6.2 Assisting Mentors Who Haven’t Worked with Youth or Served in a Leadership Capacity

At times, a potential mentor may be intimidated or unsure about the “right” approach to working with teens. In these situations, a few different approaches may help.

• Be the facilitator in expert-led programming to help increase the mentor’s level of comfort¹
• For interns or youth as mentors, allow them to practice and ask questions about how to lead and coach²
• Provide support in the mentor’s planning activities, workshops, or events. For example, allow the mentor to build the content or curriculum and then offer suggestions for making it work with a teen audience. For example, you could let them know when they should add breaks into the schedule¹

1: Personal interview with Shannon Lake, April 7, 2017.

2: Make Do Share, Kitsap Regional Library.