About this module.
The end of the RISE programme is not a finish line - it is a transition point. Everything built across 8 weeks of mentorship, reflection, and deliberate action becomes the foundation for what comes next. But that transition only has the power it deserves if the closing is done well: with honest reflection on how far the mentee has come, genuine recognition of what they achieved, a clear picture of where they are going, and the kind of feedback that helps both parties grow. This module covers the five areas that make a meaningful close - for mentors and mentees alike.
01
Section One
Reflection & Self-Awareness
Reflection is what transforms experience into learning. Without it, the conversations, challenges, and breakthroughs of the past 8 weeks remain a series of events rather than a body of growth. The closing section of the RISE programme is designed around deliberate reflection - not as a formality, but as the practice that makes all the preceding work stick. A mentee who leaves the programme knowing specifically how they have changed is far better equipped for the next stage of their career than one who simply knows the programme is over.
What good looks like
Meaningful reflection at the close of a mentorship programme goes beyond the surface-level summary of what topics were covered. It asks the deeper questions: How did I show up differently as the weeks passed? What did I believe about myself or my career at the start that has shifted? What situation that would have felt impossible in week 1 do I now feel equipped to handle?
The mentor's role in this section is to be a mirror - to reflect back what they have observed over the course of the relationship in a way that the mentee may not be able to see for themselves. People who are living through a period of growth rarely have the perspective to see how much has changed. An honest, specific account from the mentor of what they noticed - in the mentee's language, their confidence, their approach to problems - is often one of the most valuable gifts the closing conversation can give.
Five dimensions of meaningful reflection
Growth
What has genuinely changed in how you think about yourself, your career, and what is possible for you? Growth is often invisible from the inside - which is exactly why having a mentor name it outwardly matters so much.
Mindset shifts
What did you believe at the start of the programme that you no longer believe - or believe less strongly? What new perspectives have you adopted about your career, your strengths, or the obstacles in your path?
Habits improved
Which behaviours changed during the programme - not because you were told to, but because you came to understand why they mattered? Following through on commitments, reflecting weekly, engaging on LinkedIn - where did consistency improve?
Confidence gained
What did you do during the programme that you would not have been willing to attempt at the start? Which conversations did you have, which risks did you take, which things did you say or ask that required more confidence than you started with?
The most revealing question
One of the most revealing reflection questions at the close of a programme is: "What surprised you most about this experience?" Surprises reveal where reality exceeded expectation - where something was harder or easier, more or less meaningful, more or less challenging than anticipated. The answer to this question often contains some of the most honest and useful learning from the whole journey.
RISE connection: The RISE Learning Log contains reflection prompts designed specifically for this moment. Review every entry made across the 8 weeks before the closing session - the arc of your reflections is itself evidence of how your thinking has developed. Bring your completed Learning Log to the final session.
02
Section Two
Measuring Progress
One of the most common experiences at the end of a development programme is a mentee who underestimates how far they have come. Because they are still working toward goals that are not yet fully achieved, they focus on the distance remaining rather than the distance covered. The mentor's role in this closing section is to counteract that bias deliberately - to open the Goal Tracker, to look at what was committed to in week 1, and to make the growth visible in a way the mentee may not be able to see for themselves.
What good looks like
Growth is not only measured by outcomes. A mentee may not yet have the job they were working toward - but they may have built a stronger personal brand, developed a clearer career vision, established a genuine professional network, and gained the confidence to have conversations they would never have initiated before. All of these are real, measurable progress. None of them appear on a job offer.
Progress review - 8 dimensions to examine together
Career clarity
Does the mentee have a clearer sense of direction than they did in week 1? Have they completed a Three-Horizon Career Map and can they describe where they are heading with confidence?
Confidence
What has the mentee done during the programme that they would have hesitated to attempt before - a conversation started, a connection made, a piece of work shared publicly?
Communication
Has the mentee's ability to articulate their value, express their goals, or navigate a professional conversation improved? Has their LinkedIn profile been updated?
Networking
How many new professional connections were made? Were informational interviews conducted? Has the mentee expanded their professional exposure beyond their immediate environment?
Professional branding
Has the mentee completed a Personal Brand Audit? Does their LinkedIn profile now accurately reflect their value and direction? Have they shared anything publicly?
Goal achievement
Open the RISE Goal Tracker together. Which goals were achieved? Which are in progress? Which were revised - and why? Progress on revised goals is still progress.
Resilience
What went wrong during the programme? How did the mentee respond? Resilience is built through difficulty, not despite it. A mentee who handled a setback well has grown in ways that success alone could not have produced.
Skills development
Which technical or soft skills were actively developed - a course completed, a tool applied, a feedback framework used? Document these for the mentee's CV, Learning Log, and future performance conversations.
The most important reminder in this section
Growth is not only measured by outcomes, but also by mindset, awareness, and consistency. A mentee who has not yet achieved the external goal they set may have done the internal work that makes achieving it inevitable. Help them see that - specifically, honestly, and with evidence.
RISE connection: Open the RISE Goal Tracker and Learning Log together at the closing session. Work through the 8 progress dimensions above, using the Goal Tracker data as evidence. This transforms the closing conversation from a subjective summary into a documented record of genuine development.
03
Section Three
Celebrating Achievements
Many mentees arrive at the closing session still focused on what they have not yet achieved - the job they did not get, the goal that was not fully completed, the version of themselves they are still working toward. This tendency is understandable, but it is also a disservice to the work actually done. The closing session is the moment to correct that imbalance - to look squarely at what was achieved, what was attempted, what was overcome, and what courage was shown, and to name all of it clearly and specifically. Recognition is not a feel-good formality. It is the practice that builds long-term confidence and motivation for the journey ahead.
What good looks like
Effective celebration is specific and evidence-based. It is not "you have done so well" - it is "you told me in week 1 that you found it almost impossible to talk about yourself professionally. This week you sent me a LinkedIn post you had written and published yourself. That is not a small thing." The more specific the recognition, the more genuine it feels - and the more power it has to become part of the mentee's own story about who they are.
Five categories worth celebrating explicitly
✨
Improvements made. What is visibly different now compared to week 1 - in the mentee's clarity, their confidence, their professional presence, their habits? Name the specific before-and-after and make it real.
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Actions taken. Not the results of the actions - the actions themselves. Sending that connection request, updating the LinkedIn profile, completing the course, having the difficult conversation with a manager. Effort deserves recognition independent of outcome.
💪
Courage shown. What did the mentee do that required them to move through discomfort - to ask for help, to speak up, to try something for the first time, to share work publicly, to be honest about a struggle? Courage is worth naming every time it appears.
📅
Consistency demonstrated. Showing up to every session, completing the Learning Log, updating the Goal Tracker, following up on commitments - these may seem ordinary, but consistency is one of the rarest and most valued professional qualities. It deserves explicit recognition.
🧗
Challenges overcome. What did not go as planned during the programme - and how did the mentee respond? Naming the difficulty they faced and the way they moved through it is often more powerful than naming the successes. Resilience in the face of a setback is evidence of growth that will serve them for years.
Making celebration concrete - beyond words
☐ Write a specific LinkedIn recommendation for your mentee that names what changed
☐ Make a warm introduction to someone in your network they would benefit from meeting
☐ Nominate them for the RISE Celebrate Success Awards
☐ Share a piece of their work or a post they published to your own network
☐ Write a personal note - handwritten or by message - naming what you observed in them
☐ Encourage them to share their own story at a future RISE knowledge event
RISE connection: The RISE graduation ceremony is a structured celebration of the whole cohort's achievements - not just individual outcomes, but the collective commitment to growth. Encourage your mentee to attend and to participate fully. The experience of being recognised within a community of peers is qualitatively different from individual praise, and its effect on long-term confidence is significant.
04
Section Four
Future Career Development
The mentorship may end, but the mentee's development continues. The closing session should spend meaningful time looking forward - not as an addendum to the recognition and reflection, but as an equal and essential part of what makes the closing valuable. A mentee who leaves the final session with a clear picture of where they are heading, what the next milestones are, and what support structures will carry them forward is far better equipped than one who simply waves goodbye.
What good looks like
The forward-looking conversation at the close of a RISE programme is grounded in the work already done - the Three-Horizon Career Map, the Skill Gap Analysis, the Personal Development Plan. It does not start from scratch. It asks: given everything we have covered, what is the clearest next milestone? What is the most important thing to protect in the months ahead - the habit, the network, the learning practice - that will determine whether this programme's impact compounds over time or fades?
Long-term career plans
Review the Three-Horizon Career Map together. Has the Horizon 3 vision sharpened during the programme? Is the Horizon 2 target role still the right one, or has clarity brought a different direction into focus? Update the map and commit it to paper before parting.
Next milestones
What are the three most important things the mentee needs to do in the next 90 days? Name them with the same SMART rigour used throughout the programme. The closing session should produce a 90-day action plan, not just good intentions.
Continued learning
What learning commitments will continue after the programme ends - a course in progress, a quarterly skill gap review, a book or community they have found valuable? Name the specific resources and build them into the 90-day plan.
Future mentors & support
One mentor relationship is a foundation - not a ceiling. Help the mentee think about who else they might benefit from connecting with: a peer mentor, an industry contact, a professional association, or a future RISE cohort in a different capacity. A single relationship should widen a network, not replace it.
Maintaining accountability independently
The most important long-term outcome of a mentoring relationship is not the goals achieved during it - it is the mentee's increased capacity to hold themselves accountable without external structure. The habits built during the programme - weekly reflection, goal tracking, following through on commitments - should continue independently.
Ask the mentee directly: "What will your accountability structure look like after this programme ends? Who will you be honest with about whether you are doing what you said you would? What will you put in place so you don't drift?" These questions plant seeds that grow long after the final session.
RISE connection: The RISE Career Development Framework's 60-Day Career Acceleration Challenge is an ideal structure for the first two months after the programme ends. Encourage the mentee to commit to the five tracks - LinkedIn, skills, network, visibility, and reflection - as their accountability framework for the transition period.
05
Section Five
Mentorship Feedback & Evaluation
The closing session is not only a moment for the mentee to reflect - it is a moment for the relationship itself to be examined honestly by both parties. What worked well? What could have been better? Where did the communication flow, and where did it become awkward or strained? This is not about blame or evaluation for its own sake. It is about two practices that RISE values highly: continuous improvement in the programme's quality, and reflective practice for the mentor as much as the mentee.
What good looks like
A genuinely useful feedback conversation between mentor and mentee is honest, specific, and reciprocal. Both parties share what worked and what did not. Neither is defensive about receiving feedback, because the relationship has been built on a foundation of trust. The mentor who asks for feedback from their mentee - and genuinely receives it - models exactly the quality they have been trying to develop in their mentee throughout the programme.
Five dimensions to evaluate together
| Relationship strengths |
What aspects of the relationship worked particularly well - the level of trust, the honesty, the pace, the balance between challenge and support? Name these specifically so they can be replicated in future relationships by both parties. |
| Challenges experienced |
Were there moments where the relationship felt stuck, uncomfortable, or unproductive? What caused that - and what, in hindsight, would have helped? This is not about re-litigating the past, but about learning from it for the future. |
| Communication effectiveness |
Did both parties feel heard and understood? Were there patterns - in how the mentee communicated their needs, or in how the mentor responded - that could have been more effective? Communication is the infrastructure of the relationship. Evaluating it honestly helps both parties improve. |
| Session structure |
Did the format and cadence of sessions serve the mentee's development well? Were 30-minute, 45-minute, or 60-minute sessions used? Did the RISE Session Agenda Playbook help structure the time effectively, or were sessions that used it more productive than those that did not? |
| Overall impact |
Did the programme deliver what it set out to deliver for this mentee? Was the match right? Did the goals set reflect the mentee's genuine priorities? What would make the next cohort experience even better? Both the mentor report and the RISE evaluation form feed directly back into programme improvement. |
For mentors - asking for feedback yourself
The most powerful thing a mentor can do in this section is ask for honest feedback before they offer any. Try: "Before I share my observations, I'd like to ask you - what did I do well as a mentor? And what could I have done differently that would have made this more useful for you?" A mentor who genuinely receives feedback from their mentee models the very quality they have been trying to develop throughout the relationship. It also produces the most useful information for their own growth as a mentor in future cohorts.
RISE connection: Complete the RISE mentor report and submit the evaluation form before the relationship formally closes. Both feed directly into RISE's ability to improve the programme for future cohorts. This is your contribution to the mentees who come after yours - and it should be treated with the same care as any other commitment made during the programme.
Suggested Reflection Questions
Use these questions to structure the reflection and closing conversation in the final two sessions. The mentee should prepare answers in advance where possible - writing before a conversation deepens the quality of what is said. The mentor should add their own observations after the mentee has spoken.
Closing Reflection Questions
| Question |
Purpose |
| "What has changed most since Week 1?" |
Encourages broad reflection on growth - in mindset, habits, confidence, and clarity. Opens the closing conversation with a forward-looking rather than a deficit-focused frame. |
| "Which achievement are you most proud of?" |
Reinforces the mentee's sense of agency and capability. Often surfaces an achievement the mentor had not fully appreciated, which gives both parties the opportunity to name it more richly together. |
| "What challenge taught you the most?" |
Encourages resilience thinking - helping the mentee reframe difficulty as data rather than failure. The answer also often reveals the most important growth that occurred during the programme, which may have been invisible at the time. |
| "What habits or actions should continue?" |
Builds sustainability - helps the mentee identify which new behaviours developed during the programme are worth protecting deliberately once the external accountability of the relationship is no longer present. |
| "What are your next career priorities?" |
Focuses the closing on future direction rather than programme completion. The answer should connect directly to the updated Three-Horizon Career Map and form the basis of the mentee's 90-day action plan. |
| "What surprised you most about this experience?" |
Reveals where reality exceeded or diverged from expectation - often the most honest insight into what the programme actually delivered, beyond what was planned. Surprises frequently contain the most meaningful learning. |
| "What would you tell someone who is about to start the RISE programme?" |
Encourages the mentee to articulate their experience from a generous, outward-facing perspective. The answer often crystallises what mattered most - and generates content for the RISE community and future cohort communications. |
Suggested Final Activities
These five activities should be completed across the final two sessions of the RISE programme - the penultimate session to prepare, and the closing session to complete and celebrate. Where possible, both mentor and mentee should prepare their contributions in advance rather than arriving cold.
Final Session Activities
| Activity |
Purpose & How to Do It |
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📊Goal Review
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Open the RISE Goal Tracker together and review every goal set during the programme - achieved, in progress, and revised. Note the reason for any revision. Measure progress against the starting point, not the ideal. This transforms the Goal Tracker from a to-do list into a documented record of professional development that can be used in CVs, interviews, and future performance conversations. |
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📓Mentorship Reflection
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Both mentor and mentee complete a written reflection using the RISE Learning Log and the Suggested Reflection Questions above. Prepare in advance of the session and share answers at the start of the final meeting. Written reflection surfaces insights that conversation alone often does not reach - and produces a document the mentee can return to in months and years ahead. |
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🗺Career Roadmap Update
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Update the Three-Horizon Career Map to reflect where the mentee is now and where they are heading. Agree the 90-day action plan together - three to five SMART priorities for the transition period after the programme ends. This closes the programme the same way it opened: with clarity, intention, and a concrete next step. |
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💬Feedback Discussion
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Both parties share honest feedback on the relationship using the five dimensions in Section 5 above. The mentor asks for feedback first. The mentee shares their experience of the relationship - what worked, what they wished had been different - and the mentor receives it with the same openness they have been modelling throughout. Both complete the RISE formal evaluation form before parting. |
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🎉Celebration Moment
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End the session with a deliberate moment of recognition - not a summary, not a to-do list, but a genuine acknowledgement of what was built and the effort it took. The mentor names three specific things they observed in the mentee. The mentee names what the relationship meant to them. Then both look forward: the programme may be ending, but the growth it sparked does not. |
