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Being a Good Mentor

Overview

Mentoring is about imparting your wisdom and experiences to someone who is knew to beekeeping. Hopefully, you can accelerate their path to the great fun which beekeeping is. Done rightly, the protégé will develop the innate ability to feel when something is not right, and know the action(s) to take, or at least where to look for a solution.

It is well known that you really learn a topic when you teach it to someone else.

Alas, some protégés do not walk away from such relationships with a great opinion. I was once told

Experience

To be a good mentor, you need to ensure you can impart the background and experience necessary to make this work. Some considerations include:

• Will the protégé take constructive criticism from you? Sometimes, mentoring your own kids may not be the most effective relationship, and they might learn better from someone else. If nothing else, they will learn different ideas.
• Do you have the experience to assist with the protégé's needs? If you only have experience managing Langstroth hives, and the protégé wants to use horizontal hives, you are probably not the ideal fit as a mentor.
• Has your experience with beekeeping been in the geographical area? If you recently moved from Florida to Maine, there will be things you need to learn before you can be a strong mentor. That said, you could team up with another local beekeeper to provide the relevant experience.

Expectations

A mentor must establish expectations. Some people do this in the form of "contract", but that is not necessary. It is good to at least discuss these points.

• What is the protégé expecting to learn?
  • You should also determine if you are the best to provide this. If not, refer the protégé on to someone else better able to fit their development needs.
• When will you be available to assist?
  • How often? Weekly, Fortnightly, other?
  • What day of the week is best?
  • What time of day?
• Where will you meet? I recommend you meet at the protégé's apiary, not your own. Their new colonies will need different attention than your established ones.
• Communications
  • What hours are you available to talk? Should they not call before or after a certain hour?
  • How is the best way to reach you? Should the protégé send you a text message to see if you are available before calling?
  • What is a reasonable expectation for response? How quickly will you get back to the protégé?
• Protégé's Preparations: What should the protégé have ready when you arrive? You are providing them the gift of your time and experience. They should not waste your time.
• Record-keeping expectations: I recommend you require the protégé to keep hive inspection records. You can review these to help with diagnosing any issues.
• Recommended reading: Are there books or magazines you recommend the protégé read?
• Do you have any expectations of the protégé as to helping out the beekeeping community (e.g., helping with club activities, assisting at festivals where the club participates)?

Term of the Mentor/Protégé Relationship

You should expect this to last for 3-5 years; maybe longer. The needs of the protégé should change over time, but it is great to have someone they can call when something new arises. And, if it is something you've not seen before, you can help the protégé understand the best way to find a resource to address the concern.

Also, don't be offended if this turns into a mentor/mentor relationship where you are learning from the protégé as much as they learn from you. I had an experience where I asked an experienced manager in Singapore to help me be better at hiring Singaporeans. She, in turn, asked me to assist her in understanding how to work with American management.

Ending Your Relationship

Typically a mentor/protégé relationship will taper off naturally over time to where there is little need from the protégé for assistance. The hope is that you've done such a good job that you protégé becomes a mentor to someone else, and calls on you for help with something they've not yet seen.

But sometimes you will need to end the relationship sooner. Maybe the protégé is not a good fit for your style of beekeeping, or maybe they are not utilizing the skills you are attempting to impart. If this is the case, bring up your concern with the person. If they choose not to change, then part ways. There should be no hard feelings for this. It is simply that there may be a better mentor for this person.