Film-style poster for the Possible Selves for Mentors presentation

A guide for mentors: Possible Selves for Mentors

How to send Possible Selves, read the hopes and fears and start one strategy.

English

What this guide covers

What it is

Hopes and fears for next year

Your mentee lists who they hope to be and fear becoming, each with a strategy.

Next year, who do you hope to be?

Who I want to beWhat I do for it

Someone who leads a small project Ask to lead the next pilot

Someone the team asks for advice Write one short update for the team each Friday

Someone with free evenings What I do for it

Next year, who are you afraid of becoming?

Who I do not want to beHow I stay away from it

Someone who says yes to everything Check my week before taking new work

Which strategy will you start this week? Write one short update for the team each Friday

When to send it

Send it at a new chapter

It fits a new role, a new school year, or a stretch of feeling stuck.

A new chapter a role, a year, a team
Feeling stuck same place, same worries
Before goals to see who the goals are for

An honest frame

The strategy is the point

In the study, students learned to link who they hoped to be with concrete strategies.

2 years later the gains at school still held, in a programme that linked hopes to strategies Oyserman and others, 2006

Sending it

Send it from your pairing

It takes a minute, and your mentee gets an email.

Open your pairing

Choose Assign a tool and find Possible Selves.

Try it as your mentee

Fill in one hope yourself; nothing is saved or sent.

Add a short message

Your mentee sees it on their home page and Tools.

Open your pairing

Choose Assign a tool and find Possible Selves.

Assign a toolTool library

All Self-knowledge

Possible Selves 15 min Values Cards 15 min Balance Wheel 10 min

Message (optional)Fill it in before Thursday. We will talk it through.

Try it as the mentee Send

Sent. You will get an email when it comes back.

Try it as your mentee

Fill in one hope yourself; nothing is saved or sent.

Possible SelvesSaved

Step 1 of 2

PreviousNext

Before you send

Every step is filled in. Send answers

Add a short message

Your mentee sees it on their home page and Tools.

Tools to fill in (1)

Possible SelvesFrom Rachel Bennett To do See all

1Open your pairing

Assign a toolTool library

All Self-knowledge

Possible Selves 15 min Values Cards 15 min Balance Wheel 10 min

Message (optional)Fill it in before Thursday. We will talk it through.

Try it as the mentee Send

Sent. You will get an email when it comes back.

2Try it as your mentee

Possible SelvesSaved

Step 1 of 2

PreviousNext

Before you send

Every step is filled in. Send answers

3Add a short message

Tools to fill in (1)

Possible SelvesFrom Rachel Bennett To do See all

Reading the answers

Look for the empty strategy

A hope with no strategy next to it is the best place to start.

Hopes with a strategy counted for you at a glance
Hopes without one where the talk can begin
Hopes and fears often the same theme, two sides

Questions to ask

Start with the open hope

People who ask follow-up questions are liked more (Huang and others, 2017).

Which hoped-for self has no strategy yet? then: what could a first one be?
Is one of your hopes tied to one of your fears? then: how are they tied?
Who could help with the first strategy? then: when could you ask them?

Feedback that helps

Take the fears seriously

Do not argue a fear away; ask what keeps it at a distance.

1 in 3 Over a third of feedback effects lowered performance in one large review Kluger and DeNisi, 1996

One step

One strategy, started this week

Take the strategy they chose to start and agree on the first day.

Their own from their lists, not yours
This week the tool asks for it
Visible you can both tell it happened

After the meeting

Keep it all on Mentornity

The answers, your comments and the next steps stay in one place.

Read it at a glance

Hopes and fears with a strategy are counted for you.

Add next steps

Write what will be done, by whom and by when.

Ask to fill it again

Earlier answers are kept, so you can see which hopes moved.

Read it at a glance

Hopes and fears with a strategy are counted for you.

Possible SelvesSent

At a glance

Hopes with a strategy2 / 3Hopes without one1Fears with a strategy1 / 1

Discussion

On: Next year, who do you hope to be?Free evenings has no strategy yet. What would protect one evening a week? Private noteOnly you see this.

Add next steps

Write what will be done, by whom and by when.

Next steps

Write one short update for the team each Friday Mentee By Nov 27 Read the first two updates together Mentor By Dec 4

Mark as discussed Ask to fill again

Earlier answers

Latest · Nov 20 Sent on Oct 2

Ask to fill it again

Earlier answers are kept, so you can see which hopes moved.

Next steps

Write one short update for the team each Friday Mentee By Nov 27 Read the first two updates together Mentor By Dec 4

Mark as discussed Ask to fill again

Earlier answers

Latest · Nov 20 Sent on Oct 2

1Read it at a glance

Possible SelvesSent

At a glance

Hopes with a strategy2 / 3Hopes without one1Fears with a strategy1 / 1

Discussion

On: Next year, who do you hope to be?Free evenings has no strategy yet. What would protect one evening a week? Private noteOnly you see this.

2Add next steps

Next steps

Write one short update for the team each Friday Mentee By Nov 27 Read the first two updates together Mentor By Dec 4

Mark as discussed Ask to fill again

Earlier answers

Latest · Nov 20 Sent on Oct 2

3Ask to fill it again

Next steps

Write one short update for the team each Friday Mentee By Nov 27 Read the first two updates together Mentor By Dec 4

Mark as discussed Ask to fill again

Earlier answers

Latest · Nov 20 Sent on Oct 2

Send it before a new chapter

Choose a mentee starting a new role or year and send it this week.

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