One-on-One: Coaching Mentoring 1:1 Meeting Note Template

Objective(s)

Outline the objectives of the session.

Review

Review actions and learning from or since the last session (if applicable).

Questions or Issues

What questions or issues keep coming up? Figure out what to do to avoid—or mitigate the impact of—persistent issues.

Future Planning

What do you need to do to continue growing and discovering? i.e. developing skills, changing your approach, etc.

Mentor/Mentee Feedback

What can we do to make these sessions more valuable? Provide feedback both ways, mentee to mentor and mentor to mentee.

Follow-Up

When is our next one-on-one check-in? Summarize any action items arising from the one-on-one.

Mentoring programs are an effective tool to improve teamwork, share knowledge, and establish (or enhance) a culture of collaborative, generous leadership. Whether it’s a cross-functional mentoring one-on-one, or a leadership development session, this agenda sets a rock-solid framework for your meeting.

To maximize this template, though, you need engagement from both mentee and mentor. It’s not all on the mentor to set the agenda and topics of discussion. Nor should it be. Mentees must take an active role in their own development. That means the mentee needs to be vocal about what’s stopping or slowing down their progress. They also need to be part of the problem-solving process.

This provides a more valuable opportunity for both mentor and mentee because it enables the mentor to advise and guide at higher, more strategic levels of thought. For example, when mentees come prepared with specific questions and obstacles, mentors can focus on problem-solving issues rather than asking discovery questions.

Another important component of mentoring programs is incorporating ongoing improvement. This agenda template does that by providing a space to share feedback both ways, from mentor to mentee and vice versa. Make this feedback a part of every session to ensure the process is providing as much value as possible for all participants.

Using this structured template, you’ll set yourself up for a productive, focused mentorship session. Plus, because it integrates with a wide range of software programs, this agenda is highly shareable and far more actionable than any garden-variety document.