Learn how to balance mentoring and leadership development without overstepping your role. Find tips on how to guide your mentee's growth as a leader.

The best way to help the mentee grow and also assess their commitment and skills is to curate a project or assignment that will help them to develop the necessary skills without being intrusive about it. Experiential learning is the best form of learning.

Leadership Skills is all about one's mindset. It comes conceived with everyone. How much we action it makes it active. Here are three Simple Steps: 1-Suggest to create a Group 2-Offer a project 3-Make your mentee "the owner"

How can you help your mentee develop leadership skills without taking on too much responsibility?

As a mentor, you want to help your mentee grow as a leader, but you also need to respect their autonomy and avoid overstepping your role. How can you balance these two aspects of mentoring without taking on too much responsibility or interfering with their learning process? Here are some tips to guide you.

1 Define expectations

The first step is to clarify what you and your mentee expect from each other and the mentoring relationship. Discuss your goals, roles, boundaries, and feedback preferences. Establish how often and how long you will meet, and what topics you will cover. Agree on how you will measure progress and success, and how you will handle challenges and conflicts. Setting clear expectations will help you both stay focused and aligned, and avoid misunderstandings and frustrations.

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Ruchi Shah

Curious I Eclectic I Scrupulous I Driving Growth I Unlocking GTM Sucess I Process Excellence I Leadership Development
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Leadership Skills is all about one's mindset. It comes conceived with everyone. How much we action it makes it active. Here are three Simple Steps: 1-Suggest to create a Group 2-Offer a project 3-Make your mentee "the owner"

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Emmah K.

🌟LinkedIn Top Training Voice| Head of Tax Training| Trade Facilitation |Tax & Public Policy| Africa | AFCFTA| Public & Government Relations| Conversation Curator
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Shadowing and Observation: -Encourage your mentee to shadow leaders during meetings, projects, or decision-making processes to observe leadership in action. Skill-Building Activities: -Recommend leadership-focused workshops, seminars, or online courses tailored to their interests and development needs. Small Project or Task Ownership: -Assign your mentee a small project or task that allows them to take ownership and practice leadership skills. Collaborative Leadership Opportunities: -Facilitate team activities where your mentee can take on a leadership role in a collaborative setting. -Encourage them to lead discussions, facilitate meetings, or coordinate group projects.

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Vanessa Francis Gray, AICP

Built Environment Expert & Career Advisor
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To help mentees develop leadership skills without taking on too much responsibility, mentors should consider: 1. Inquiring with the mentee to determine their current and future workload; 2. Inquiring about their level of desire for developing leadership skills; 3. Learning about the specific leadership development element the mentee prefers to build (ex: confidence, decisiveness)

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Anja Ferk

Strategic HR | Practicing Rapid Transformational Therapy | Driving Personal and Organizational Growth
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The quality of your mentor-mentee relationship hinges on the quality of your expectation conversation. In our diverse work environments, having an open dialogue about commitments, goals, and more is paramount. This is particularly true in leadership development, where it all begins with clear, open communication that fosters self-awareness and an understanding of others.

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2 Model leadership

One of the best ways to help your mentee develop leadership skills is to demonstrate them yourself. Share your own experiences, challenges, and insights as a leader. Show them how you communicate, collaborate, solve problems, make decisions, and handle stress. Explain your values, principles, and strategies, and how they guide your actions. Invite them to observe you in action, or to join you in a project or a meeting where they can see you lead. Modeling leadership will help your mentee learn from your example, and inspire them to emulate your best practices.

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Maureen Adams MBA, ICF ACC

☀️ Career and Leadership Coach | Non Exec Director and Chair | Speaker | Coaching and Training for Individuals, Teams and Organisations | Customer Service |
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Modelling leadership isn't easy, but it can be a valuable window into your world for the mentee. It will reveal the challenges, the questions we ask ourselves, the range of options we accommodate, and the way our thinking develops. One of my mentees noted for instance, that in a conversation, I would make one-word notes to remind me of an important point raised by a colleague or customer so that I didn't lose my focus on them. But to model leadership, we must reflect on when we haven't made the right choices and how to manage the emerging feelings. Leadership is a game of the heart and the head, and we can display both as an active mentor.

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3 Challenge and support

Another way to help your mentee develop leadership skills is to challenge and support them. Challenge them to step out of their comfort zone, take on new responsibilities, try new approaches, and learn new skills. Support them by providing resources, guidance, feedback, and encouragement. Help them identify their strengths and areas for improvement, and create a plan to achieve their goals. Celebrate their achievements, and help them learn from their failures. Challenging and supporting your mentee will help them grow their confidence, competence, and resilience as a leader.

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Srikanth N D

Author of book ‘Inspire Someone Today’ | COO - Tax @ KPMG (KGS) | LinkedIn Top Voice | Podcaster | Storyteller of Leadership & Growth
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The best way to help the mentee grow and also assess their commitment and skills is to curate a project or assignment that will help them to develop the necessary skills without being intrusive about it. Experiential learning is the best form of learning.

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4 Ask and listen

A third way to help your mentee develop leadership skills is to ask and listen. Ask open-ended questions that stimulate their thinking, reflection, and creativity. Listen actively and empathetically to their ideas, opinions, and concerns. Encourage them to express themselves clearly and authentically, and to listen to others with respect and curiosity. Avoid giving unsolicited advice, or imposing your own views or solutions. Instead, help them discover their own answers, and explore different perspectives and possibilities. Asking and listening will help your mentee develop their critical thinking, communication, and emotional intelligence as a leader.

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5 Delegate and empower

A fourth way to help your mentee develop leadership skills is to delegate and empower. Delegate tasks and projects that match their interests, skills, and goals, and that offer them opportunities to learn and lead. Empower them to make decisions, take actions, and own the results. Trust them to handle the challenges and risks, and to seek your help when needed. Give them autonomy and accountability, and recognize their contributions and efforts. Delegating and empowering your mentee will help them develop their initiative, responsibility, and leadership presence.

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6 Reflect and review

The final way to help your mentee develop leadership skills is to reflect and review. Reflect on your own mentoring practice, and how you can improve it. Review your mentee's progress, and how you can support it. Ask for and give feedback, and make adjustments as needed. Celebrate your successes, and acknowledge your challenges. Learn from your experiences, and share your learnings. Reflecting and reviewing will help you both improve your leadership skills, and strengthen your mentoring relationship.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How can you help your mentee develop leadership skills without taking on too much responsibility?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Define expectations

2 Model leadership

3 Challenge and support

4 Ask and listen

5 Delegate and empower

6 Reflect and review

7 Here’s what else to consider

Mentoring

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How can you help your mentee develop leadership skills without taking on too much responsibility?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Define expectations

2 Model leadership

3 Challenge and support

4 Ask and listen

5 Delegate and empower

6 Reflect and review

7 Here’s what else to consider

Mentoring

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