Dimensions for Mentoring

(beginning mentors start from top 3 dimensions, eventually covering all six):

• Code & Diffs
  • (Tactical) Make their code better (through diff review or otherwise).
  • (Strategic) Teach mentee how to write high quality code?
  • (Strategic) Teach mentee on how to balance very high quality / perfect diffs vs a diff that is good enough for review.
  • (Strategic) Teach them how to navigate the code-base, explaining how the system works.
  • (Strategic) Help them address diff feedback effectively, etc.
• Design & System Understanding:
  • (Tactical) Give feedback on their designs, help them make better.
  • (Tactical) Help with oncall.
  • (Strategic) How to build good designs? How to explore the design space, understand the problem constraints, make design tradeoffs, etc.
  • (Strategic) Help understand the system, how to do oncall effectively, etc.
• Project Management:
  • (Tactical) Help them get unblocked.
  • (Tactical) Help them make effective choices in what tasks to pick up next.
  • (Strategic) Teach them ways to unblock themselves, how to bias to impact.
• Collaboration:
  • (Tactical) Solve collaboration issues for them. For instance, if they are having trouble converging on a design with someone else – jump in and solve the problem for them.
  • (Strategic) Coach them on how to communicate effectively and surface information to other stakeholders.
  • (Strategic) Teach them skills about collaborating, communicating effectively + resolving conflict.
• Growth:
  • (Strategic) Seeking to build new skills in mentees, teaching them to learn new skills, move them up in career levels.
• Accountability:
  • (Tactical) Holding people accountable to what they promised to do, giving them tough/growth feedback.(beginning mentors start from top 3 dimensions, eventually covering all six):