‘Sometimes she just came to my office to meet, but she really hadn’t identified anything she needed my help with. It felt awkward and like a waste of time.”

Those were the words of a leader in my client’s organization who had participated in a mentoring program with a previous employer. Jessica was describing her frustration with how poorly she felt her mentee had made use of the years of experience and the insight that she had to offer.

We were discussing this as Jessica’s company was about to begin a new, yearlong mentoring program. Jessica wanted to support this effort, but she worried that it was headed down the same unsatisfying path. What would make serving as a mentor in this company different and more productive than the last time around, she wondered?

I explained to Jessica that mentoring programs work best when everyone (mentee, mentor, and the entire organization) derives a benefit. Clearly, in her previous company, that hadn’t been the case. To create a difference-making, transformative experience for Jessica and others, we established the following criteria.

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