What to consider when choosing a mentor or mentee

When considering choosing a mentor, you may wish to think about the following

Compatibility: Someone that will put you at ease, you can talk with freely and establish rapport
Contrast: Someone that is different to you and will help you to step out of your comfort zone, for example, someone with different personal and professional background and expertise
Challenge: Someone that will challenge you, asking challenging and powerful questions which have the potential to change your perspective
Context: Someone with the knowledge and expertise to guide and support you on your journey
Care: Someone that is compassionate and has emotional intelligence, self-aware and empathetic.

When considering whether to work with a mentee, you may wish to think about the following

Openness to learn: Someone who is curious to learn, develop and grow
Committed: Mentoring can often be a long-term relationship, therefore committing to the mentoring relationship and subsequent actions is important
Willing to be challenged: Someone that is open to challenge, curious and welcomes challenging and powerful questions
Receptive to feedback: Someone willing to hear, accept and act on feedback
Respectful: Someone mindful of time, energy, boundaries and the contractual agreement.

Questions to consider

Looking back to your previous experience of mentoring, when considering a mentor or mentee, what were the deciding factors, if any?
Going forward, what might you look for in a potential mentor or mentee?
What action will you take now to move forward with a mentoring relationship?

To find out more you may wish to consult the following resources:

Perry, R.E. and Parikh, J.R., (2018). Journal of the American College of Radiology.
Developing effective mentor-mentee relationships in radiology. Journal of the American College of Radiology, 15(2), pp.328-333.