The document discusses mentoring versus coaching and the importance of building rapport and trust in mentoring relationships. It recommends putting the relationship first through building trust and encouraging mentees to have a network of advisors beyond just one mentor. Additionally, it addresses using questions to help mentees who are stuck or confused, noting that questions should encourage curiosity and brainstorming over needing a perfect answer. A good mentor acts as a question asker to guide their mentee.

1. Product League
CREATING A COMMON LANGUAGE

2. Mentoring vs Coaching

3. Creating a common language

4. Relationship First

5. Creating a common language

6. ● Put the relationship first - build rapport. Without trust,
there is no process.
● It takes a village. Encourage your mentee to have a
mentoring team or even an informal advisory board.
“One piece of research, conducted by Belle Rose Ragins, a
mentoring expert and professor at the University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee, demonstrated that unless mentees have a
basic relationship with their mentors, there is no discernable
difference between mentees and those not mentored” - HBR
Relationship First

7. The Art of Asking Questions
What do you do when your mentee is stuck,
confused or doesn’t know where to begin?
The mentor’s role as the question asker.
What are some great questions you’ve asked or
wish you’d been asked?
Remember, it doesn’t have to lead to a
game-changing answer, but rather encourage
curiosity, research and brainstorming.
A good resource:
https://hbr.org/2018/07/how-to-mentor-someone-who-doesnt-kno
w-what-their-career-goals-should-be