What Mentors Expect from Mentees

Last night, I was listening to John Maxwell‘s “What Leaders Expect from Followers“. It made me reflect on the questions I get from friends about students taking my program including the Certified E-Commerce Specialist, Entrepreneur, and Professional Program and the Certified Blog and Social Media Entrepreneur Program. Questions usually focus on:

• Why the number of students completing it is low?
• Why is the learning journey difficult?

As both programs give the title “certified” to the person completing it, I believe that it is not to be taken lightly. I am not satisfied receiving a project plan and have that as a grade measurement or serve as basis for getting “certified”.

What matters to me is the project completion report. This includes:

• What’s the agreed goal / target?
• What did you do to achieve it?
• Show proof of what you did. 
• Show how you calibrated based on feedback and input I gave you.
• Show project results (direct / indirect)
• Reflect on what worked and what didn’t.
• How will you use all the lessons learned after the training program.

There are many reasons why a student or mentee can’t complete a program. Those who finish usually have the following qualities and mindset:

1. Positive attitude

Instead of saying, “this is hard”, the right student will say “I can’t wait to roll-up my sleeves, organize my ideas, and do this”.

They are not shy to ask questions especially when they get outside input affecting their morale. Get clarification for concerns that confuses them. The same also when they face a wall – unsure what to do next.

2. Service-oriented

Putting up an e-commerce website or a blog project is not about flaunting yourself, rack-in following, or just getting money from others. It is an opportunity to serve others and add value.

The results report usually include feedback received from peers on how they change and/or helped. How their e-commerce project or blog project allowed them to help or serve others.

3. Values Growth

Those who finish our programs usually has a determined “growth” objective when they first joined.

Growth comes in from doing something challenging that can either lead to success or failure. That whole rocky nerve-wracking journey – giving you a roller coaster of emotions – are all part of it. No sugar-coating.

That growth experience, whether from failure or success, is shared by both mentor and mentee.

Not the kind who will say – “It is your fault I failed this because you forced me to do this project.”

4. Personal Accountability

To be able to carry out an e-commerce site or blog project requires activities to be done for 2 weeks to a month (on a daily basis). It requires a student to:

• Use scheduling tools if they don’t have time to manually do it daily. Not do most of it at near deadline – as there won’t be time to evaluate response and calibrate.
• Come up with ideas catering to buyer journey stages for e-commerce sites.
• Think why it will matter to the reader for blog projects.
• Use available or create own templates / process.
• Get inputs and inspiration from people who can help them achieve the tasks.

5. Willing to Transform

I have encountered students who joined my programs who are unable to do certain project tasks. Not because it was difficult – but they were “shy” to do it.
This includes:

• Promoting their blog project or e-commerce website. 
• Reaching out to friends and ask for support (read, visit, give feedback – up to – leave comment, share, buy).

There are books, articles, movies, training that transforms us. But it is in the “doing” where personal change can be realized. It all starts in trusting (and loving) yourself – more than the fears that hold you back.
The above applies to those joining our paid programs and mentees through government-initiated mentoring programs (where we will get to train more than 1000 mentees this 2017 on e-commerce and digital marketing).
AS we start with new class batches soon, I hope the above will be of help to those joining our programs.