At AsyncAPI, mentorship is one of the most effective ways to teach, upskill, and empower contributors in open-source. Mentors are the foundation of this program; they are not just technical experts, but also community leaders who embody the spirit of open collaboration. By offering meaningful guidance, you're not just empowering contributors; you're also growing as a leader and setting the tone for future community members.
When a contributor is assigned to you, your role is to create an experience that is both supportive and transformative. To help you thrive in this role and get the most out of the program, here are the key responsibilities and essential best practices.
1. Onboarding & Setting Expectations
A successful mentorship begins with clear alignment. Setting expectations from the start ensures everyone is on the same page and minimizes confusion down the line.
- Lead with empathy and respect by fostering a welcoming, inclusive, and non-judgmental environment. Remember that people come from diverse backgrounds and may communicate differently. Assume good intent.
- Define a clear project scope, including achievable goals and milestones that align with the program timeline.
- Prepare a list of actionable tasks or issues for contributors to work on.
- Create a clear introduction to the project, including codebase structure, contribution guidelines, and documentation.
- Clarify expectations around communication cadence, feedback loops, and availability for both you and the contributor.
2. Communication & Presence
Reliability builds trust. Being consistently available, even for quick check-ins, makes a big difference in a contributor's confidence and engagement.
- Schedule regular check-ins (weekly or bi-weekly) to sync on progress.
- Be consistently present and approachable. Stay responsive in communication channels, especially when contributors are stuck.
- Provide prompt, thoughtful feedback on pull requests, documentation, and designs.
- Encourage contributors to ask questions and express doubts freely. Promote transparency by guiding them to ask questions publicly in relevant Slack channels.
- Follow up periodically, especially if a contributor goes silent, to re-engage and offer support.
3. Guidance & Growth
Your goal as a mentor is to help contributors become independent problem-solvers. Give them the space to grow by gradually shifting from instruction to guidance.
- Guide rather than instruct. Encourage independent thinking while being available for support.
- Mentor contributors on both technical skills and open-source best practices (e.g., writing good issues and clean pull requests).
- Model open-source best practices by promoting clear issue reporting, clean pull requests, and respectful code reviews.
- Encourage long-term involvement in the open-source ecosystem beyond the program.
- Reinforce ethical practices around transparency and collaboration.
4. Evaluation & Feedback
Effective mentorship is a two-way street. Feedback helps contributors grow, but it also helps you grow as a mentor.
- Track contributor progress consistently throughout the program.
- Provide honest, actionable, and timely feedback.
- Complete mid-term and final evaluations with constructive feedback.
- Invite feedback on your mentorship style and be open to adapting.
- Nominate exceptional contributors for community shout-outs and potential future roles, such as triagers and maintainers.
Note: If AsyncAPI reasonably believes that a Mentor still needs to meet the primary responsibilities, AsyncAPI may require the Program Administrators to designate a replacement Mentor and remove the former Mentor from the Program.
