According to Mentoring.org, young adults who are mentored are 130 percent more likely to hold leadership positions in the future. Strong mentors assist is building strong junior-level colleagues – especially in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.
As with all relationships, the mentor-mentee relationship must be approached with care, encouragement, and openness. Based on internal success at the CRO level, MMS experts have compiled a list of the 20 things that good mentors should do, including:
- Set expectations for the relationship from day 1
- Understand that no two mentees are alike, and each should be approached differently
- Hold regular touch point discussions with the mentee
- Set your phone down for the meeting and give full attention
- Genuinely get to know them – personally and professionally
- Ask about their short- and long-term career goals
- Hear them out, unbiased – sometimes younger mentees may seem “out there” with their logic; yet take the time to listen
- Take the initiative to follow up – do not let it be one-sided
- Ask them open-ended questions to ensure that relevant advice sinks in
- Provide constructive feedback
- Share stories on mistakes as much as successes
- Remember what it meant to be “just starting out”
- Encourage them to ask all questions, even the “dumb” ones
- Give them homework – something to dive deeper on
- Be responsive to follow ups from the mentee
- Introduce them to someone else – our industry is only so big, after all
- Celebrate milestones with them
- Be honest with them
- Give them more than expected
- Be patient
- Lead by example