Starting with Intention #
This initial conversation is where you set the tone for your mentoring relationship. You’ll get to know each other, understand what’s important to both of you, and begin shaping what success looks like by the end of the pilot.
Before you meet, take 10 minutes to reflect on what you’d like to gain from this experience:
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What do you hope to feel more confident about by the end?
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What’s one skill, mindset, or challenge you’d like to work on?
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How can this relationship help you move forward in the short, medium and long-term?
These reflections don’t have to be perfectly formed just yet, but it helps you to show up prepared and focused.
Conversation Starters #
Below are prompts to help your first meeting flow naturally. You don’t need to cover everything, just enough to start building trust and understanding.
For Mentors
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Tell me a bit about what drew you to mentoring.
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How do you like to structure your mentoring conversations – casual chats, goal-oriented check-ins, or a mix of both?
For Mentees
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What attracted you to your current role?
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Before this session, I had a look at your Linkedin and saw (x), can you tell me about how you got to that stage?
For Both
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How often should we meet, and what format works best for us (Zoom, Teams, in-person)?
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What are our expectations for communication between meetings?
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How do we want to handle feedback if something isn’t working?
The aim is to co-create a relationship that feels open and balanced. Mentoring isn’t a one-way exchange, it’s important that both parties leave each conversation feeling seen and stretched in some way.
