With an impressive 80% participation rate, one thing we attribute to the wild success of Slack Design’s mentorship program is simplicity. We’ve designed it to be easy to engage with, striking a balance between structured guidance and the flexibility to evolve based on the needs of participants.

Next? Accessibility. We believe that mentorship is a powerful tool for growth—something that shouldn’t be reserved just for junior designers but available to everyone in our organization. Our six-month mentorship program pairs designers at different stages of their careers, whether it’s a junior designer learning from a senior designer or a senior designer partnering with a VP for guidance and perspective.

Over time, we’ve learned valuable lessons from this program, and we’re sharing three key takeaways that have helped us build a strong culture of mentorship. A great example of a successful mentorship pairing is Mika, a designer earlier in her career, and Milan, a design manager experienced mentor. Their journey through the program highlights the importance of flexibility, authenticity, and mutual learning in mentorship.

Tip 1: Let the Mentorship Evolve to Serve Its Participants Best

A successful mentorship program requires structure, but also allows room for adaptation. (After all, in design, we know sometimes our best innovations are the ones we didn’t initially plan for.) Our program provides clear guidelines, resources, and even a dedicated channel solely for mentorship discussions. Our playbook provides mentors with prompts and suggestions for productive conversations, such as topics to cover in the first meeting. However, we recognize that everyone has a different learning style. Some mentees want a structured approach, while others prefer to address their needs on the fly as they arise in real-time.

Much like coaching or therapy, mentorship is personal and is all about finding what works best for each person involved. As Mika shared:

“In the very first session, we asked ourselves: ‘How can we make sure that our mentorship sessions are valuable?’ We are both big note takers. One of the agreements we set was to ensure we always took notes in our canvas, with action items to continue working on outside of our meetings. Sometimes they were lightweight, like watching a YouTube video, and other times they were more challenging, like preparing for a difficult conversation with PMs. Listing these action items in our running doc helped keep us accountable and track our growth.”

Milan added:

“Mika always came prepared to our sessions with an agenda. Documenting our sessions and having clear notes meant we could easily revisit past topics or decide to discuss a new topic.”

By setting up a structure that allows for flexibility, mentorship relationships at Slack remain productive and meaningful.

Tip 2: Give Yourself Permission to Bring Your Full Self to the Mentorship

At Slack Design, we believe in creating an environment where people can bring their whole selves to work—including their ambitions, challenges, and passions beyond their professional goals. Our mentorship program supports both professional and personal growth, often leading to deeper conversations about creativity, work-life balance, and a wide variety of topics that couldn’t possibly be encapsulated in a single playbook. As Milan shared:

“One thing Mika and I talked about was the idea of bringing your full self to work. She expressed not feeling like she was able to bring her emotions to work, or that it was something she should do. I shared a different perspective: embracing emotions at work and learning how to manage them effectively helps us show up more authentically, build trust and work better together.”

With this encouragement to not hold back or feel self-conscious while talking about things that weren’t strictly work-related, Mika and Milan’s discussions—which had started with design topics—soon expanded into broader life challenges.

“Designers have a second nature of designing everything in their lives, from organizing files to building personal solutions. When Milan and I talked about design, it naturally led to conversations about side projects, burnout, therapy, and even embarrassing moments. Those shared personal stories built trust between us. I knew I didn’t have to role-play or sugarcoat my problems—I could be my authentic self.”

This level of authenticity fosters trust and psychological safety, allowing mentees and mentors to support each other beyond their immediate work concerns.

Tip 3: Level the Playing Field

In many organizations, mentorship is positioned as a top-down relationship where the mentor holds all the answers. We see it differently. One of the unique aspects of Slack Design’s mentorship program is its egalitarian nature. We believe mentors and mentees both bring valuable perspectives to the table, and can learn from each other. Mika initially felt intimidated by Milan, viewing her as a “superwoman” at Slack. But that perception quickly changed:

“Before meeting with Milan, I was nervous because I saw her as someone who had everything figured out. But in our first session, she shared that she had a tough morning and needed to recharge. That completely shifted my mindset. If my mentor could be vulnerable, why couldn’t I? From that moment, we both put down our armor and had open, honest conversations.”

This transparency led to productive problem-solving. Now that there was no perceived hierarchy, Mika and Milan were free to tackle issues that affected them both together. Milan explained:

“We had both gotten promoted recently, and were figuring out what these new roles meant for us. As we navigated this change and took on more responsibilities, our mentorship sessions became a valuable time to reflect on our experiences and goals together. I’m grateful for the opportunity to mentor because as it helps me reflect and learn about myself as well.”

We encourage mentors and mentees to see each other as equals, creating a culture of shared learning and mutual respect.

Building a Stronger Design Community

Our mentorship program is more than just a career development initiative—it’s a cornerstone of our design culture at Slack. By allowing relationships to evolve naturally, embracing authenticity, and fostering equal partnerships, we’ve built a mentorship program that truly supports its participants. We believe this is why we are able to sustain a high participation rate, and over 90% of folks rejoin the program either as a mentor or mentee (or both!) every time we launch it.

Whether you’re a designer looking to grow in your career or a leader who’s eager to support the next generation, mentorship at Slack Design is about more than just skill-building. It’s about connection, trust, and learning together. It’s part of our culture.

If you’re considering starting a mentorship program in your own organization, our advice is simple: Keep it structured, but flexible. Encourage people to bring their full selves. And most importantly, create an environment where learning is a two-way street.