Volunteering-NI

Roles of a Mentor

Below are examples of the main roles of a mentor:

To establish trust through conveying personal integrity and genuine interest in and concern for the mentee
To be an active reflective listener
To gather information about the mentee's plans and progress
To help interpret the environment relevant to the mentee's development
To stimulate the mentee's thinking with regard to envisioning their own future
To help set goals
To help identify alternatives/routes for achieving personal goals
To help identify consequences of actions
To help identify the mentee's strengths and other positive qualities
To help raise the mentee's self-esteem, through praise of achievements
To motivate and encourage initiative
To engender an enthusiasm for learning
To provide productive challenge in relation to the mentee's explanations for, or avoidance of, decisions or actions relevant to their development
To provide practical help and guidance in relation to tasks which may help in the mentee's development
To act as a sounding board
To give information
To identify and facilitate access to resources and contacts that may be useful
To disclose relevant experiences (good or bad)
To act as a role model
To encourage increased self-determination
To regularly review the way the mentoring is working and re-negotiate, as appropriate

Taken from A Guide for the Journey (Courtney 2000) research report into mentoring in Northern Ireland.