This next stage, of ‘setting down’, begins the process of drawing your mentoring activity to a close. One benefit of agreeing on principles at the start of a mentoring relationship (what you’ll work on, how you’ll work together, etc.) is that this stage becomes easier to approach. For example, you might have a set number of sessions agreed, or set a milestone date such as a job move or a goal to achieve. If none of these cues is present, then they must come from either you or your mentee.

As you consider ending the mentoring sessions, you review the overall process and perhaps confront what has not worked or has not been achieved in an objective manner. Ironically, what appears to be the closing stage of the relationship can become a fresh beginning. As issues or missed opportunities surface, you may potentially have the chance to fix these. If you and your mentee discuss a path to complete the relationship and it becomes clear there is an opportunity for you to continue it instead, then you both have the choice of doing that.