Key steps to mentorship success

“You don’t have to have a seven-page contract with fine print, but accept the fact that [the mentee is] going to rely on [the mentor] to counsel and guide in certain areas and [the mentor will] accept the responsibility,” he says.

A mentoring process should begin with the individual who is looking for guidance stating his or her goals and objectives. For example, an advisor may be looking for specific help with growing his or her assets under management or the number of team members within a certain number of years.

Another element of the relationship that should be defined is the amount of time that will be dedicated toward the mentoring and how the exchanges will occur. If a mentee would like to meet for coffee for an hour once a month, he or she should be clear about that request, says Sara Gilbert, founder of Strategist Business Development in Montreal.

Although the advisors may be friendly and may not consider the interaction to be formal, there should be an agenda for each meeting so the communication stays on track and away from “living room” conversation such as the weather, sports or local events, says Gilbert. It’s the mentee’s role to set the agenda for a meeting.

An organized method of approaching a conversation between mentor and mentee is what allows the relationship and business partnership to flourish between Sybil Verch, founder of Willow Wealth Management in Vancouver and national director of wealth management with Raymond James Ltd., and her mentee, Kirsty Thomson, principal financial advisor at the practice.

Although Verch has an open-door mindset with her staff, both she and Thomson are busy advisors. The booking of an appointment in which Thomson can attend with a prepared list of questions is what works best for the pair.

“We need to have a proper structure, format and routine of how we approach it. That goes back to [the] respect of [our] time,” says Thomson.

Dedicating blocks of time specifically for the purpose of mentoring and away from the day-to-day hustle of meeting with clients is important to reassess objectives and determine if goals are being met, says Steve Sebag, a private wealth counsellor in Montreal with Pavilion Investment House, a division of Pavilion Advisory Group Ltd.

Sebag and his mentor, Armand Kessous, a principal at Pavilion Investment House, engage in weekly meetings and annual retreats to discuss practice management issues.

“If you’re not [taking stock of your goals regularly], you’re bound to repeat the same mistakes,” says Sebag.

Although the mentee is the one seeking guidance, a mentor should also be sensitive to the fact that some suggestions or ideas may sound like harsh criticism if not approached properly.

“I would always make the criticisms or those suggestions within the context of the bigger picture,” suggests Hartman. “What is it that we’re trying to get accomplished? Relate it back [to those goals]. I think in most cases, you will find acceptance.”

Discussion of the mentee’s goals should bookend the conversation. At the end of each session, the mentor and mentee should review some of the key elements of the conversation and determine any progress that has been made toward any objectives, says Hartman.

Whenever possible, meetings should be conducted in person as opposed to by telephone or an online video chat because these meetings require absolute honesty about goals and strategies, says Gilbert.

That type of interaction is better facilitated when individuals can see each other face to face, understand their partners’ visual cues and react authentically without the barriers that technology can provide, she adds.

This is the third article in a three-part series on mentorship.