| - difficult to gauge how much they know, and how slow/fast I should in explaining stuff Have you tried asking them? Just because you're supposed to have more experience than them, doesn't mean the flow of information should all be one way. Have regular chats with them about what they think their strengths and weaknesses are. Use these chats as a way to get feedback about your mentoring style, and make sure to take this feedback on board. - distraction (I am excited to mentor, hence my brain keep coming back to that (providing resources, reviewing their work, etc.) while I am supposed to do my work) This one's squarely on you and nothing to do with mentoring. Get better at setting the mentoring aside until it's time to do it. If an idea pops into your head while you're working on something else, note it down and go back to what you were doing. If there's prep work you need to do for a mentoring session, block out the time for it. You know, the things you'd do with any other aspect of your role. - how detailed/nitpicking should I be in reviewing, how to explain the right concept at the right time If you're talking about code reviews, you'll still be reviewing everything that you would for any other member of your team - you want to maintain the same code quality, after all. In terms of the concepts you spend time discussing in detail, probably just stick to one at a time - pick whichever seems most important for that review, have a short discussion about it, then decide whether it's something you need to revisit later or just watch out for in future reviews. If a short discussion isn't enough, book something more structured in and deliver more of a training session. The important thing to remember is that everyone is different. We all have different experiences and learn at different rates. Be humble about mentoring. You'll find that when it comes to explaining what you think you know, you'll identify gaps in your own knowledge and probably learn as much as your mentee does. Use it as an opportunity for both of you to grow, and be receptive of feedback, even from a 'subordinate'. |