How to be an effective mentor (when you're not the manager)

Transcript

1. How to be an effective mentor Design Leadership 2020 – UX Australia Lucy Denton, Senior UX Designer, Dovetail @lucinda_denton @hidovetail (when you’re not the manager)
2. To be a great manager, one must certainly be a leader. A leader, on the other hand, doesn’t have to be a manager. Anyone can exhibit leadership, regardless of their role. - Julie Zhuo, VP of Design at Facebook
3. Senior management Manager Seniors Mid-level Juniors Interns Teams Manager Seniors Mid-level Juniors Interns Seniors Mid-level Juniors Interns Seniors Mid-level Juniors Interns Manager
4. Senior management Manager Seniors Mid-level Juniors Interns Teams Manager Seniors Mid-level Juniors Interns Seniors Mid-level Juniors Interns Seniors Mid-level Juniors Interns Manager
5. • Strong in their craft, choose someone who’s skilled in areas you want to grow Leverage experienced individual contributors
6. • Strong in their craft, choose someone who’s skilled in areas you want to grow • ICs are closer to the day-to-day and may have more context Leverage experienced individual contributors
7. • Strong in their craft, choose someone who’s skilled in areas you want to grow • ICs are closer to the day-to-day and may have more context • It’s easier to be open about challenges, failures, fears with someone who is not your manager Leverage experienced individual contributors
8. It’s not just business; it’s personal and deeply personal. - Kim Scott, author of Radical Candor
9. How to be an effective mentor
10. • Agree you’re entering a mentoring relationship • Build a relationship with mutual trust and respect • Mentoring relationships aren’t built overnight – give it time • Be open about your failures and learnings – demonstrate personal vulnerability 1/5 Mentoring relationships are relationships
11. A hallmark of a trusting relationship is that people feel they can share their mistakes, challenges and fears with you. - Julie Zhuo, VP of Design at Facebook
12. • Agree on a schedule • Plan for relationship building time and time to work through their goals • Create a mentoring plan and come to sessions prepared • Let them lead 2/5 Plan how you spend time together
13. • Empower your mentee to find the answers themselves • Listen and ask probing questions 3/5 Have empathy, not answers
14. • What are your priorities at the moment? • How are you tracking with X? • What’s top of mind for you right now? Understand topics worth spending time on
15. • What does the ideal outcome look like? • What challenges are you experiencing? • What’s your next step? • What are you worried about? Get context of the situation
16. • What can I do to help you? • What was the most useful part of our conversation today? Support your mentee
17. • Don’t make up advice if you don’t really have an answer for them • Share your network with your mentee to unlock further support for them 4/5 Connect them to your network
18. • Positive feedback goes a long way when building someone’s self confidence 5/5 Build them up
19. That imposter or phoney feeling at work rarely has anything to do with our abilities but has more to do with that fearful voice inside us that scolds and asks, ‘Who do you think you are?’ - Brené Brown, Professor
20. 1. Mentoring relationships are relationships 2. Plan how you spend time together 3. Have empathy not answers 4. Connect them to your network 5. Build them up
21. lucy@dovetailapp.com @lucinda_denton @hidovetail