Mentoring Software Developers
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Mentoring software developers
Making It Intentional
Recently we started a mentoring programme - nothing rigid or too formal, but intentional.
In essence, each person in the company has picked someone else in the company as a formal mentor and they have committed to meet at regular intervals. Formal developer mentoring is new to us and with that in mind, we are still not exactly sure how it will work. For now, we have committed to doing independent short experiments and then to get together as a company and share what worked and what hasn’t.
To help with the process, here are a few notes we found from various sources regarding mentoring and what a developer mentor should do. (Credit goes to Janco for compiling the majority of these items).
Ground Rules
- There are no stupid questions. Ever.
- Confidentiality
Approaches
- Recognize and identify mentee’s learning style
- Seek to take advantage of their preferred learning style
- Identify clear goals and outcomes
Do’s
- Take a real and active interest in mentee’s life and progress
- Short feedback loops
- Set expectations early
- Don’t assume knowledge
- Don’t lord knowledge and experience
- Share freely
- Listen, explain, guide - don’t direct
- Set goals and lay path to achieving them
- Be proactive
- Make yourself available
- Give the benefit of your experience (war stories)
- Keep pointing them in the right direction (so they don’t waste time learning something less valuable)
Dont’s
- Neglect the relationship
- Break confidence
- Control
- Overwhelm
- No sharing common moral / ethical grounding