The mentor – mentee contract

The notion of a contract between mentor and mentee arose very early in the history of supported mentoring. A contract clarifies what each party can expect from each other and is particularly useful to refer to when agreeing the logistics of the relationship, when reviewing the relationship as it evolves and when the relationship has a problem.

How formal the contract needs to be is variable. At one extreme, some programmes have a written, common contract that everyone is required to sign. At the other extreme, mentors and mentees are simply asked to have an initial conversation around a checklist of issues to agree on. What little evidence there is on contracting suggests that the appropriate level of formality depends on two factors:

• How relaxed the mentor and mentee are about their relationship
• How vulnerable the mentee is – so programmes involving children or people with mental health issues, for example, tend to have very specific, written contracts.

The contract between mentor and mentee may be informal and private to them; or in very formal programmes a copy is lodged with the programme manager. The latter doesn’t seem to add any obvious benefit to the mentoring relationships, but may be required to meet external “duty of care” requirements.

The following examples illustrate contracts in three circumstances: mentoring in general, business mentoring and youth mentoring.

Mentoring in general

We agree:

1. To be open and honest with each other in our conversations
2. To treat each other with respect
3. To listen and reflect
4. To meet at least times over the next
5. To avoid postponements of meetings, wherever possible, and to be considerate of each other’s time, when a postponement is necessary
6. To maintain the confidentiality of the relationship
7. To review the relationship from time to time
8. To recognise the dangers of dependency and actively avoid them
9. To do our best to implement what we say we are going to do
10. To challenge each other’s thinking robustly and compassionately
11. To maintain the boundaries of the mentoring relationship
12. To make this a relationship of co-learning
13. To use the mentor’s experience with care – as an addition to that of the mentee, not as a substitute for it

Business mentoring

All these items are equally relevant to business mentoring. The critical difference lies in what is included in terms of maintaining boundaries. The mentor must agree not to:

• Seek to create any kind of commercial or investment interest in the mentee’s business
• Prolong the mentoring relationship unnecessarily
• Become a surrogate leader for the business or a shadow director

The mentee must agree not to:

• Expect the mentor to tell them what to do or take over any of their responsibilities
• Use the mentor as a source of business

Youth mentoring

Maintaining boundaries is also important in this context. The contract should cover:

• Where it is appropriate and inappropriate to meet
• What each party will do, if they feel uncomfortable about any aspect of the relationship

It will also place greater emphasis on the mentee’s responsibility for turning up to mentoring sessions.

© David Clutterbuck, 2017

Prof David Clutterbuck
Coaching and Mentoring International Ltd
Woodlands, Tollgate,
Maidenhead,
Berks, UK. SL6 4LJ

www.coachingandmentoringinternational.org
e-mail: info@coachingandmentoringinternational.org
Company registration number : 08158710