Why Mentoring Matters:

“Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.”

 

 

 

Jade Soer, the Online Marketing and Social Media Manager at Adlestrop Consulting, discusses why mentoring is so important, her experiences of being a ‘mentee’ and what she has learnt so far.

In addition to this, to provide some further insight into the world of mentoring, we interview Nicola Haldane, Head of Client Care at Grant Thornton's Birmingham Office, on her role as a mentor. 

 

Oscar Wilde once said, “The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never any use to oneself.” And this is exactly what mentoring is…passing on good advice. 

A mentor is someone who helps to guide your development, and can be extremely valuable for both parties – improving skills, confidence and career development. Young professionals are some of the most confident employees in the workforce, armed with the knowledge that having years of experience is no longer just a prerequisite. However, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t something to be learned from those who have worked before them. 

Seeking out advice from the people who hold the very positions that millennials one day hope to attain can be enormously beneficial. Speaking from my own experiences, I have seen the benefit of a good mentor. 

Graduating University last year, I was eager, excited and slightly apprehensive about entering the professional world, as most graduates are! I was very fortunate to be offered a new role within Adlestrop Consulting as their Online Marketing and Social Media Manager and of course jumped straight away at the chance. As it was a newly devised role, this has allowed me the opportunity to build something from scratch, whilst continuously learning along the way, which has already been hugely rewarding. 

As I progress further into the role, seeking out a mentor felt like the next logical step, to not only allow me to develop both my personal and professional skills but to also to enable me to add more value to the business and to support future growth. 

So, for any professionals out there who are thinking of having a mentor, here is what I have learnt so far…

 

Where do you start? 

1. Consider the reasons why you want a mentor in the first place:

Be specific how you’d like your mentor to help. Are you after someone with expertise or perhaps good contacts in a particular field? Analysing what you want from the relationship will increase your chances of making it a success. 

2. Search for the best mentors in your industry: 

Who has done your role or a role that you want successfully? Read up on industry publications, websites and utilise professional social networks like LinkedIn to identify the best people in your field. See what they have accomplished and what you can learn from them. 

3. Be clear with your mentor: 

Once you have found your mentor, make sure you are both clear on expectations. Establishing a schedule and a set of topics you would like to cover will ensure that you can really get the most out of the relationship. Setting clear goals also provides a good base to track what you have learnt. 

 

What are the benefits of having a mentor?

• Insider Perspective: 

You’ll have help navigating your career from someone who knows first-hand the challenges of your industry along with ways to deal with them. Your mentor will also provide an insider’s view on steering success from what they have learnt. 

• A sounding board for ideas: 

Having a good mentor will allow you to test your ideas and points of view with an experienced listener. They can then provide you with individualised advice and feedback to help push you to reach both short and long-term goals. 

• The chance to grow your network: 

With a good mentor it will open valuable doors that you may have not been able to do so before. Through a successful mentor relationship, you’ll gain access to your mentor’s extensive network of contacts which could then expand into your own. 

• Leadership Development: 

One key advantage of a mentoring relationship is gaining more skills than you initially set out to develop. A mentor who is truly interested in your career success will help you to develop and build your communication, teamwork and leadership skills. These all add significant value to your business. 

• Learn from past experiences:

You can benefit hugely from hearing the lessons and past experiences that your mentor has learnt along the way, both successes and failures that you can then apply to your own situations.

 

 

 

The Interview:

 

 

Nicola Haldane, Head of Client Development at Grant Thornton's Birmingham Office, discusses her experiences of being a mentor, why it’s so important and why more people should consider becoming a mentor in the future. 

Why do you think mentoring is so important for a young professional?

Too often we don’t factor in enough thinking time to our day jobs. Mentoring gives you (the “mentee”) the space to step back and review, have a think where you’re going and what you’re doing – with a sounding board, in a safe environment.

It can often give you a fresh perspective on things – you can learn from your mentor’s experience, and apply that learning in a practical way to your own goals or issues. Perhaps it’ll help you achieve them quicker, more effectively – or give you more confidence. 

 

Had you ever considered being a mentor before?

I hadn’t actively considered it, although now you ask me, I did the role of induction mentor for a couple of my team members in the last couple of years. I was very flattered when Tim Bates approached me to ask if it was something I’d consider doing, and also very humbling to think that somebody thinks highly enough of you to put a key member of their team in your hands! 

 

Have you ever been mentored before? 

I did have a sort of mentor/life coach a few years ago when I was going through a time of major change at work – he taught me some very valuable skills around handling challenging behaviours. I didn’t deploy some of the tactics he suggested, but it certainly gave me the confidence that my instinct was right and I should stick to my guns!

 

What would you say are the most important aspects of being a good mentor?

I’d say not just willing, but to actively enjoy sharing your skills, knowledge and experience – and giving the person you’re mentoring the space to develop and think things through for themselves. Any search on Google will come up with a top ten of how to be a good mentor – but they’re all very relevant: 

• Be credible
• Be a positive role model
• Be genuinely interested in your experiences and insights
• Share you experiences and insights
• Ask open questions
• Act as a sounding board
• Provide a fresh perspective
• Give helpful feedback
• Acknowledge achievements

But most importantly – empathy. Remember what it was like when you were at that stage of your own career/life. 

 

How important is it for both the mentor and mentee to work effectively together? 

It’s crucial – it’s a two way street! Both of you are gaining something, mentors learn too! It’s also voluntary, so you both have to want to be there, and you have to like the person you’re spending time with. Also you both (usually) have busy demanding jobs so you have to respect each other’s time and boundaries. 

 

What do you think is key to a successful Mentor/Mentee relationship?

Once you’ve explored and agreed each other’s time, boundaries, flexibility, confidentiality – there are a couple of things which will make it successful:

As a mentor, you have to genuinely want the person you’re mentoring to succeed, and have (or be willing to develop) the skills to help them to do that. 

It needs to be based on empowering. Being mentored needs to help you (as the mentee) develop your strengths and potential and identify your needs (which will change as time goes on) as well as your aspirations and what’s most important to you. 

 

What is the most fulfilling part of being a mentor?

Learning! You might be the one with more skills and experience, but you’ll always learn from the person you’re mentoring too.

And also, getting to know someone as an individual and watching them grow in confidence. The ultimate reward would be knowing that something you said or did helped them achieve something that was important to them. 

 

Are there any specific skills you think you have developed since becoming a mentor? 

Realising that being credible doesn’t mean you have to have all the answers. In fact the best answers will be the ones that come from the person you’re mentoring, from their own thinking, from a relationship based on guidance and the wisdom of experience. 

And some of the best experiences to share are the ones where you cocked-up! Being open to sharing your mistakes and failures is really important – this is often the most valuable learning. Where you went wrong, what you did to fix it and what you learned. 

 

Do you think more professionals will start to see the benefit of having a mentor in the near future?

I really hope so! So much of the way we work now depends on IT systems and even DIY self when it comes to solving workplace practical problems or learning issues. There is absolutely no substitute for human interaction and face to face time. Particularly when it comes to having those conversations out of your immediate circle of colleagues.

It’s voluntary but very rewarding – and some (wise) organisations recognise that it can benefit skill sets/career progression – but I think the main driver for doing it has to be genuine desire to help somebody else.  

 

In the end, mentoring can help you in many aspects of your life and it all begins by defining and implementing your personal goals and objectives. This will result in a blossoming career with a trusted advisor and friend that you can confide in. Becoming a mentee can be one of the most rewarding decisions you make as a young professional.