Is A Written Agreement Necessary?

In most formal mentoring programs, agreements, templates or checklists are provided and mentoring partners decide for themselves whether or not to use them. These tools can also be useful when establishing an informal mentoring arrangement.

An important consideration is: If you choose not to have a written agreement, how will you ensure that the mentoring relationship meets expectations and achieves desired outcomes?

It is often helpful to have something in writing that both parties have developed. Having the agreed goals, expectations and ground-rules written down helps people stay on track.  A written agreement does not mean mentoring partners cannot change any aspects that do not seem to work. The agreement can be amended by mutual consent anytime.

The First Meeting

The first meeting is an opportunity to negotiate an agreement that will guide both parties. 

It will be helpful if both mentor and mentee come to their first meeting well prepared. They will be better able to articulate ideas about why they are considering entering into the relationship, what they expect to gain and contribute, how they want it to work and any concerns they have about mentoring.

Some of the issues to be discussed may be:

• What are our goals for mentoring?
• What roles do we take, what are our expectations of one another? What are our responsibilities?
• How long do we envisage the mentoring relationship lasting?
• How often shall we meet?
• How much time are we willing to invest in mentoring?
• What if it doesn’t work?
• Do we need a written agreement?

Goals

Questions to consider when setting goals may include:

• What outcomes are desired?  
• If skills development is the aim, what specific skills are sought?   
• Does the mentee have, or want to produce:
  •  A professional development plan?
  • Set career goals?
  • Write a career action plan?
  • Or is there some other purpose in mind?

Even with quite specific goals it is possible to remain flexible so that as the relationship unfolds additional or different goals can be agreed upon.

Roles, Responsibilities and Expectations

Spend time at the beginning of the relationship negotiating and agreeing expectations.  A frank discussion at the outset can prevent pitfalls later on. A simple list of Do’s and Don’ts can clarify the parameters of the partnership.

It may seem obvious to one person that phone calls at home at 10:00pm are not appropriate, yet to someone else that might be OK. Setting the ground rules, rather than making assumptions is a sensible approach.

What should you expect from a mentee/mentor?

A mentee is expected to be an active learner in the relationship, open to sharing their career goals, successes and failures, and receiving feedback and advice.

What you should expect from your Mentee

Core Performance Expectations	Time Commitment Obligations	Mentoring Citizenship
Identify professional development goals, priorities and career interests Demonstrate a genuine interest in being helped by mentor Demonstrate application of learning obtained through the relationship Exhibit a desire to improve in a certain area or learn a new skill, gain new learning and change attitudes. Be willing to discuss failures and successes Listen actively Provide honest feedback to the mentor Seek ways to achieve objectives and contribute ideas for solving particular problems	Be accountable for scheduling meetings with mentor Be respectful of mentor’s time and schedule Commit the requisite time and energy Do the necessary pre-work for mentoring conversations Follow up on action items identified during development conversations Informally communicate on a regular basis with mentor	Attend mentoring related meetings and events Maintain privacy/ confidentiality of development conversations Provide input to assess and improve the mentoring program Take advantage of organisational resources Track development and career progress

The table below provides an illustrative list of the mentor roles, effective behaviours and detracting behaviours.

Effective Mentoring roles

Key Roles	Effective Behaviours	Ineffective Behaviours
Advisor	Act as a sounding board and facilitator Maintains privacy / confidentiality	Fixes problems Assumes responsibility for mentee
Protector	Supports, is a safety net Ensures a safe environment to take risks	Fights mentee’s battles Overprotects
Developer	Gives structure and direction Provides guidance based on observations during interactions with mentee Empowers mentee to handle his/her problems independently	Dictates, controls learning Looks for quick fixes Provides general criticism or judgment Tells mentee what to do
Broker	Identifies skill or competency gaps through a ‘third party’ lens Identifies and facilitates development opportunities	Allows for personal biases Abdicates, does not follow up
Challenger	Positively provokes, pushes toward highest standards Helps mentee explore potential career opportunities	Pushes too far too soon Discounts mentee’s thoughts and opinions
Clarifier	Teaches organisational values and politics	Removes obstacles so mentee does to have to deal with organisational politics
Affirmer	Gives needed support, enhances self esteem Exhibits empathy and understanding	Gives too much feedback Discounts mentee’s feelings or concerns
Sponsor	Provides visibility and recognition of mentee	Promotes mentee at the expense of others or above their level of capability

Time

Creating time is the number one challenge in mentoring. It is easy to be overambitious. On the other hand, people looking at busy schedules may feel as though squeezing in another commitment is almost impossible.

A realistic approach with an agreement to re-evaluate the amount of time after a trial period is sensible. After an initial face-to-face meeting, over-the-phone contact may be a viable alternative to meetings. Working breakfasts or lunches may suit some people and email can be used to stay in touch.

Most mentoring partners aim to talk at least once, possibly twice, monthly with greater frequency in times of need. In other instances, you may agree to meet on a quarterly or half yearly basis. As well as the interaction with the mentor, it is likely that the mentee will need to schedule some time to work alone on tasks connected to the goals of the partnership.

What If It Doesn’t Work?

Although the majority of mentoring partners obtain satisfactory outcomes there are no guarantees that mentoring will produce the desired results. Some people find that they are not compatible. Sometimes, either or both are not getting their needs met.

It is helpful to agree at the beginning that if either partner, for any reason, wants to end the mentoring relationship, they are free to do so without fault-finding, blaming or recrimination.

It is often possible to sort problems out without dissolving the mentoring partnership. Usually, the sooner a problem is recognised and discussed the less likely it is to cause irrevocable damage.

The best thing to do is right at the beginning; schedule a specific review meeting to take place after you have had 3-5 meetings, where the agenda is simply to reflect on the relationship.

Discuss what is working well and what you would like to change. Commit to continuing or decide to opt out.

In formal mentoring programs there is usually a program coordinator to assist in problem solving.   You can ask for re-assignment with another mentoring partner, if that option is available.

Just because one pairing didn’t work out doesn’t mean another one won’t.

Sample Mentoring Agreements

• Sample Mentoring Agreements (.doc)
• Mentoring Agreement Template (.doc)
• A Mentoring Code (.doc)