Our work experiences and roles as UX and digital strategy leaders have allowed us to mentor many junior UXers throughout our 20 years in the field. We have not only helped new and junior UX individuals increase their skills and grow their careers but in turn, we’ve become more proficient leaders and teachers throughout the mentoring process. In this session, we’ll share these leadership and teaching skills and explain how they can be utilized in a UX role while actively working with clients and stakeholders. We’ll provide tactics to increase the mentee’s confidence in their solutions and presentation skills while helping them to build a stronger resume and portfolio. We’ll also dive into the keys to being a good UX mentor without micromanagement – a key tactic to ensuring that the mentee is self-sufficient and empowered in their roles – while maintaining balance and boundaries in our own workloads.

1. Mentoring without
Micromanagement
Susan Iovenitti & Melissa McMacken
UXPA Conference 2022

2. Melissa McMacken
Valtech Baltimore
Manager, UX & Research
Susan Iovenitti
Valtech Baltimore
Director, UX & Digital Strategy
Who we are

3. Agenda
01 What is mentoring?
02 Tips for mentoring without micromanaging
03 Taking this back to your workplace
04 Scenarios

4. What is
mentoring?
Section 01

5. Mentoring is…
Informal association built on the foundation of
sharing influence, guidance, or expertise
Mutually beneficial relationship – for both mentor
and mentee
Relationship typically within an organization or
career field
Different from coaching – mentoring is more
philanthropic than coaching

6. A mentor is someone who
sees more talent and
ability within you, than you
see in yourself, and helps
bring it out of you.
Bob Proctor
self-help author and lecturer

9. A mutually beneficial relationship
The mentee has opportunity to grow
professionally through the relationship.
/ Learn from senior
/ Gain experience with guidance
/ Expose new opportunities
/ Understand expectations in field
Mentee
The mentor has opportunity to grow
professionally through the relationship.
/ Gain leadership skills
/ Lead by example
/ Delegate responsibility
/ Increase connection in field
Mentor

10. Everyone you work with
can be a mentor -
because you can learn
from them all, whether or
not they consciously
intend to teach you.
Ron Williams
Learning to Lead:The Journey to LeadingYourself
10
VPTT 2020 4.4.8 RC /

11. Tips for
Mentoring
without
Micromanaging
Section 02

12. Outstanding mentors
study their mentees just
as hard as they would
study anything they want
to understand deeply.
W Brad Johnson & Charles R Ridley
The Elements of Mentoring

13. Don’t approach each mentee the same way –
different people need different things to succeed
Proactively understand your mentee’s working
and learning style
Learn about areas where support is needed,
and where professional development is desired
Likewise, share relevant information about
yourself that may deepen connection with mentee
01 Get to know
your mentee

14. Anything that is worth
teaching can be presented
in many different ways.
These multiple ways can
make use of our multiple
intelligences.
HowardGardner
Multiple Intelligence Theory

15. Make it a priority to connect
Set designated, regular time for check-in—even if
no agenda—it’s a good opportunity to connect
Refuse to allow other commitments to intrude
on dedicated mentoring time
Make a deeper connection by finding
commonalities
02 Schedule time
to check-in

16. Express your preferred method for your mentee
should get in touch with you
Give your mentee specific tips for when they
need to contact you
Set expectations so that the relationship can be
successful
Provide tactful, direct feedback and expect the
same back from your mentee
03 Set communication
expectations

17. Mentoring relationships
don't come without
challenges. When they
arise, build trust by
keeping the lines of
communication open.
Ken Blanchard and Clair Diaz-Ortiz
One-Minute Mentoring

18. Don’t wait until it’s too late to check-in on a
delegated task
Mentee won’t know if they are on the wrong path
They could be spinning wheels or spending too
many hours
If the task is several hours long, ask them to
check in after 1-2 hours
If the task is repetitive, have the mentee do the
first one, and then check-in for feedback
04 Check back
on progress early

19. Tactful honesty in a
mentoring relationship
builds trust.
Ken Blanchard and Clair Diaz-Ortiz
One-Minute Mentoring

20. Consistently and unconditionally affirm your
mentee as a person of great value
Help them overcome "impostor syndrome"
Seek to discern and then endorse your mentee's
life and career "dream”
Shed light on unrealistic aspirations
Find ways to affirm mentees even in the face of
short-term failure
05 Provide affirmation
and encouragement

21. The delicate balance of
mentoring someone is not
creating them in your own
image, but giving them
the opportunity to create
themselves.
Stephen Spielberg
American Film Director

22. Deliberately challenge mentees with demanding
assignments
Assignments should be tailored to ability and
performance thresholds
Help mentees accept, tolerate, and effectively
manage anxiety in the face of new challenges
Repeated and direct exposure is the only cure for
anxiety
06 Give challenging
assignments

23. Taking this
Back to Your
Workplace
Section 03

24. Be available
“Be there” for your mentee – critical
moments can pop up unannounced
Establish an “open door” policy, with
boundaries
Adopt an improv mindset to stay open
for teachable moments

25. Look for teaching
opportunities
Seize opportunities for training
and instruction
Look for moments where you can
share real world examples of ways
that you've overcome similar
challenges
Find ways to incorporate analogies
into your mentoring to help your
mentee visualize what you are trying
to share with them

26. Connect with and
learn from others
Align with other mentors to share
insights and lessons learned
Connect with peers to share ideas,
tips, and more
Explore “reverse mentor”
relationships
Stay aware of other opportunities
to learn more about mentoring

27. Give exposure,
promote visibility
Highlight your mentee’s achievements
to colleagues and
your superiors
Create opportunities for mentee
collaboration on high visibility projects
Share specific traits and skills that
your mentees particularly excel at

28. Conduct a
self evaluation
Seek out what you would want in a
mentor and areas where you want
to grow professionally
Reflect on the best qualities and
leadership skills that others who have
helped you in your life possessed
Deepen self awareness of
communication preferences and other
skills that you have that may
strengthen mentoring relationships

29. Scenarios
Section 04

30. Frazzled mentee
comes to you
overwhelmed…

31. Mentee wants to
grow career and
advance
professionally…

32. Tell us your
scenarios!
32

33. Thank You
Questions?
melissamcmacken@gmail.com
s.iovenitti@gmail.com