Because trust is the cornerstone of a mentoring relationship, it is essential that you and your mentee agree on standards of confidentiality that will govern the relationship. Remember, confidentiality is crucial to both parties. Both of you must feel confident that any personal experience or information you share will be kept confidential. Your agreement regarding confidentiality could be something as simple as agreeing that nothing that you discuss is mentioned to anyone else, unless you both agree.

Though complete confidentiality is often desired, that may not be possible if you both work for the same organization and you are required to provide feedback regarding the mentee. At a minimum, the mentee deserves to know that you may provide feedback and the purpose for that feedback. In this kind of situation you both should agree on the type of information that may be shared and with whom it might be shared.

Signing a formal mentoring agreement can be useful because it reminds the parties of their goals, commitments, and the ground rules they have agreed on. Click here for an outline for a formal mentoring agreement.