Guidelines for Mentors

1. Welcome & Purpose

Welcome to the R-Ladies Mentoring Program! 💜

This program was created to support chapter organizers in starting, reactivating, or strengthening their local communities.
As a mentor, you will accompany a mentee (an R-Ladies organizer) by sharing your knowledge, experience, and encouragement to help them succeed in building a sustainable community.

2. Who can be a Mentor

All R-Ladies organizers with experience running a chapter are welcome to apply as mentors.

3. Your Role as a Mentor

  • Be supportive: listen actively and provide encouragement.
  • Share your experiences, including both successes and challenges.
  • Offer resources and strategies that have worked in your chapter.
  • Respect time and communication agreements with your mentee.
  • Remember: you don’t need to have all the answers, being a sounding board is valuable too!

4. Before the Mentorship Starts

  • You will receive an introduction email connecting you with your mentee.
  • Reply to confirm your participation.
  • Read the attached Mentor Guidelines and the R-Ladies Code of Conduct.
  • Agree with your mentee on:
    • Preferred communication platform (Slack, email, Zoom, etc.).
    • Frequency of meetings. We suggest a realistic rhythm (for example, every two weeks or once a month) that you can both sustain, keeping in mind this is a voluntary commitment.
    • Confidentiality preferences (yes/no).

5. During the Mentorship

Focus on supporting your mentee’s growth as a community organizer. Topics may include:

  • Organizing and promoting events.
  • Recruiting and supporting co-organizers.
  • Engaging and sustaining the community.
  • Sharing R-Ladies resources and networks.

💡 Tips to make meetings effective:

  • Encourage your mentee to prepare a short agenda with 2–3 topics or questions.

  • Share your own experiences and examples that may guide their situation.

  • At the end of each meeting, agree on concrete next steps together (1–2 specific tasks or next steps to complete before the next session).

  • Help your mentee keep tasks manageable and don’t forget to celebrate progress🎉.

    💡 Example things you might share:

  • Templates or checklists you use in your chapter.

  • Stories about how you overcame a challenge.

  • Recommendations on tools, platforms, or strategies.

Some useful links you may want to share:

6. Common Challenges

  • If communication isn’t flowing, suggest adjusting the frequency or platform.
  • If you feel the match isn’t a good fit, let the mentoring team know so we can reassign.
  • Everything shared in the mentorship is confidential unless both agree otherwise.

7. Ending the Mentorship

  • The mentorship usually ends when your mentee feels ready or when their main concerns have been covered.
  • You’ll be asked to complete a short Feedback Form to help improve the program.
  • You are welcome (but not required) to stay in touch with your mentee afterwards.

8. Where to Ask for Support

  • If you need help, contact the R-Ladies Global Team at mentoring@rladies.org or via Slack.
  • Remember: all interactions must follow the R-Ladies Code of Conduct.