Mentoring Programme

What is mentoring

The origins of the word, mentor, spring from Homer’s Odyssey. Odysseus, off to war, chose Mentor (who was the goddess Athene in the form of Mentor), to protect and advise his son Telemachus. This has translated to the modern day as an “experienced and trusted adviser” (Oxford Dictionary). 

Mentoring

Mentoring occurs when one person makes it easier for another to make progress in their learning, overcome hurdles or personal development. Mentoring provides either short, medium or long term support helping individuals achieve their potential and improve their productivity, efficiency and thereby overall performance.

Mentees should be supported throughout the learning process, encouraged to develop their skills and sensitively assisted to understand their strengths and weaknesses.  The mentor should arrange regular meetings to help evaluate progress and ensure that momentum within the relationship is maintained and focus not lost.

The mentor also supports the mentee to understand the impact of their behaviour and help them to author plans for improving their skills and actions. While the agenda is primarily led by the mentee, the mentor will notice patterns and blocks to learning and challenge or enquire about these. Good mentors enable the mentee to understand issues and their implications, to cope with difficulties and to take advantage of wider knowledge and experience.

Mentoring is about developing a subjects ability to think for themselves brought about by careful listening, analysis and questioning.

Mentors ensure that their mentees retain ownership of their problems or issues, but are helped to explore options to address those issues, and take decisions for themselves on the appropriate course of action.

Mentoring is non-judgemental.

An effective mentoring relationship complements other development and training opportunities. Mentees often see their mentor as a role model, so effective matching is important.

Coaching

It might seem odd to feature the topic of coaching in a description of mentoring but confusion exists between being coached and mentored.

It is true to say that similar skills are required however, coaching is job or task specific and is intended to help directly teach someone how to accomplish a job or specific task. It can help in developing the ability of the person being coached to establish an awareness, to understand a topic and to come to a more objective assessment of the issues involved.  It is a more directive approach akin to a consultancy.

Non-executive directors

For new starts and businesses starting to grow there’s often a need for greater levels of mentoring support. Managing a business can be a lonely experience – and it is often difficult to share problems and issues with staff and a reluctance to burden family members. So entrepreneurs need support.  Often, those “early adopted” mentors are fulfilling a role very similar to that of a non-executive director, though without the legal responsibilities that come with that position.

Fees

Some argue that a key difference between mentoring and coaching is that mentoring is free. There’s no reason why mentors should be unpaid; the key is in having a very clearly laid out agreement between mentee and mentor.  With a specific mentoring programme, such as HReSource there is a recommended approach which is not to seek remuneration at the outset.  If a positive relationship between mentor and mentee develops it be appropriate to consider covering the time of the mentor but that would be entirely outside of the formal structure as outlined by HReSource.

Ultimately if the mentee is gaining true value from the relationship and wishing it to continue, they will need to consider the need to pay a fee for the time given. This time includes preparation and post discussion analysis.  These additional periods of time are those a professional mentor will dedicate time to, ensuring that the mentee 

The HReSource mentoring programme pairs mentees, who wish for assistance, support and guidance with the work side of their lives.  The aim is to find each mentee who requests support through the initiative with an experienced and knowledgeable mentor.

The benefits of mentoring include:

• Identifying areas for development and recommending sources of additional help
• Gain greater self-confidence through sharing anxieties and knowing you’re not alone
• Find help with knotty problems that are hindering the progression of your plans
• Improve focus and decision making
• Receive advice and insight from those who’ve relevant function or sector experience
• Obtain guidance on planning for successful career progression
• Receive critical feedback

Meetings with your mentee

As well as keeping your own confidential note, ensuring you retain key points of progression and follow up action, the mentee should also record meetings as it will help them keep track.

• What progress and achievements since last meeting
• Areas for development
• Agreed actions before next meeting
• Support required for development and actions

Reflection on achievements and the things that have not quite worked out is important for both mentee and mentor.  Using the simplest of questioning techniques over success and failures can help to reveal and underlying “spark” or “blockage” that with careful support can prove instrumental in helping the relationship work. Through this analysis and replaying to the mentee you can demonstrate the power of the process.

David Laud – Founder of HReSource and Active Mentor