As a benefit to Competition participation, IEN will provide each participating institution with a mentor to guide the development of their investment recommendation and engagement strategy. Below is an overview of mentor/mentee team roles and responsibilities, and guiding questions, principles, and best practices.
Mentors are expected to:
● Help their mentee team develop their investment recommendation and shareholder engagement strategy, and provide feedback throughout the development process;
● Offer ongoing support and guidance to their mentee team, both in relation to their competition deliverable and their broader career goals;
● Commit to allocating around five hours of their time over the term of the mentorship to connect with and provide feedback to their mentee team;
● Offer career advice, opportunities for informational interviews with colleagues, and access to relevant educational materials.
Guiding Principles, Questions, and Best Practices
Guiding Principles for Mentorship Relationship
● The mentee team will be responsible for scheduling meetings, setting agendas, and highlighting specific areas for their mentor to provide feedback;
● The mentor and mentee team will start and end all meetings on time;
● The mentor and mentee team will use agendas to keep on track;
● The mentor and mentee team will both participate fully in the conversation;
● The mentor and mentee team will be open and honest with each other in a respectful manner;
● The mentor and mentee team will respect each other’s differences and not make judgments;
● The mentor and mentee team will keep conversations confidential;
● The mentor and mentee team will respect the educational nature of the program, and will not make inappropriate asks (i.e. if looking for funding, connections, referrals, clients, trade secrets, or anything along those lines, make sure these are voluntarily offered rather than asked for);
● If the mentor and mentee team come across an issue of disagreement or concern, they will discuss it openly, and if the relationship does not work out, the mentor and mentee will discuss this and see what they can each learn from it;
● While this mentorship program is intended to be largely self-directed, and mentee teams will ‘get out what they put in’, the mentor and mentee team will reach out to Nicole at
nicole@intentionalendowments.org with any areas of disagreement or concern.
Sample Framing Questions (Mentee Team Self Check-in or Mentor to Mentee Team )
● What are your main hoped learning outcomes from participating in this Competition?
● What’s particularly challenging for you at the moment? Why is it hard for you?
● What do you feel most confident about?
● What do you feel least confident about?
● What are three skills that you wish to develop that I can be helpful with?
● Do you need additional guidance – from your mentor or your colleagues?
● What thoughts do you have with regard to long-term career goals and the strategies that we discussed during earlier meetings?
