The Mentor-Mentee Relationship

The mentor-mentee partnership is a dynamic relationship that is unique to each pair of individuals. A mentor and mentee may decide to have an informal relationship, one that evolves without a great deal of organization and planning, or a formal mentoring relationship that is well-defined. Some tools and suggestions for establishing this relationship are given here (and in the Program Handbook, too).

A few items to remember as your mentor-mentee relationship begins:

• You may not "hit it off" right away. It may take you both a while to build up a level of comfort and trust. Please do not interpret caution as rejection.
• Some mentees have little to no professional experience. Part of what mentors can/will teach mentees is professional development.
• The mentor and mentee need to be aware that career matches may not be ideal. A mentor is still able to serve as a resource by offering advice on resume writing, interviewing techniques, networking skills, etc. The mentor may also be able to introduce the mentee to a professional who is in the field the mentee is interested in pursuing.
• The mentoring relationship should have a spiritual focus as well as addressing professional concerns and growth. Set the tone for a spiritual focus from the beginning of the relationship, by praying together or discussing the relationship of faith to international health work.

In addition, we believe that everyone has something to offer to others. We encourage the mentee to share his/her knowledge and skills that might be helpful to the mentor, especially in the area of information and communication technology. The form and amount of help that the mentee provides to the mentor is voluntary and will be discussed between the mentor and mentee.

Initial Meeting

Where possible, CCIH will introduce mentor-mentee pairs at the CCIH Annual Conference, but in some cases an initial face-to-face meeting may not be possible. If the mentor and mentee do not meet at the Annual Conference, it is the responsibility of the mentee to initiate contact.

As mentioned above, each mentor-mentee pair will set a unique tone for their relationship, but if you would like some help getting started, the following list of topics may serve as a starting place for your first conversation:

• Introduce yourselves (e.g., where did you grow up, go to school, study, etc.).
• Discuss your expectations for your mentor-mentee relationship.
• Discuss how you may share your knowledge and skills that might be helpful to your mentor.
• Discuss the best way to contact each other.
• Schedule your next meeting (or two, since schedules can be difficult to coordinate).
• Spend time in collective prayer.

If you discuss expectations, it will help both of you to reach a consensus about what your relationship should “look like”. You are encouraged to schedule the next meeting or two because that will make it easy for both of you to get started and to start building your relationship. However, please be willing to be flexible as things do come up and meetings may need to be rescheduled.

If you would like forms to help guide you through the process of getting to know one another, please feel free to use the "Goal Setting Worksheet" as a tool to get started.

Subsequent Meetings

Ongoing contact, in person, or via another form of communication, is essential for your mentor-mentee relationship to grow. Together, you may define your own relationship, but if you need some topics on-and-off to keep the conversation going, please feel free to reference “Potential Questions for Mentors” in the Program Handbook. Additionally, following is a list of potential discussion topics and outings that you may want to consider doing together:

• Develop a mutual professional reading list and discuss a few articles at a time, emphasizing their practical application and relevance to the mentor’s and mentee’s professional experience and goals.
• Exchange and discuss ideas relevant to each other’s professional and academic roles, particularly upcoming, concrete challenges.
• Attend professional seminars or meetings together, sharing ideas on the insights gained from those experiences (starting with CCIH!).
• Discuss career and internship options. Please note that mentors are not expected to function as a “placement service” for their mentees.
• Share a meal or social function to get to know one another better.
• Discuss problems emerging in professional or academic contexts and share views about effective solutions.
• Attend a meeting or presentation together in the mentor’s organization.
• Meet with other individuals from the mentor’s organization or a broader network of professional colleagues.
• Review the mentor organization’s annual report and discuss the organization’s future, discussing the environmental and internal factors that will be crucial to future success.
• Exchange and discuss a statement or list of future personal and professional goals.
• Discuss class projects and consider whether (and if so, how) the mentor’s organization might represent a useful “real-world laboratory” for specific projects.
• Introduce the mentee to people and materials that might provide input and contribute to building skills in management, planning, and policy. For example: effective delegation, performance appraisal, time management, public presentations, organizing a meeting, interviewing, job search, etc.
• Attend a meeting together of a civic, social, or business organization and discuss the experience.
• Pray together, asking God’s guidance in the mentee’s career, or praying about international health concerns worldwide. (A good resource for this is CCIH’s Monthly Prayer Calendar.)
• Discuss the relationship of faith to service and careers in international health. The mentee can ask the mentor how faith has impacted his/her career in international health, or the mentor and mentee can discuss a book, article, or conference presentation dealing with faith, Christian service, compassion, justice, or other topics.

The preceding ideas for activities offer a starting place, but we strongly encourage both mentors and mentees to investigate new paths for their special relationship. This creativity will energize the connection between you, while creating new ideas that we hope you will share with the CCIH program coordinator.

Mentor-Mentee Problems

Even with good processes in place, unexpected challenges may arise. Grievances, personality clashes, crossed signals, and communication problems may occur. If any of these should occur please contact the CCIH mentorship program (mentorship@ccih.org). Additionally, if after eight weeks and several attempts you have been unable to establish a good relationship, please contact CCIH (mentorship@ccih.org).

Conclusion of Mentor-Mentee Program

While there is no obligation for continued interaction, the end of the official mentorship program does not necessarily mean the end of the mentor/mentee relationship. If both the mentor and mentee desire, the relationship can continue. It is recommended the mentor-mentee pair make this decision at or near the close of the official program.