As a mentor, it's a good idea to maintain a professional image for your mentee. Especially in workplace based mentoring relationships, a mentee will often view the mentor as a blueprint for achieving sucess. Mentors can use their own professional accomplishments and career to help guide their protégé towards acheiving their goals. 

Mentoring doesn't just have to consist of discussions between a mentor and mentee. Try role playing, attend a special event or conference, or brainstorm ideas on paper. Varying what you do in a mentoring reltionship can help keep things interesting and enhance learning. 

Protégés and mentors alike need to be willing to step out of their comfort zones. Those who can consider new ideas and concepts will be most able to reap benefits from a mentoring relationship. 

Mentoring is a long term process, so it's normal to not see results immediately. Don't get discouraged by a lack of progress; keep attending and arranging meetings with your mentor or protégé. Resilience and determination are keys to successful mentoring outcomes. 

When entering into a mentoring relationship, take advantage of the thousands of  guides, studies and articles on the topic. There exists a wealth of knowledge online that can be utilized to improve your mentoring experience. In fact, we have our own list of online mentoring resources for you to use: http://mentor.unm.edu/online-resources

One of the main functions of a mentor is to provide feedback to his or her protégé. However, mentors should be careful not to provide too many pieces of criticism at once. Giving too much feedback can overwhelm the mentee, and dilute the importance of each point. When considering feedback, mentors need to value quality over quantity!

Mentees should aim to keep an open mind throughout the mentoring process. Try different methods of learning and types of activities that your mentor may suggest, even if you aren't sure that they will work. Being receptive and flexible can drastically improve your mentoring experience. 

Mentoring is hard work for both the mentor and mentee. However, it's important to not overwork yourself in a mentoring relationship. Set boundaries early on (e.g. how often you will meet, how much work is to be expected), and if you find yourself getting worn out, let your mentoring partner know. The point of a mentoring relationship is to foster learning, not exhaustion! 

In any mentoring relationship, discussion should be emphasized over lecturing. When a mentee makes a mistake, or has a question, mentors can use the opportunity to hold a converstion. Discussions are best because they enhance learning and help grow relationships.

In integral component to the development of a successful mentoring relationship is trust. Trust requires commitment and honesty over a period of time. Keep up with meetings, be friendly with the other individual, and be respectful of their opinions.