I have always believed in the benefit of mentoring at all stages in the career journey. I found this article very useful on how to be a mentor as well as a mentee.

I have occasionally wondered if I would benefit from having a mentor. This article has helped crystallise this thought process.

What competence did I develop?
The need to take a mentor.

What can I do now that I couldn't before?
I can see the wider benefit of mentoring.

Did I meet my objective?
Partially.

What will be the wider impact on my team, organisation and career?
If I can find a good mentor there should be positive impacts for my team, organisation and career.

The message in the article is that mentoring has to be a continuous process and whatever level you are at, you should continue to wish to get better.


Interesting to find out about the structure of mentoring and the tasks that should be given to the mentee.  This is something I am looking to apply with the graduate that I am currently mentoring. 

I am also looking to obtain further mentoring from my manager, who has extensive knowledge in various areas that I have not been involved in previously and would like to get involved in and gain more proficiency.

Everybody has areas for improvements, they might be on professional, emotional levels. Mentors help to identify them, and to plan how to make progress. Timelines are important, and face to face meetings are key, as well as openness and being honest and willing to give feedback. 

This article outlines the need to understand/evaluate not only our own strengths and weaknesses but those of the people both above and below us to identify people that we can learn from and also who we can help. 

It highlights that people of all levels can improve their skills and that key areas for improvement include time management, delegation, administration, strategy, negotiation, innovation communication and management/leadership skills. Mentoring can take place at all levels of an organisation including executive coaching as good leaders impact on the success of an organisation.

Key steps in implementing a successful mentoring relationship are:
1. Determine areas where improvement is required.
2. Develop a specific plan including set tasks.
3. Have regular face to face catch up meetings.
4. Commit and practice the techniques taught. 
5. Develop a post-program reporting schedule to make sure skills continue to be used and are not forgotten.