Offbeat's
Mentoring
‍Playbook (beta)

The Offbeat Fellowship empowers the next generation of L&D and People Leaders through 1:1 mentorship. Our program guides mentors and mentees on a collaborative learning journey. To support this journey, we've created a comprehensive playbook, filled with resources and best practices. And we don't want to keep it to ourselves! We're passionate about spreading the knowledge and sharing our approach with anyone looking to start a mentorship program of their own.

An introduction

I'm a mentor

As an Offbeat mentor, you hold a significant responsibility in shaping the future of L&D and People Leaders. We highly appreciate your passion and dedication, and we want to provide you with all the necessary resources and support to ensure your success in this awesome role.

I'm a mentee

As an Offbeat mentee, you're in charge of your learning journey. Your mentor is there to provide guidance, but ultimately, it's up to you to make the most of it. Don't worry though, we've got your back with this handy guide to help ensure your mentoring relationship is a success and your journey is awesome!

The Offbeat Fellowship

A community of L&Ds and People Professionals who are learning together through monthly sessions, peer learning groups, curated mentoring relationships, and constant knowledge sharing.

Copyright Offbeat Works 2023

Your role as a mentor

As an Offbeat mentor, you play an important role in shaping the next generation of L&D Leaders. We are incredibly grateful for your commitment and passion, and we want to make sure you have all the support and tools you need to succeed.

That's why we've put together a resource guide just for you! This guide outlines our expectations and provides you with the tools and resources you need to make the most of your mentoring journey.

I. The mentor role - an overview

Being a mentor can be a fulfilling experience, but it's important to remember that it can also be challenging at times. Depending on your mentee's unique needs and goals, you may need to take on different roles to best support them. We've identified some key behaviors that are helpful to keep in mind as you navigate these different roles. While these aren't the only behaviors you may need to engage in, they can be a great starting point to help you prioritize your approach and build a strong relationship with your mentee.

❶ The guide. This is the most common role a mentor will hold. It's usually needed when mentees lack knowledge of a specific task or project they have embarked on, and they need to learn about other people's experiences, while also being held accountable for trying things out.

❷ The sparring partner. Closely related to the first role, this one comes with the added value of feedback. Once mentees have gone into the wild and taken it upon themselves to implement different things, they might need you to openly share your thoughts about their work.

❸ The cheerleader. Most of us need someone in our lives to show us how great we are, and your mentee might benefit from you being open to sharing all kinds of opportunities with them, together with positive feedback for their intentions, progress, or behaviors.

❹ The connector. Building upon the role of the cheerleader, you might want to become a connector if whatever you're hearing from your mentee is related to their personal brand, their desire to switch careers, or their need to connect with other people in your network.

❺ The coach. While, of course, this is a role in and of itself, you might stumble upon a mentee who is sitting in uncertainty and might need to be guided with powerful questions that can help them in their decision-making process.

❻ The challenger. Finally, you must not shy away from pushing your mentee a bit out of their comfort zone, either by throwing challenging questions at them or keeping them accountable for their commitments.

Keep in mind, of course, that this role requires flexibility. We hope you can use this map as an inspiration to how you could act depending on the different needs of your mentee, while also remembering the previous experiences you've had. They are your most important guide!

II. Potential journeys - your different touchpoints

While it's hard for us to tell you exactly how the journey would look like, we did want to share our view of how different session will happen.

Session 1 - the one with getting to know each other

Of course, during your first session chances are both of you know little to nothing about each other. You should use the time you have available to get to know each other and start establishing psychological safety. If you're not sure exactly how to navigate this session we can suggest two things. The first one is for you, as a mentor, to openly share you experience so far, together with your successes, failures, passions, and other things you think might help you connect personally with the mentee. The second one is leaving the space to the mentee to share their own experiences and thoughts, and follow-up with questions about the why, the how, the what, and the whom:

❶ Questions related to the why - why did you feel the need to have a mentor?

❷ Questions related to the how - how do you think I can best support you? how do you expect our relationship to unfold? how will we figure out our mentoring relationship is helping you?

❸ Questions related to the what - what do you think I should not do/ cover? what challenges are you facing right now? what goals would you like to achieve by the end of our time together? what part of my experience would be most helpful for you to tap into? what are your strengths, and how can we leverage them to help you succeed?

❹ Questions related to the whom - who else in your network is currently supporting you and how?

The actionable item of this first session should be setting a recurrent meeting in both your calendars once or twice per month.

Session 2 - the one with the learning goals

Once you've got a hold of each other and you have a ritual of meeting every couple of weeks, the next step is to define how you will both know this mentoring relationship was successful. We suggest spending session 2 only covering this.

❶ Questions about the what - what do you want to achieve? What will tell you you’re on the right track? What will you have by the end of these 6 months that you don't have now?

❷ Questions about the how - how much time will you be available in between meetings? How would you like us to work together (e.g. practical exercises & homework, sharing my experiences, connecting you with other people)? How do you usually enjoy learning?

These questions are not easy to cover, and some people never think about them. So make sure you approach your mentee with kindness and patience. The actionable item of this second session should be setting 1-3 goals, KPIs & definitions of done.

Intermediary sessions - the ones where work gets done
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You should now also know what your mentee needs from you, so each intermediary session should have any of the following structures:

❶ Questions from the mentee and answers from you

❷ Real work showcased by the mentee and feedback from you

❸ Real work showcased by you and questions from the mentee

Additionally, we recommend spending the last 5-10 minutes of the session in a reflection space, thinking about: what the mentee has learned from the last session, how do they feel both about the content and the relationship, how is it related to their goals, and what should come next.

While the above can easily apply to any circumstance, there are some things you need to be aware of:

→ Firstly, the world is ever changing, so your mentees goals might change as well for different reasons. Be prepared to navigate and support them in the process.

→ Secondly, the relationship should be driven by the mentee. Don't shy away from sharing feedback about behaviors that are not conducive to their success, and to ask for feedback yourself as well

Last session - the one with the celebration & the reflection
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Properly closing the relationship is as important as properly starting it. You can divide your last session in three big areas:

❶ Reviewing goals & progress and helping the mentee make a plan for what's coming next

❷ Sharing feedback with each other

❸ Celebrating the end of the relationship (e.g. drinking a glass of wine, talking about each others' accomplishments in the last months, reminiscing, praising each other)

Additional thoughts
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Of course, each conversation and relationship is a living system, and we trust you'll be able to guide your mentee in a way that's fulfilling for both of you.

III. Health check - what can you ask yourself

The mentor role is quite autonomous. While we're sharing all the guidelines we can, truth be told, there's a lot that just happens on the field. You might find yourself wondering if your mentoring relationship is going well, if you're doing the right things, or if your mentee is on the path they desire. We prepared a short but sweet quizz you can go through to understand where you're standing.

This is a simple and nice tool to go through every now and then together with your mentee. If your views don't align and after some conversations thing don't change, don't hesitate to reach out for help.

IV. Extra resources - for different purposes

→ How to Create a Personal Development Plan

→ Tools for Setting & Achieving Goals

→ Build Team Trust with this Self-Reflection Activity

→ Start, Build & Establish a Great Mentor-Mentee Relationship: A No-BS Guide

→ Check-in/ Check-out tool

→ Own your development template

→ Plan your learning strategy template

Part of Offbeat's Open Sourced Mentoring Playbook.

Your role as a mentee

As an Offbeat mentee, you're in charge of your learning journey. Your mentor is there to provide guidance, but ultimately, it's up to you to make the most of it. Don't worry though, we've got your back with this handy guide to help ensure your mentoring relationship is a success.

I. To be a mentee or not to be?

Becoming a mentee can be a valuable experience for personal and professional growth, but it's not always easy to know when the time is right to seek out a mentor. Here are some things to consider when deciding if you're ready to become a mentee:

Overall, becoming a mentee can be a fantastic experience if you're ready to commit to personal growth, be open to feedback and guidance, and are willing to be vulnerable with your mentor.

On the other hand, signs you’re not ready to become a mentee?
→ Your schedule is fully packed and you can’t or don’t want to spend 2-5 hours a month in your mentoring relationship;
→ You’re already using tons of other learning methods for your goals. While mentoring can be a great way to learn, you have to think of the added value a mentor would bring you, along with all the other ways you’re using to learn;
→ For different reasons, you don't feel ready to let someone in. This can happen to all of us at one point or another, but keep in mind that a successful mentoring relationship might involve difficult and vulnerable conversations, so if you don't feel ready to go there, that's perfectly fine. Take your time.

II. Your role as a mentee

Being a mentee will help you exercise your role as a learner and strengthen behaviors that will help you navigate the complex ecosystem we live in right now.

Some of the behaviors we've identified in successful mentees are highly related to healthy learning behaviors as well.

❶ Asking questions - we advise you prepare even before each meeting and arrive in the session with a curious and open mind, but even more important, with a list of things you'd like to learn from your mentor.

❷ Reaching out - you should be the one reaching out at all stages of the relationship. Your mentor is a support and there are plenty of things they are getting from the relationship, but you're the main beneficiary, and you should make sure you make the most of it by introducing yourself, following up, and being present throughout the 6 months.

❸ Reflecting - active learning doesn't always mean you have to do, do, do something. Taking the time to reflect in and out of sessions will help you strengthen the neuro pathways forming in your brain and discover new connections. Additionally, it also helps you discover who you are as a learner, something we often overlook. Spend the time reflecting both on the content and on the process to understand what works for you and what can be improved.

❹ Share feedback - whenever you have a lightbulb moment about what works and doesn't work for you, or there's something you notice in your mentor or the whole program, don't shy away from sharing your feedback with them and us.

❺ Sharing your work - the best learning comes from practice. So using your relationship with your mentor to check the quality of your work is an amazing way to spend the time you have together. Be brave and you'll get away even more than you expect.

❻ Celebrate - reinforcement requires acknowledgement both for you and your mentor. Are you proud of something you did? Share it! Are you grateful for your mentor? Share it! Celebrate that you show up and do the work and learning every step of the way.

III. Crystalizing your goals

There are lots of things that will determine the success of your mentoring relationship, and one of the most important ones is you having a clear idea of what you're looking for.

Now, it's not easy! We're not saying that. But it is important. So either on your own or together with your mentor, take the time to think about why are you meeting every time, why did you feel like you needed support?

❶ Exploring the nagging feeling. Take this as a journaling exercise and write down whatever comes to your mind related to the reasons you decided to request a mentor. There's something that you want and don't have just yet. There's something that's missing or something you don't know how to do. There's a gap you noticed. Write everything down without bothering to make sense of it just yet.

❷ Exploring the future and narrowing down. Now looking back at everything you wrote, narrow down in 3-4 sentences the things that will change 6 months from now. Just use your own words, don't spend too much time on it just yet.

❸ Make it clear. Look back at it and answer the following questions: what do you want to achieve? What will tell you you’re on the right track? What will you have by the end of these 6 months that you don't have now? how much time will you be available in between meetings? How would you like us to work together (e.g. practical exercises & homework, sharing my experiences, connecting you with other people)? How do you usually enjoy learning?

If you are not doing this exercise with your mentor, make sure to share your train of thought from point 1 to point 3.

IV. Doing your own health checks

If you're finding yourself wondering if your mentoring relationship is going well, if your mentor is the right match, or if you're on the path you desire we prepared a short but sweet quiz you can go through to understand where you're standing.

This is a simple and nice tool to go through every now and then together with your mentor. If your views don't align and after some conversations thing don't change, don't hesitate to reach out for help.

V. Extra resources - for different purposes

→ How to Create a Personal Development Plan

→ Tools for Setting & Achieving Goals

→ Build Team Trust with this Self-Reflection Activity

→ Start, Build & Establish a Great Mentor-Mentee Relationship: A No-BS Guide

→ Check-in/ Check-out tool

→ Own your development template

→ Plan your learning strategy template

Part of Offbeat's Open Sourced Mentoring Playbook.

Offbeat's Mentoring Program - Intro

Whether you're a mentee, a mentor, or just someone interested in how we designed our program, it's helpful to have an overview of our learning ecosystem and a few details about mentoring at Offbeat. In the following paragraphs, we'll explore the Offbeat Fellowship, why we decided to add 1:1 mentoring as a learning method, and how we measure our success, among others.

Interested in becoming an Offbeat Fellow? →

I. The bigger picture - a learning ecosystem

The Offbeat Mentoring Program is a component of the Offbeat Fellowship, an ecosystem designed to support career and learning & development for L&D and People Professional professionals.

The Fellowship offers a range of resources to support its members: synchronous sessions, asynchronous conversations, group discussions, and 1:1 mentoring. Our aim is to provide an environment of continuous development for our fellows to grow, learn, and connect with their peers.

Each new member joining our community will have one or more chats with us to determine the challenges they are facing, and the best learning methods to be used in the following months. Once that's done, everyone is thrown into the wild, so they can experience everything the Fellowship has to offer.

II. The mentoring program - a guiding force

If together with a fellow we decide having a mentor is an appropriate solution to facing future career development and current professional challenges the work starts on both sides.
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First, out of an already built pool of mentors, we curate 3-5 that would be a good fit for our fellows. Each fellow is then responsible to choose their mentor from the curated group.
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Once the choice is made, we proceed with a personalized introduction between the mentor and the mentee, where we include: a short description of each of them, this guidebook, and the invitation for the mentee to get the conversation further.

Step 1

The process begins with helping the mentee discover their learning goals and preferred methods for achieving them.

Step 2

Based on these goals and preferences, suitable mentors are curated for the mentee to choose from.

Step 3

Once the mentee selects a mentor they resonate with, the Offbeat Team introduces them to each other.

Step 4

From there, the mentoring relationship is led by the mentee, with support from the mentor and health-checks from Offbeat to ensure that everything is going well.

III. Our interventions - meant to measure success

During the mentoring relationship, we keep ourselves out of the process as much as we can and leave the space for the mentee to drive the conversation, the mentor to share their experience, and for the relationship to unfold naturally. We only intervene at specific points of the relationship to make sure everything is going well, and that both parties’ expectations are being met.

All of the above also serve us in measuring the success of the program. We've built a funnel and assigned to each stage no more than 1-2 KPIs we're measuring for each relationship.

IV. Our mentor pool - a curated group

The process of selecting mentors for our Mentoring Program starts with recommendations from friends of Offbeat. If someone is recommended, we arrange a meeting to determine if they would be a good fit for the mentor role and if they would be interested in joining us.

If someone expresses interest without a recommendation, we also take the time to meet with them and assess their suitability as a mentor.

In both cases, we're looking for:
→ more than 3 years of experience in L&D or People related-functions;
→ proven passion for our industry through involvement in other initiatives;
→ optionally, past mentoring experience.

We're also fully aware of the knowledge & experience strengths and gaps in our mentoring pool, so we might say no for now, because we have too many mentors covering one specific topic, and certainly yes to those who come with a skill that's missing from our current pool.

In the end, our goal is to ensure that each mentor is well-suited to support our mentees' learning journeys and that we are able to provide a qualitative, impactful experience to both mentors & mentees.

Check our Offbeat Mentors →

V. The matching process - the most important step

Mentees' needs

Mentors' experiences

Mentees' additional requests

Mentors' additional requests

Mentees' org. context

Mentors' past org. context

Mentoring relationships are magical because of the strong connection between the mentee and the mentor, and how much they can learn from each other. At Offbeat, we believe that the key to a successful mentoring relationship is finding the perfect alignment between what the mentor can offer and what the mentee needs.
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That's why we prioritize three things when matching mentors and mentees.

❶ First, we learn as much as we can about the mentee's needs and the mentor's experience to ensure that the mentor can guide the mentee through their challenges.

❷ Second, we consider any secondary requests from both mentors and mentees (eg. location or gender preferences).

❸ Finally, we consider the size and industry of the mentee's organization and past organizations of the mentor, especially if their goals are related to their current role.
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We take the time to get to know all our mentors and mentees to ensure that we make the best matches. While this approach may not be as scalable as others, we believe that building relationships is one of our strengths, and we want to focus on quality over quantity.

Still, things might not go as smooth as we sometimes want. Because we know that we do make a check a month after we introduce each mentor and mentee to see if everything's going well or if there's a need for a switch.

VI. Additional resources - a playlist

If you're searching for the resources that have inspired our practices, you've come to the right place. We've put together a playlist that includes all of the resources we've explored and learned from in the playlist below.

You'll find in there:
→ Examples of Mentoring Programs from other organizations;
→ Resources you can share with your mentors;
→ Resources you can share with your mentees.

Mentoring Programs - Offbeat Playlist →

Part of Offbeat's Open Sourced Mentoring Playbook.