How long should you have a mentor for?

In general, an effective mentoring relationship takes some time to develop. Most business mentoring relationships need at least six months to develop a relationship that supports mentee growth. Formal mentoring programs typically last 12 to 18 months. On the other side of the spectrum, there are several examples of successful business mentoring relationships that last for decades.

If the learner is stuck during this period, they will have trouble interacting and offering real value. For example, if a mentor stops communicating with a mentee, the mentee may interpret the situation as a sign that they do not deserve the time and attention required of a mentor, when in fact the mentor may be withdrawing from professional mentoring due to unrelated factors. If there's no natural end date for professional mentoring (such as an internship course or a formal mentoring program), it may be a good idea to set an approximate date at the beginning of the relationship. It's also the mentoring period where the mentee and the mentor can work together to review the goals and objectives of mentoring, and work together to create work plans for the coming months and years.

To achieve success in the initial phase, both the mentor and the mentee must have a large amount of input and activities to establish a good connection and create a framework that allows future interactions to be fruitful. Trainees are likely to find that their great mentors can offer new knowledge as they become executives, business owners, or even more travelers. And while there's no definitive answer (it's kind of how long a piece of rope is), and although many mentorships tend to last indefinitely, there are some deadlines and best practices that make a lot of sense when looking to run a mentoring program and establish a semblance of structure and cadence. The 9 to 12 months is usually a good time to put mentoring on the back burner and seek mentoring and guidance from someone who can work with you to overcome the new impasse or challenges you have now faced.

That way, both the mentor and the mentee are in agreement when it comes to the duration of the mentoring relationship. Or maybe the mentor has a change in his life that prevents him from continuing to support the mentee. When the mentoring relationship ends, it's a good idea to review the existing mentoring plan. To get even more out of your mentoring program, start new couples for each person after approximately 9 months, so that each person will expand their network and expand their opportunities for growth indefinitely.

It's about setting early expectations (for example, how often you'll communicate and through what channels) and creating goals and objectives for the next stage of mentoring.