Sometimes you do not have the time or knowledge to complete a full mentoring discussion and really build someone’s skills, but you do want to help someone who is ‘stuck’ to complete the task in question.

Using the GROW model shown previously, you can achieve this in as little as five minutes by helping your mentees to see that they themselves have some responsibility for the situation and that there is something they can do, however small.

1. Ask the mentees to describe the current issue or problem, with specific examples and a small amount of relevant background.
2. Ask them to describe the outcome – paint as specific a ‘picture’ as possible of how things would be if they had sorted out the problem. Do not try to solve the problem, but note down any emerging ideas.
3. With the mentee, list all the obstacles/blocks that lie between 1 and 2. Sort them into three groups:
   • Blocks that exist in the mentee (lack of skill/knowledge, low motivation, attitude, etc.)
   • Blocks that exist in others (anxious community members, unsatisfied new members in an event, etc.)
   • Blocks in the situation (inadequate resources, shift in deadlines, etc.).
4. Jointly brainstorm ways around these blocks, and possible next steps. Agree an approach, actions and timing.

Credit: material is adapted from here.