Mentoring

According to David Clutterbuck, a global authority on mentoring, “A mentor is an individual who is willing to help someone less experienced gain confidence, clearer purpose, insight and wisdom”.

A mentor is typically more experienced than their mentee but does not need to know the details of their role. Instead, a mentor tends to have good organisational knowledge and can pass on experience and open doors to otherwise out-of-reach opportunities.

A mentor provides support with personal and career development.

The most common applications of mentoring are at times when there is a need for the mentee to significantly change how they think and behave and how they identify and solve problems, examples would be:

• For new starters, to support them in navigating the new environment.
• Major transitions of role, for example when taking on management responsibility or moving department
• Career planning, making decisions confidently, setting and achieving clear development goals.
• Developing new and/or better working relationships
• Return to work after period of absence
• Gaining a better work-life balance / sense of wellbeing

The key function of the mentor is to help people find their way through these changes, sharing when appropriate their own experiences of the same transition.

This includes:

• Increased motivation, productivity and performance,
• Improved interpersonal relationships, communication and networks,
• More awareness for both mentees and mentors of their own personal impact,
• Clearer idea of career path or goals,
• Better understanding of what is required in their role,
• Greater confidence,
• Easier integration into a new role, institution, culture, or country.