Helping Your Mentee Clarify Their Goals: Your Key Role at the Start of the Journey
From the very first meetings, you may have asked your mentee the classic question: “What are your goals for this mentorship?”
And you may have noticed that… it’s not always easy for them to answer. Yet, a clear goal—even a simple one—provides valuable direction to the mentoring relationship.
Understanding the Importance of Goals for Your Mentee
Goals are essential guideposts for your mentee: they help maintain motivation, clarify expectations, track progress, and foster a sense of accomplishment.
But these goals are also a compass for you as a mentor: they provide a framework for more meaningful interactions, help you guide your advice, tailor your shared experiences, and avoid going in circles.
Why is it sometimes hard for a mentee to define their goals?
It’s completely normal for a mentee to struggle to clearly express what they want to work on—especially at the beginning. Often, they have a broad intention (e.g., “I want to grow”)… without knowing how to turn it into a concrete goal (e.g., “I want to strengthen my ability to rally a team during times of change”).
This clarification stage is an essential part of the mentoring process—and you can play a big role in helping them gain clarity, without imposing anything.
The good news? There are several tools to help mentees clarify their intentions! That’s why we’re sharing 4 ideas below to help you encourage your mentees to start and structure their reflection.
1. The SMART Method
This method helps mentees define a clear goal they can discuss with you. The different criteria—Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Temporally Defined—make it a tool that’s often appreciated in mentorship.
2. The GAP Analysis Method
This method encourages mentees to reflect on their current professional situation and their desired one. They then identify the gaps between these two states, which can become their goals. These mentorship goals or needs will help pinpoint the levers for action that will allow them to bridge the gap between where they are now and where they want to be.
Download the GAP analysis tool now
3. Using Self-Assessment Questionnaires or Reflection Sheets
Self-assessment questionnaires or reflection sheets are excellent starting tools. They offer examples of goals, skills, or topics to explore (for example: communication, leadership, confidence, career transitions, etc.) and invite mentees to assess their level of ease, confidence, or proficiency with each skill. This helps them clarify their priorities without having to start from scratch.
4. Rely on Competent Profiles
Another great way to help mentees kick-start their reflection is to refer them to the competent profiles linked to their current role—or the one they’re aiming for. These profiles, often provided by their organization or manager, outline the key skills expected in their current or future position.
By reviewing them, mentees can identify the skills they already possess (and could strengthen with your support) and pinpoint the development areas they’d like to work on.
4 Steps for Using Goals Effectively
1. Encourage your mentee to schedule a moment for self-reflection.Suggest they block out time in their calendar to reflect on their journey and what they’d like to develop. They don’t need to have all the answers right away—mentorship is also a process of exploration. But the clearer they are on their intentions, the more they’ll benefit from the experience.
2. At the start of the mentoring relationship, discuss and identify areas where you can provide support.
3. Agree together on what you’ll work on first.
4. Throughout the mentorship, revisit their progress or how close they are to reaching their goals.
