Two themes that commonly come up in the first 6 months of a mentoring relationship are true impact and the depth of conversation. Many mentors feel like they are “not doing anything” as they come and meet with their student over and over again. Also, mentors tell me that the conversation is usually not much deeper than surface-level insignificant things. And I counter with the same concept to many of the mentors: “be patient, those deeper conversations will come.” In the last month, at least 6 mentors who previously shared this viewpoint came to me with excitement and shared that their students had finally “opened up” and shared some deep personal things. Most students desire to share deep personal things, they just need to trust someone with those things, and that takes time.
