to your progress. Your mentor will help you remove barriers and pull you out of your comfort zone, which is often where the real work happens.
We’ve been in this game for a while and find there are four common reasons why mentorships sometimes don’t get off the ground.
Lack of commitment
This is the number one reason mentorships don’t succeed. Mentees must be committed to the process, and actively “opt-in.” They will miss out on the benefits of mentoring if they are unable to commit to the relationship, or there is some resistance to fully engaging in it. Sometimes this can happen if potential mentees are pressured into mentoring by external stakeholders (such as a board director or direct report).
This often surfaces in behaviour such as repetitive cancelled appointments, disjointed conversations or not taking responsibility for following up with their mentor. Mentees who are committed and motivated will take responsibility for driving the relationship and have the most to gain.
Unsuitable match
Making great matches is the key to success. If the chemistry isn’t there, or the pair struggle to gain trust and rapport, the mentorship will grind to a halt. Sometimes it can be difficult for mentors and mentees to be honest about this with us or each other if the match isn’t working. If you’re struggling to find a good rhythm, reach out and let us know! We’ve seen all sorts of scenarios and can help get things back on track.
Lack of confidence
Mentees can sometimes be reluctant to contact their mentor for support if they feel like their mentor is too busy. This may be an indication of the mentee being intimidated by the mentor or lacking a sense a self-worth in their mentorship. It’s important to know that this goes both ways, and our mentors are also actively opting-in. They get involved because they want to help and get lots out of it too.
Bad timing
Can’t get a meeting scheduled in? Struggling to find time? We’ve all been there. If you are truly finding it difficult to find time, we suggest asking to put the process on hold rather than progressing. We’ll be there to help when you’re ready.
You’ve been matched with a mentor. Now what?
Becoming a part of Kilfinan is exciting but we know that it can make some people nervous. As a CEO you are used to being in charge, but suddenly you are being set up to work with someone you haven’t met.
Your Kilfinan Mentoring Relationship Manager has researched and interviewed you both and thinks there is a good chance of you successfully building a productive relationship. Nevertheless, many people tell us they can feel a bit apprehensive before the initial meeting. Mentors say the same thing.
To help make things a little less awkward, we’ve pulled together some tips and suggestions to help you feel relaxed and confident before you meet your potential mentor for the first time, just in case you need a little bit of support to kick things off.
We’re always here if you need us.
Before you meet
You could send your mentor your LinkedIn / CV and a short note describing your work. Perhaps some of your personal circumstances. You could include a word of thanks for being part of Kilfinan mentoring and being willing to meet. You could ask them what brought them to mentoring.This often surfaces in behaviour such as repetitive cancelled appointments, disjointed conversations or not taking responsibility for following up with their mentor. Mentees who are committed and motivated will take responsibility for driving the relationship and have the most to gain.
Give your mentor an idea of what you’d like to focus on and let them know what’s on your mind. Keep it simple but specific. For example, “I’m really interested in talking to you about my Board and how I can get more out of them” or “I’m not sure I’m ready to be in this role and I’m scared someone is going to find out.” Lots of people say this! Being open and honest with your mentor is how you will get the most out of the relationship, and what you both discuss is completely confidential unless you both decide otherwise.
Do a bit of online research of the person you are meeting to learn their background and interests (but maybe stick to LinkedIn and Google rather than stalking their Facebook page).
Ask your mentor what’s the best way to contact them – Some people prefer text, others email, or WhatsApp? Do they have an EA?
Confirm the meeting time, date and venue a day or two in advance. Suggest how long you have available to meet, as this will give you both some sense of control for the first meeting.
Relax. They want to get to know you and have already agreed to meet with you to see if you are both a good fit to work together in a mentorship.
The first meeting
First up, be on time! If you are running late, please text or call. The first meeting is where you will get a sense of each other. Both of you are finding out about each other. The meeting is a chance to explore each other’s personality, communication, and style - not just the topics you might discuss. Try not to be too self-conscious.
What’s important is not just what you say, but also how you find it being in each other’s company: Are they a good listener Do they have something to say? Do I feel a connection?
Talk about your career journey, your professional background and the current situation at your organisation. Help your mentor understand you by sharing the important details of your life. You bring so much to this relationship, so help them understand what else is going on. Ageing parents? Moving house? Flood damage? A football team that never wins? The big and small things affect us all. It’s ok to talk about this type of information.
Share your personal and professional goals. A mentor doesn’t need to know everything about you but it’s helpful to know about your challenges, where you are confident, and what keeps you awake at night.
Ask questions of your mentor. Why are they sitting in front of you? Ask them to tell you about their professional background, and what they are proud of. Ask them who and what helped them to succeed.
Let your personality come through. This isn’t a job interview. We can’t stress this enough. You have already been matched because we think you have something to offer each other.
Lastly, keep session one on time. If you are getting toward the end, then suggest you finish up.
After you meet
When you walk away, spend some time thinking about how it went. Did you see a connection? Enjoy the conversation? Feel like you were listened to? They will be thinking the same questions about you.
Follow with a brief thank-you note and express your appreciation for specific insights or examples that you found helpful. This kind of feedback is very helpful as it lets your mentor know what you value.
We will contact you separately to confirm whether you are interested in proceeding. If so, you will both sign a mentoring agreement, which outlines your mutual expectations and obligations to each other. Then it’s time to start working together. We know how much you’ll get out of it!
The matching process
Once we confirm program eligibility, the matching process can begin. Finding the right mentoring match is critical and can take time. This process could be as short as two weeks but usually takes longer. We’re dedicated to identifying the best possible match and will always prioritise this over an expedited process. Here’s how we do it:
Tell us about yourself
Potential mentor and mentees both start the same way – by telling us about their background, experience, and interests. For mentees, this takes the form of a self-evaluation where you’ll be asked to select the areas you’d most like to address in your mentorship. This information sets a foundation to work from throughout the rest of the process.
Meet with us
We will then meet with you one-on-one to explore your skills, experience, current role, organisation, personal preferences, challenges, issues, and goals. We use this information to determine your suitability for the mentoring program and to identify a mentor with complementary skills and experience.
Service agreement
If you are successful in being accepted into the program, we will request that you sign a service agreement outlining the program terms and conditions.
Matching
Once the signed service agreement is returned, we’ll identify a potential mentor and send you their information to review. If your proposed mentor looks like a suitable match, the next step is for you to advise us that you are interested and to contact the mentor to arrange an in initial meeting. At this point, you’re welcome to reach out to us with any questions.
Initial meeting
Both you and your proposed mentor will then have an initial meeting to determine if you would like to work together and think you can build a trusting and effective working relationship. This initial conversation is an opportunity to get to know more about each other’s skills, experience and discuss both of your expectations.
Mentoring agreement
If both parties agree to continue, they will be required to sign a Mentoring Agreement. The agreement outlines mutual expectations, obligations to each other, as well as your learning needs and development goals.
Evaluation checkpoints
After being matched we will check in with you at regular intervals to see how you're progression. There are two checkpoints in the first year and a single check in for each year after. Additionally, we provide each mentoring pair with ongoing support and management as the mentorship progresses, as needed.
Events and ancillary programs
Mentees are invited to participate in our workshops, events, and ancillary opportunities throughout the year, delivered by Kilfinan and our alliance partners.
How to be a great mentee
Be accountable
You are the driver of this mentorship. Schedule meetings with your mentor in advance and come prepared with an agenda. This optimises the time you have together and shows respect for your mentor’s time.
Develop trust
Trust between you and your mentor must be developed over time. You will both need to work to establish trust at the beginning of the relationship. Having trust opens up a channel of communication, allowing you to be really honest, which is important to the success of the mentorship.
Set goals, share progress
A successful mentee sets goals and expectations at the beginning to base the mentorship on a solid foundation. When both you and your mentor are clear on the goals, you can work together to reach it and share that sense of accomplishment.
Be open about your progress
Give your mentor a clear view of your expectations and aspirations. Telling them what you need from them will allow you to flourish as a mentee. Be honest if you need something to change and let them know if you don’t understand something.
Be responsible for your own learning
Your mentor is there to give you tools and guidance to help you grow and become an even better leader, but you must be willing to take charge of your learning by asking questions and exploring their suggestions.
Be available and committed
A mentorship is often a long-term commitment. Go into it with a long-haul mentality and commit to putting in the work. The more work you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it.
Engage with your mentor's advice
Your mentorship offers you the opportunity to have someone else be committed to your progress. Your mentor will help you remove barriers and pull you out of your comfort zone, which is often where the real work happens.
Common mentoring pitfalls
We’ve been in this game for a while and find there are four common reasons why mentorships sometimes don’t get off the ground.
Lack of commitment
This is the number one reason mentorships don’t succeed. Mentees must be committed to the process, and actively “opt-in.” They will miss out on the benefits of mentoring if they are unable to commit to the relationship, or there is some resistance to fully engaging in it. Sometimes this can happen if potential mentees are pressured into mentoring by external stakeholders (such as a board director or direct report).
This often surfaces in behaviour such as repetitive cancelled appointments, disjointed conversations or not taking responsibility for following up with their mentor. Mentees who are committed and motivated will take responsibility for driving the relationship and have the most to gain.
Unsuitable match
Making great matches is the key to success. If the chemistry isn’t there, or the pair struggle to gain trust and rapport, the mentorship will grind to a halt. Sometimes it can be difficult for mentors and mentees to be honest about this with us or each other if the match isn’t working. If you’re struggling to find a good rhythm, reach out and let us know! We’ve seen all sorts of scenarios and can help get things back on track.
Lack of confidence
Mentees can sometimes be reluctant to contact their mentor for support if they feel like their mentor is too busy. This may be an indication of the mentee being intimidated by the mentor or lacking a sense a self-worth in their mentorship. It’s important to know that this goes both ways, and our mentors are also actively opting-in. They get involved because they want to help and get lots out of it too.
Bad timing
Can’t get a meeting scheduled in? Struggling to find time? We’ve all been there. If you are truly finding it difficult to find time, we suggest asking to put the process on hold rather than progressing. We’ll be there to help when you’re ready.
Preparing for your first meeting
You’ve been matched with a mentor. Now what?
Becoming a part of Kilfinan is exciting but we know that it can make some people nervous. As a CEO you are used to being in charge, but suddenly you are being set up to work with someone you haven’t met.
Your Kilfinan Mentoring Relationship Manager has researched and interviewed you both and thinks there is a good chance of you successfully building a productive relationship. Nevertheless, many people tell us they can feel a bit apprehensive before the initial meeting. Mentors say the same thing.
To help make things a little less awkward, we’ve pulled together some tips and suggestions to help you feel relaxed and confident before you meet your potential mentor for the first time, just in case you need a little bit of support to kick things off.
We’re always here if you need us.
Before you meet
You could send your mentor your LinkedIn / CV and a short note describing your work. Perhaps some of your personal circumstances. You could include a word of thanks for being part of Kilfinan mentoring and being willing to meet. You could ask them what brought them to mentoring.This often surfaces in behaviour such as repetitive cancelled appointments, disjointed conversations or not taking responsibility for following up with their mentor. Mentees who are committed and motivated will take responsibility for driving the relationship and have the most to gain.
Give your mentor an idea of what you’d like to focus on and let them know what’s on your mind. Keep it simple but specific. For example, “I’m really interested in talking to you about my Board and how I can get more out of them” or “I’m not sure I’m ready to be in this role and I’m scared someone is going to find out.” Lots of people say this! Being open and honest with your mentor is how you will get the most out of the relationship, and what you both discuss is completely confidential unless you both decide otherwise.
Do a bit of online research of the person you are meeting to learn their background and interests (but maybe stick to LinkedIn and Google rather than stalking their Facebook page).
Ask your mentor what’s the best way to contact them – Some people prefer text, others email, or WhatsApp? Do they have an EA?
Confirm the meeting time, date and venue a day or two in advance. Suggest how long you have available to meet, as this will give you both some sense of control for the first meeting.
Relax. They want to get to know you and have already agreed to meet with you to see if you are both a good fit to work together in a mentorship.
The first meeting
First up, be on time! If you are running late, please text or call. The first meeting is where you will get a sense of each other. Both of you are finding out about each other. The meeting is a chance to explore each other’s personality, communication, and style - not just the topics you might discuss. Try not to be too self-conscious.
What’s important is not just what you say, but also how you find it being in each other’s company: Are they a good listener Do they have something to say? Do I feel a connection?
Talk about your career journey, your professional background and the current situation at your organisation. Help your mentor understand you by sharing the important details of your life. You bring so much to this relationship, so help them understand what else is going on. Ageing parents? Moving house? Flood damage? A football team that never wins? The big and small things affect us all. It’s ok to talk about this type of information.
Share your personal and professional goals. A mentor doesn’t need to know everything about you but it’s helpful to know about your challenges, where you are confident, and what keeps you awake at night.
Ask questions of your mentor. Why are they sitting in front of you? Ask them to tell you about their professional background, and what they are proud of. Ask them who and what helped them to succeed.
Let your personality come through. This isn’t a job interview. We can’t stress this enough. You have already been matched because we think you have something to offer each other.
Lastly, keep session one on time. If you are getting toward the end, then suggest you finish up.
After you meet
When you walk away, spend some time thinking about how it went. Did you see a connection? Enjoy the conversation? Feel like you were listened to? They will be thinking the same questions about you.
Follow with a brief thank-you note and express your appreciation for specific insights or examples that you found helpful. This kind of feedback is very helpful as it lets your mentor know what you value.
We will contact you separately to confirm whether you are interested in proceeding. If so, you will both sign a mentoring agreement, which outlines your mutual expectations and obligations to each other. Then it’s time to start working together. We know how much you’ll get out of it!