How to be an effective mentor

Roles within pharmacy have expanded rapidly in recent years. Pharmacists are practising more autonomously but are also more likely to be part of a multidisciplinary team. Pharmacists can now train to take on further responsibility in prescribing roles, lead clinics and undertake physical examinations. Many pharmacy staff would value some support when navigating their next career milestone or moving into a new role. Mentoring is an important tool that can support pharmacists in all settings and stages of their career. A mentor can play a vital role in facilitating a mentee’s transition, developing them and bringing their goals to fruition. The mentor shares expertise, advice and insights to help the mentee develop skills, expand their knowledge and achieve personal growth^​1​.

Benefits of mentoring

It is often thought that the mentor relationship primarily benefits the mentee, but it also gives a lot to the mentor too. For example, it connects professionals who might otherwise be isolated from peers in their daily practice, while providing a safe and trusted environment for both parties in the relationship to develop and learn. Ultimately, this enhances patient care by helping the pharmacist see situations from another perspective. Supporting others and giving back to the profession provides the mentor with a sense of satisfaction, as the mentor can make a real difference to someone’s life, develop professional relationships and gain peer recognition.

The advice and expertise the mentor provides to their mentee can indirectly improve patient care while helping to shape and influence the profession. Mentoring also encourages the mentor to keep up to date with developments in the profession, providing multiple continuing professional development opportunities^​1,2​.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) surveyed mentee and mentor users of its RPS mentoring platform in 2024 (see Figure). Responses revealed that mentoring had a positive impact on both mentee and mentor personal development: 59% of mentees and mentors said that it helped them see things from a different perspective. 

Years of practice do not always equate to being a good mentor 

A common misconception is that the mentor in a mentoring relationship will have been practising for longer than the mentee. This is not always true — it comes down to the level of expertise and experience the mentor has to offer. Mentors can learn from their mentee too — essentially, growing and developing together. 

For example, a recently qualified professional confident in technology systems or the artificial intelligence space can be a valuable mentor. Although they may appear less experienced in terms of the number of years they have been practising, they may have plenty to offer to a mentee who has been practising several years beyond them. 

As another example, a pharmacist with three years of experience in the industry pharmacy sector could be an effective mentor for a mentee who has been qualified for ten years, looking to move into the industry sector. Mentoring is about relevant knowledge, skills and experience — not necessarily years of practice^​3​.

Compatibility 

Before starting the mentoring relationship, it is important to ensure the mentor and the mentee are compatible and feel comfortable with each other. A good way to test compatibility is to have a short, initial conversation to get to know each other. The mentor should discuss boundaries, highlight any potential conflicts and gain insight into the mentee’s goals. After this conversation, the mentor should reflect on their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (i.e. a SWOT analysis), as well as if the mentor is the right person to support the mentee. Factors including commitment levels, understanding the mentee’s needs, and whether they have the bandwidth and time required should all be considered. Essential questions when deciding whether or not to proceed include:

• How much time can the mentor realistically offer?
• What experience does the mentor have in relation to the mentee’s needs?
• How many mentees can be mentored without compromising the quality?

This will help the mentor to determine whether they are compatible before both parties agree to commence the mentoring relationship^​1,2​.

Skills for effective mentoring

Use active listening and ask questions

Listening is a fundamental skill for any good mentor. Ensure that you are in a comfortable environment where you can both focus on the conversation without interruptions^​2​.

While the mentee is talking, the mentor should be attentive, listening out for important points without interrupting the conversation. The mentor can do this by noting down specific details that the mentee raises and, during pauses, respectfully clarify any important points. This helps the mentor to first reflect on what is being said before moving on to asking open, probing questions.

For example: ‘What is the outcome you want?’ or ‘What timeframe are you working towards?’. This type of questioning challenges the mentee and encourages deeper thinking and curiosity. Mentoring is not about telling the mentee what to do, but instead helping the mentee to identify and explore options. This approach helps the mentee think about their next steps towards achieving their goals themselves, empowering them to gradually take control of their own personal and professional development^​1,2​.

Be aware of tone of voice and body language

It is important that the mentor is conscious of their body language and is aware of the importance of other non-verbal cues. For example, as the mentee is speaking, validation can be provided through nodding and reacting to the information being shared through facial expression and audible reactions (e.g. ‘uh-huh’, ‘mm-hmm’). In linguistics, these reactions are known as backchanneling and are an important means of establishing effective communication and rapport, encouraging the mentee to open up and freely share information with you. 

A good mentor should also be mindful of their tone when communicating. This may sound self-evident, but with the nature of the mentor–mentee relationship, it can too easily become hierarchical. 

For example, if the mentee explains a mistake they made or describes a situation they struggled to navigate well, a good mentor should take care not to sound condescending or critical in their response and instead be inquisitive, to help the mentee better understand what happened and reflect on how their approach could be improved in future. 

Establish a solid foundation for progress

Being a good mentor also requires an understanding of the factors that may be preventing the mentee from reaching their potential. A mentor should take a holistic approach to supporting their mentee. For example, in a situation where the mentee is looking to advance into a new role, it is important to check that their foundations and skillset are adequate for the change. Having an understanding of their overall wellbeing is also valuable.

For example, does the mentee have the confidence and an adequate support network to achieve this next goal? Ensuring the mentee’s basic needs are met and that their self-esteem is healthy is an essential foundation for them to flourish^​4​.

Open up opportunities 

A good mentor will acknowledge that they do not have all the answers. They should help open avenues and link their mentee up with important contacts or networks they feel the mentee may benefit from. Doing this will enhance the mentee’s development beyond the support the mentor can provide. 

There may be areas that are beyond the mentor’s remit and knowing when to signpost is essential^​4​. In these situations, it is important the mentor understands the available resources or professional networks they can signpost their mentee to, to ensure the mentee still receives the appropriate support. For example, if the mentee presents with a mental health concern, the mentor may want to refer them to a professional network, such as Pharmacist Support or their employer’s employee assistance programme. If the mentee has an employment issue with their manager, the mentor may signpost them to HR to access advice^​2​.

Throughout the conversation, it is good practice to keep records of the conversation. This will help both the mentee and mentor keep track of the conversation and provide structure to the meetings^​1​. However, it is important to be mindful of confidential or sensitive information and explain to the mentee that any information disclosed will remain confidential. This can be done through a password-protected file (if records are kept virtually). The mentee is entitled to view the records so that they can reflect on their progress. It also ensures transparency and builds trust within the relationship.

Share your mistakes

A good mentor draws not only from their own successes, but also their shortcomings and failures too. By revealing their own mistakes and lessons learned, the mentor builds trust and rapport with the mentee. It also helps the mentee understand the reality of their journey, alert them to pitfalls to avoid and accept that failures occur for everyone. A good mentor will encourage the mentee to understand that failure is a common part of a journey to success for many. 

Identify blinds spots

A good mentor will also help their mentee recognise their own blind spots and help their mentee see things from different perspectives. By identifying (and later addressing) any factors inhibiting their growth, they will get closer to achieving their goals. For example, for a mentee who may be looking to improve their content creation skills within their education and training role, a good mentor will help the mentee consider the audience and create focused content applicable to the user’s level of knowledge.  

Provide and seek feedback 

A good mentor should regularly provide non-judgmental and constructive feedback. A good way to provide feedback is to encourage the mentee to retrospectively evaluate their approach to a given situation and ask them how they think it went. This encourages the mentee to reflect on their progress towards their goals and actions. If the mentee did not deal effectively with a challenging situation, a good mentor, rather than pointing this out, will use reflective questioning. They might say: ‘How do you think the situation went?’ or ‘What could you have done differently?’.

Positive feedback should also be provided to the mentee to foster their self-belief and growth. For example, if the mentee had come to their mentor for support with conflict resolution in the workplace, and the mentee went on to successfully overcome it, the mentor should praise their approach to and success in effectively resolving the situation. Positive reinforcement will build the mentee’s confidence and boost them in reaching future goals. 

An effective mentor should seek feedback on their mentoring techniques and look to build their skillset. Having a collaborative discussion can help make the most of this type of feedback. This is essential to growing and evolving as a mentor. An example of how to gather feedback is protected time during a peer discussion. Both parties can reflect on a given situation and their approach, focusing on what they perceived went well and, from the mentee’s perspective, what approach could work better next time. If there is no scope for peer discussion, an alternative way of gathering feedback is via email or questionnaire, which could be considered a more flexible approach. 

Conclusion

Mentoring is a way to aid in the development of others and a journey to self-development. It is important that anyone acting as or considering becoming a mentor understands their strengths and weaknesses, so that they can effectively support their mentee. Skills that a mentor will need include: active listening; asking probing questions; giving and seeking feedback; sharing challenges and failures, as well as successes; and opening up opportunities for the mentee. Mentoring can be as useful and important to the career development of the mentor as it is to the mentee.