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Mentoring & Being Mentored

Learn how to operate confidently as both a mentor and a mentee, building relationships that produce real career and skill gains. This course gives you frameworks, session structures, and measurement tools grounded in decades of organizational research.

Professionals at any level who want to find, build, or improve a mentoring relationship — whether they are just starting out or stepping into the mentor role for the first time.

Course content

Mentor, Coach, Sponsor, Advisor — Four Different Relationships45m
What Research Says Makes Mentoring Work45m
Finding and Approaching the Right Mentor45m
Writing a Mentoring Contract That Both Parties Keep45m
Setting Mutual Expectations as Mentor and Mentee45m
Using the GROW Model to Structure Every Session45m
Delivering Candid Developmental Feedback45m
Receiving Feedback Without Shutting Down45m
Using the Johari Window to Surface Blind Spots45m

Workbook & downloads

Put the course into practice — a printable workbook plus editable templates you can fill in and reuse.

Download workbook (PDF)15 KBDownload (XLSX)8 KBDownload (XLSX)7 KBDownload (XLSX)7 KB
Preview the workbook
This workbook translates every module of the course into hands-on activities you complete in real time with your mentor or mentee. Each section contains a mix of exercises, structured worksheets, and action checklists designed to move you from concept to practice within the same week. Complete the worksheets before sessions and bring them; they replace the status update and give your conversations immediate traction.

Understanding the Relationship You Are Building

Clarify which type of developmental relationship you actually need and identify the right mentor archetype before reaching out.
Exercise: Role Clarity Mapping
For each development goal you are currently carrying, identify whether you need a mentor, coach, sponsor, or advisor. Use the definitions from Module 1 — do not guess from the word that sounds most impressive.
  1. List your top three professional development goals right now. For each one, which role (mentor / coach / sponsor / advisor) would deliver the most value, and why?
  2. Where in your career have you previously conflated these roles — for example, treating a coach as a mentor or expecting mentoring when you needed sponsorship? What happened as a result?
  3. Who in your current network already occupies each of the four roles? Where are the gaps?
  4. What is the one role you have never explicitly asked for but most need right now?
Worksheet: Mentor Archetype Selector
Complete this worksheet to identify the specific mentor archetype best matched to your primary development goal before you approach anyone.
  • My primary development goal (one sentence):
  • Archetype I need (career navigator / skill accelerator / network connector / challenge mentor):
  • Why this archetype matches my goal:
  • Three real people who fit this archetype (name + why):
  • My first-choice candidate and one specific reason they are right:
  • What I will say in my outreach message (draft the first sentence):
Checklist: Pre-Outreach Readiness Checklist
  • I have identified a specific development goal, not just a vague area of interest.
  • I have researched my target mentor's work and can reference something specific.
  • My outreach message is under 150 words and contains a small, bounded ask.
  • I have two proposed times or a scheduling link ready to include.
  • I have decided what I will say if they decline — and I am prepared to reach out to my second choice.
  • I have clarified in my own mind whether I need a mentor or a sponsor for this goal.

Building the Foundation: Contracts and Session Structure

Draft your mentoring contract and practice the GROW session model before your first formal meeting.
Worksheet: Mentoring Contract Draft
Complete this worksheet independently, then share with your mentor or mentee before your first session. Negotiate any differences in a 15-minute alignment conversation.
  • Relationship start date:
  • Relationship end date:
  • Meeting cadence (day / time / length / medium):
  • Development Goal 1 (SMART-ER, one sentence):
  • Development Goal 1 — 90-day milestone:
  • Development Goal 2 (SMART-ER, one sentence):
  • Development Goal 2 — 90-day milestone:
  • Development Goal 3 (SMART-ER, one sentence):
  • Development Goal 3 — 90-day milestone:
  • What the mentor commits to provide:
  • What the mentor will not provide:
  • Confidentiality agreement (how we will handle session content):
  • 90-day renegotiation check-in date:
  • Closing session date (pre-booked):
Exercise: GROW Session Rehearsal
Before your first real session, practice the GROW model with a current challenge you are facing. Work through each phase in writing using the prompts below. Then bring this to your first session as the starting agenda.
  1. GOAL — What do I want to get out of one conversation about this challenge? (Be specific: what would 'useful' look like in 45 minutes?)
  2. REALITY — What is actually happening right now? List facts, not interpretations. What have you already tried? What has the impact been?
  3. OPTIONS — Generate at least five possible actions you could take. Include options you would normally dismiss. What would the boldest version of you do?
  4. WAY FORWARD — Choose one action. State exactly what you will do, by what date, and what you will report back at the next session.
Checklist: First Session Preparation Checklist
  • I have drafted the mentoring contract and sent it to my mentor / mentee 48 hours before the meeting.
  • I have completed the Expectations Inventory (my own answers) and I am ready to compare.
  • I have prepared two or three specific questions, not a general status update.
  • I have pre-booked all 12 sessions in both calendars.
  • I know which GROW phase I am most likely to rush and have a note to slow down there.
  • I have a printed or digital copy of the contract to review and sign at the session.

Giving and Receiving Feedback

Practice the SBI feedback model and the Johari Window blind-spot protocol using real situations from your own work.
Exercise: SBI Feedback Practice
Think of a recent interaction where you either wanted to give feedback to your mentee or felt you needed to receive more specific feedback yourself. Construct two SBI statements using the prompts below — one piece of challenge feedback and one piece of positive reinforcement.
  1. CHALLENGE FEEDBACK — Situation: In which specific meeting or moment did the behavior occur? Behavior: What exactly did the person do or say (observable, not interpreted)? Impact: What was the concrete effect on the outcome, team, or relationship?
  2. POSITIVE FEEDBACK — Situation, Behavior, Impact for something the person did well. Why is it important to be specific here, not just say 'great job'?
  3. What permission check would you use to open the challenge feedback conversation?
  4. How will you end the feedback exchange — what question will you ask to invite their perspective?
Worksheet: Johari Window Blind Spot Map
Complete this worksheet between sessions and bring it to your next meeting as the basis for a blind-spot conversation with your mentor.
  • ARENA — Three strengths I know about myself that others also see (evidence for each):
  • FACADE — One professional challenge I have not yet shared with my mentor (and why I have held it back):
  • SUSPECTED BLIND SPOT — One pattern that others have hinted at more than once but I have dismissed or explained away:
  • Question I will ask my mentor to surface a blind spot I cannot see:
  • What I will do with the answer if it is uncomfortable (my commitment, written in advance):
  • ONE UNKNOWN I want to explore through a stretch assignment in the next 90 days:
Checklist: Feedback-Ready Mentee Checklist
  • I have explicitly invited candid feedback in the mentoring contract.
  • I know which of the three feedback triggers (truth / relationship / identity) most commonly activates for me.
  • I have a personal protocol for identity-level feedback (e.g., the 24-hour rule).
  • I have written down the last three pieces of feedback I received verbatim within one hour of receiving them.
  • I have identified one specific upcoming situation where I can test the alternative behavior a piece of feedback suggested.
  • I have reported back to my mentor on what happened when I tried it.

Sustaining the Relationship and Closing Well

Implement the three-metric progress dashboard, run your 90-day audit, and plan your closing session.
Worksheet: Pre-Session Progress Scorecard
Complete this within 24 hours before every mentoring session and share with your mentor or mentee at the start of the meeting. It replaces the status monologue and focuses the session immediately.
  • Session date:
  • Goal 1 progress (1–10) and one sentence of evidence:
  • Goal 2 progress (1–10) and one sentence of evidence:
  • Goal 3 progress (1–10) and one sentence of evidence:
  • Commitment from last session: done / partially / not done + one sentence explaining why:
  • Commitment follow-through rate this month (% of last four commitments completed):
  • Confidence score for primary skill (1–10):
  • Evidence-of-competence score for primary skill (1–10) — what observable behavior supports this?
  • Today's priority question (one sentence — what do I most need from this session?):
Exercise: 90-Day Relationship Audit
Complete this audit independently at the 90-day mark and share answers before the audit conversation. Compare mismatches as the agenda.
  1. Is this relationship delivering on the goals in our contract? For each goal, rate delivery 1–5 and give a one-sentence reason.
  2. What should we do MORE of in the next 90 days? Be specific — name a behavior or type of conversation.
  3. What should we STOP or CHANGE? Name the stall pattern you have noticed (from the five in Module 4) and the fix you want to try.
  4. Optional goal update: has your primary development goal shifted in the past 90 days? If so, draft the revised goal in SMART-ER format.
Checklist: Closing Session Checklist
  • I have reviewed progress against all three contract goals with specific evidence.
  • I have prepared one specific appreciation for my mentor or mentee — not general gratitude but a named behavior that made a difference.
  • I have identified the two or three biggest insights I am carrying forward from this relationship.
  • I have named what I learned from this mentee (mentors only).
  • I have identified my next development goal and the mentor archetype I will seek next.
  • I have asked the other party what they are taking forward.
  • I have confirmed the relationship's transition — peer network, occasional check-in, or formal close.
  • I have scheduled a 30-day post-program reflection to assess what has changed.

Your Action Plan

  1. Complete the Mentor Archetype Selector worksheet and identify your first-choice mentor within three days.
  2. Draft and send your outreach message using the four-component cold outreach formula.
  3. Complete the Mentoring Contract Draft worksheet before your first meeting and share it 48 hours in advance.
  4. Pre-book all planned sessions in both calendars at the first meeting.
  5. Complete the GROW Session Rehearsal exercise for a live challenge before your first real session.
  6. Complete the Johari Window Blind Spot Map after your third session when enough trust has been established.
  7. Fill in the Pre-Session Progress Scorecard within 24 hours before every subsequent session.
  8. Schedule and run the 90-Day Relationship Audit at the calendar milestone — do not let it slide.
  9. Use the SBI Feedback Practice worksheet to prepare at least one piece of specific feedback per session.
  10. Plan and book your closing session at least four weeks before the formal relationship end date.

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