CHAPTER 6: MENTORING
Using the experience of others
One useful approach to help you develop in your career is to find a mentor. In this chapter, I outline what mentoring is, the role of a mentor and a mentee, how to find a mentor and how to prepare for a mentoring relationship.
What is mentoring?
Mentoring is a process where two people establish a trusted relationship in which one person (the mentor) provides guidance and assistance and shares their knowledge and experience to help the other person (the mentee) grow and develop their career.
In his seminal book Everyone Needs a Mentor, David Clutterbuck explains
“A mentor is a more experienced individual willing to share knowledge with someone less experienced in a relationship of mutual trust.”8
There are many examples of mentoring in the workplace. Mark Zuckerberg, Meta CEO, publicly named his mentor Steve Jobs, the former Apple CEO, as a key factor in his success.
American TV presenter Barbara Walters mentored international star Oprah Winfrey and helped her develop her career.
The role of the mentor
A mentor is typically someone inside or outside the organisation who:
• Helps the mentee set career development goals;
• Is available for the mentee and listens to them actively;
• Shares their experience and gives advice and guidance;
• Respects confidentiality;
• Encourages the mentee to be responsible for their career; and
• Inspires confidence and motivates the mentee to move forward.
The role of the mentee
For a mentoring relationship to work well, the mentee needs to:
• Be open about their needs;
• Be clear about their career aspirations and goals;
• Trust their mentor and heed their experience and advice;
• Agree specific actions with their mentee and put these into practice; and
• Take responsibility for their own learning.
Examples of mentoring in action
1. Ash works in organisational development. His ambition is to move into a senior management role. Ash has had a mentor for the past two years. She is a senior manager in Operations and brings experience of working in a different department as well as knowledge of what it takes to move up the career ladder. Ash touches base with his mentor every 8 to 12 weeks. She has helped him gain a wider perspective of the organisation as well as providing advice on diversity, change management and leadership.
2. Tanzi started her career in IT more than ten years ago and has held various positions as an employee, interim and consultant. She has had the same mentor for the past five years. He is the director of an IT consultancy and has supported Tanzi in her career choices and in improving her confidence.
3. Phillipa is new to management and values the experience of her mentor, Steve. Phillipa started her career in planning and after two years was promoted to supervisor. She has recently been promoted again, to manager. This is her first line management role. Phillipa is finding it hard to delegate and has had feedback that she is getting too involved in day-to-day detail. Regular meetings with Steve have helped her reflect on her role and understand how delegation will help her as well as developing her team members. It is early days, but already Phillipa is seeing higher levels of motivation in her team.
Finding a mentor
Should you feel that having a mentor would be beneficial, how do you go about finding one?
Some forward-thinking organisations have mentoring programmes, and it may simply be a case of you contacting the programme owner to ask them to help you find a mentor. If not, you’ll need to be more proactive.
I suggest brainstorming the names of people you know or know of who are well respected and have more experience in your field. They can be inside or outside your organisation. Typically, they will be at a higher level than you, but this may not always be the case. Next, make a shortlist of possible mentors.
It will be up to you to contact a potential mentor to see whether they would be willing to take on the role. This does not have to be a ‘formal’ relationship, nor does it need to be long term. For example, you might be seeking advice around a specific project or task. From my experience, people are happy to share their experiences and give support and advice.
There is also a useful site, https://findamentor.com/, which offers a free mentor–mentee matching service. The site also provides resources and communities with which you can potentially link.
It can take time to find the right mentor, so don’t be put off if your first request is turned down. Persevere as you will eventually find a suitable mentor.
Making mentoring work
Here are some tips on making the mentoring relationship work.
Be prepared:
• Reflect on your reasons for wanting a mentor and what you want in your career development.
• Be ready to tell your mentor specifically what you want to achieve.
• Discover as much as you can about your mentor, for example their career history and their online presence.
• Be prepared to discuss with them how they can help you.
• Before the first meeting, send your mentor a brief introduction to yourself and your own career history.
• Think about where your meetings will take place, for how long and at what intervals.
When meeting your mentor for the first time:
• Be clear what you would like from the relationship. It’s you who drives the agenda.
• Take time to explain your career to date and ask questions to better understand your mentor’s career journey.
• Be open and honest with your mentor. The relationship needs to be based on trust.
• Discuss the challenges you face to achieve your goals and seek your mentor’s advice.
• Agree specific actions you will take and timelines. Agree when you will meet again.
• As a record of your meeting, follow up with a summary email.
During subsequent meetings:
• Update your mentor on your progress, what you’ve achieved, what has gone well and what issues you have faced.
• Seek feedback from your mentor and advice for future actions.
• Share your next steps.
• Review your mentoring relationship at regular intervals to ensure that you are both happy with its progress.
Reflection and action points from this chapter
Mentoring is a proven method for helping individuals in their career development.
Take a few moments to consider who may be a good mentor for you.
A further consideration is whether you could be a mentor. Mentoring can be mutually beneficial. It can be a great opportunity for you to build your confidence and help others develop.
8 D. Clutterbuck, Everyone Needs a Mentor, CIPD Publishing, London, 2004.