Getting Started

Getting Started: Step 1

Now that you have decided to become a mentor for a new instructional specialist, it's time to begin preparing to build the mentoring relationship and negotiate expectations. Creating a supportive mentoring climate depends on building and maintaining a relationship. Key to relationship building is effective communication and trust.

"Negotiating," or creating a shared understanding about assumptions, expectations, goals, and needs, including a discussion of confidentiality, boundaries, and limits, provides a foundation for building trust.

The following table provides suggestions for planning and implementing initial conversations with your protégé to promote the development of an effective mentoring relationship. You can also download and print the table, Strategies & Considerations, in pdf format.

**Strategies and Considerations for Initial Conversations**
Topic	Strategies	Consideration
Call or email your protégé to begin the conversation and to set up a time to communicate again, or get together.	Obtain your mentee's contact information, identify follow-up times you will be available, plan what to say.	Determine method of initial communication and best time to initiate.
Take time to get to know each other.	Share information about your own background, professional experiences, program, and satisfactions. Ask the mentee questions to elicit similar information.	Establish rapport. Exchange information. Identify points of connection. Learn about mentee's job experience and program.
Talk about mentoring.	“Have you ever been engaged in a mentoring relationship before? What did you learn?”	Talk about your own mentors and experiences.
Determine the mentee’s goals.	“What do you want to learn from this experience (broad goals)?”	Determine if the mentee has clear goals and objectives and find out what they are.
Determine the mentee’s needs and expectations.	“What do you want out of the mentor/mentee relationship?”	Clarify needs and objectives.
Define the deliverables.	"What would success look like for you?”	Ask yourself if you have the expertise and skills to help this individual meet their goals.
Share your assumptions, needs, expectations and limitations, including the amount of time available for mentoring and best times to contact you.	Ask for feedback.	Clarify what you are willing and able to contribute.
Discuss options and opportunities.	“How would you like to go about achieving your goals?" “What are your preferred communication and learning styles?” “What is the most useful kind of assistance I can provide?”	Consider and discuss implications of the mentees’ styles and how they compare to yours.