Leadership
What it Takes to Develop a Mentor Relationship
Donalisa Stinyard of Evolution U Coaching encourages her millennial clients to develop relationships with mentors who can guide them through the world. She shares how to build lasting mentor relationships.
By Erin Gregory
Sep 2017
Set the foundation.
“Develop an understanding of what the relationship should look like,” Stinyard says. “This is where both parties should outline their expectations of the relationship. It is vitally important for the mentor [and] mentee to establish trust with one another.”
Think virtually.
“With technology the way it is today and with all the online mentoring programs, it is possible that a mentor and mentee could not know one another,” she says. Stinyard is part of a veteran mentor program and only recently met her mentee via Skype.
Intentionally communicate.
Stinyard explains communication is the No. 1 thing we all struggle with, but it’s central to a mentor relationship. “Each person should focus completely on what is being said and understand the meaning of what is being said in the context it is said,” she says.
