Mentorship Program

The AONE Leader2Leader Mentorship Program connects AONE members from across the country for nursing leadership skill development through mentoring and personal relationships. Mentorship gives experienced leaders an opportunity to help develop the next generation of nurse leaders, and gives the mentees guidance and resources for leadership as they are growing in their career. 

Mentees can realize their potential by developing personal and professional relationships with mentors, who act as role models and provide guidance to them. It offers opportunities to develop business contacts, access industry information, and gain valuable insights from experienced and successful professionals.

AONE Members can sign up for the AONE Leader2Leader Mentorship Program as a mentor, mentee or both! As this is a new program at AONE, we would love your feedback on the program as well as ways it can be improved. Please contact the Alyse Kittner at akittner@aha.org  with questions or comments.

AONE Leader2Leader Mentorship Program is available only to AONE members. If you are not a member of AONE, visit www.aone.org/join and consider joining the association.

Mentees

Mentors inspire, encourage and support you. They contribute to your professional and personal development and are committed to helping you reach your goals. Through mentorship, you can expect to strengthen and build your network, and gain the skills and confidence necessary to excel in nursing leadership.  
 
Frequently Asked Questions  
  • How do I choose a Mentor? First complete your profile with information on what help you are looking for. Then browse through the list of mentors available. Mentors will be listed with a compatibility score.  In addition, you can pare down your search by selecting key criteria you are looking for from the mentor profile.
     
  • How long will the mentors be available? We ask our mentors to make commitments of at least six months in order to ensure that the mentee is able to fully benefit from the relationship. If a mentee or mentor must leave the relationship early, we request at least one month's notice in order to search for a replacement mentor with similar background.
Mentee DOs
 
  1. Take a proactive role in shaping the relationship.
  2. Understand what you want from the mentoring relationship and communicate your goals and aspirations to your mentor. Balance a personal and professional relationship with your mentor.
  3. Set aside time for the mentoring process and keep all scheduled appointments with your mentor. 
  4. Put the time with your mentor to the best use. Come to meetings with your mentor prepared with planned topics.
  5. Respond in a timely manner to your mentor's feedback. 
  6. Be open and honest with your mentor about your challenges and weaknesses. 
Mentee DON'Ts
 
  1. Ask for advice on everything. Have a purpose in each request.
  2. Blame the mentor if his or her advice doesn't work out.
  3. Expect the mentor to know all the answers.
  4. Commit yourself to obligations you cannot keep.
  5. Cancel meetings/visits with your mentor at the last minute.

Mentors

A mentor is a guide. A friend. A resource who paves the way to success and derives satisfaction from helping others succeed. Your role as mentor is to inspire, encourage, and support your mentee, and to contribute to their professional and personal development. 

Frequently Asked Questions
 
  • What am I expected to do? Mentors are expected to provide their mentee with about one hour of support and interaction per month. Most of this interaction will take place via email and other web-related tools (for example, instant messaging) or face-to-face, as appropriate. Mentors should work with their mentee to determine what kind of support will be most useful—specific feedback related to finding jobs, general career advice, information on higher studies, technical information, personal encouragement, and so on.
  • How long will the commitment be? We ask our mentors to make commitments of at least six months in order to ensure that the mentee is able to fully benefit from the relationship. If a mentor or mentee must leave the relationship early, we request at least one month's notice in order to search for a replacement mentor with similar background.
  • Are there any potential risks to me or my company? No. It is not appropriate for mentors to engage in any business transactions with their mentees. Instead, the relationship should only involve the flow of general information and advice.
Mentor DOs
 
  1. Commit at least one interaction or hour of support per month.
  2. Set aside time for the mentoring process and honor all appointments.
  3. Invite the mentee to meetings or activities, as appropriate. 
  4. Be flexible on meeting times and places.
  5. Arrange frequent contacts through telephone, email, fax, face-to-face, etc., as appropriate.
  6. Respond to emails from your mentee in a timely manner.
  7. Keep information that your mentee has shared with you confidential. 
  8. Establish open and honest communication and a forum for idea exchange.
  9. Foster creativity and independence. Help build self-confidence and offer encouragement.
  10. Provide honest and timely feedback to your mentee.
  11. Provide opportunities for the mentee to talk about concerns and ask questions.
  12. Above all, LISTEN.
Mentor DON'Ts
 
  1. Try to give advice on everything.
  2. Encourage mentee to be totally dependent upon you.
  3. Provide your personal history, problems, animosities, successes, failures, etc unless they are constructive contributions.
  4. Be too busy when the mentee needs your friendship or your support. If you do not have time, give the mentee a heads up, so that they know when they can reach you.
  5. Criticize.