A guide for mentees: Take It to Work
How to turn mentoring into real work, with your manager’s support.
What this guide covers
What this guide covers
What this guide covers
Hard tasks teach
Hard tasks at work teach the most
Managers’ skills grew with challenging tasks, up to a point.
One step beyond
Choose a task one step beyond you
Pick something new for you that your team also needs.
- Too easy you already do it every week
- One step beyond lead a small project, present to senior leaders, work with another team
- Too far a whole new job, with no one to ask
Why ask your manager
Your manager makes it possible
New skills reach the job more often when the people around you support them.
People say yes
People say yes more than you expect
People underestimate how often others agree to a direct request.
The request
Ask your manager in five sentences
Say what, why, how much time, what help, and how you will report back.
- What I am working on With my mentor I am working on presenting to senior leaders.
- The task I would like to present our team’s results at the March review.
- The time It would take about four hours to prepare.
- The help Could you look at my draft the week before?
- The report back I will tell you afterwards what worked and what did not.
When it is “not now”
When the answer is “not now”
Ask what would make it possible, and agree when to ask again.
- What would need to change for this to work? Turns a no into conditions.
- Could I take a smaller part of it? Keeps the step alive.
- Can we look at it again in May? Puts a date on it.
Feedback on the way
Ask for feedback while you do it
Feedback offset the drop in learning from very hard tasks.
- Before What would good look like to you?
- Halfway What is one thing I should change?
- After What should I do differently next time?
Back to your mentor
Bring the task back to your mentor
Talk through what happened, then choose the next step together.
- Task presented results at the March review
- Went well the numbers were clear
- Was hard questions from the finance director
- Next step rehearse answers to hard questions
Mentornity in Claude and ChatGPT
Use Mentornity from Claude or ChatGPT
Ask in your own words; your assistant plans meetings, fills in tools and drafts messages.
Connect it once
Add Mentornity in Claude, ChatGPT or another MCP app, then sign in.
Ask in your own words
Plan meetings, fill in a tool or form, find a mentor, reply.
A preview before every change
The assistant shows what will happen; nothing changes until you say yes.
Disconnect any time
It sees only what you see; Settings shows what it did recently.
Connect it once
Add Mentornity in Claude, ChatGPT or another MCP app, then sign in.
Ask in your own words
Plan meetings, fill in a tool or form, find a mentor, reply.
A preview before every change
The assistant shows what will happen; nothing changes until you say yes.
Disconnect any time
It sees only what you see; Settings shows what it did recently.
Your goals and the Academy
Set goals, learn, earn a badge
Track your goals in My development and learn in Mentornity Academy, in your language.
Set your goals
Write what you want to reach and rate it at each check-in.
Badge courses for mentors
Seven skills with short practice, then a 20-question exam.
Guides for mentors and mentees
Research-based guides, a deck for every tool, and decks for your program.
Add your badge to LinkedIn
Pass the exam and share the badge page, valid for two years.
Set your goals
Write what you want to reach and rate it at each check-in.
Badge courses for mentors
Seven skills with short practice, then a 20-question exam.
Guides for mentors and mentees
Research-based guides, a deck for every tool, and decks for your program.
Add your badge to LinkedIn
Pass the exam and share the badge page, valid for two years.
Sources
The research behind this presentation
- DeRue, D. S. & Wellman, N. (2009) Developing leaders via experience: The role of developmental challenge, learning orientation, and feedback availability Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(4), 859-875
- Blume, B. D., Ford, J. K., Baldwin, T. T. & Huang, J. L. (2010) Transfer of training: A meta-analytic review Journal of Management, 36(4), 1065-1105
- Flynn, F. J. & Lake, V. K. B. (2008) If you need help, just ask: Underestimating compliance with direct requests for help Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(1), 128-143
Write your request this week
Five sentences, sent to your manager before your next mentoring meeting.