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Oaks for Acorns code of conduct
Understanding the expectations and guidelines for both mentors and mentees is key to ensuring a safe, respectful, and successful mentoring experience. Below are the principles to follow in this programme and these guidelines are here to help you navigate those situations with professionalism and respect.
Roles and Responsibilities
Mentor’s Role:
The mentor’s role is to assist the mentee through self-reflection, asking questions, and offering feedback and support. Mentors should act as a guide, signposting challenges and encouraging personal and professional growth. Rather than providing direct solutions, mentors help mentees explore their own ideas and solutions.
Mentee’s Role:
The mentee should work collaboratively with the mentor to set clear goals and create an action plan to achieve them. Using the mentor as a sounding board for reflection and decision-making, the mentee should be proactive in driving their own growth.
Both mentor and mentee are expected to approach the relationship with professionalism, consideration, and mutual support.
Managing Communication
Boundaries:
Mentors are generously offering their time. Mentees should respect this by limiting requests for advice or meetings to agreed-upon sessions. Stick to the established communication plan to ensure a balanced and positive experience for both parties.
Respecting Privacy:
Personal information, including contact details, should not be shared with others unless explicitly agreed upon. All information exchanged should be handled with care and respect, in compliance with relevant data protection laws.
Confidentiality:
All conversations should remain confidential unless both parties agree otherwise. If recording a session (such as a video meeting), always ask for consent. In cases of concern regarding someone's safety or well-being, notify the mentoring coordinator or a trusted individual within the organisation.
Safe Communication Practices:
Communicate through secure channels like email or the online mentoring platform. Avoid sharing personal phone numbers unless necessary and mutually agreed upon.
Competence and Limits:
Mentors should be conscious of their own levels of experience and should never overstate their expertise. Instead of offering specific advice, mentors should guide the mentee towards self-reflection and critical thinking, helping them realise their own potential. The goal is to empower the mentee, not to provide all the answers.
Support and Safety:
If either party feels uncomfortable or needs assistance in managing the mentoring relationship, they should contact the mentoring coordinator. Mentoring should always be a positive and constructive experience.
By following these guidelines, we can ensure a safe, respectful, and rewarding mentoring relationship for all.