The world
of female educational leadership is on fire! Over the last couple of years,
thanks to the work of #WomenEd and an increasing recognition that the time for
female leadership in education is NOW, women and men alike have been looking at
ways in which female leaders can be supported through relevant, on the job
support mechanism. Mentoring is one of them and here is why and how
organisations and individuals should get involved.
Mentoring
is as old as humankind. The word transports us back to ancient Greek mythology,
to the time when Ulysses entrusted his son to his friend Mentor before leaving
for a long war. Ulysses asked Mentor to turn his boy into a man, to teach him
the rope of life. Ever since mentoring signifies a relationship with an older and
wiser person who ‘has been there, got the t-shirt’ and can therefore share
his/her wisdom with a less experienced professional. Mentoring has evolved over time, but its core
aspects remain and so does its value. Mentoring and Coaching are not the same thing,
although they overlap in some areas, but both types of interventions can be
used effectively to develop and support individuals and organisations if
qualified practitioners become involved.
Sponsoring is sometime the direct consequence of mentoring however, as
senior professionals proactively champions the progression of former mentees
they have helped develop.
Benefits
In organizations, embedding mentoring practices
encourages learning and development across all levels through a
relationship-based, on-the-job process.
Experience shows that, mentoring is highly effective because:
·
It
is a personalised intervention based on effective communication.
·
It
helps managers improve their ability to listen and question and be questioned
by their staff. It helps individuals to
develop within the organisation’s framework.
·
It
helps improve team-working / working relationships across departments at
different levels and between specific individuals.
·
It
helps identify and support talent management and succession planning.
As an individual woman (or man for that matter) one can
use a mentor, or more than one, for different personal and professional
purposes:
-
To
address on-going issues and challenges, in one’s personal and professional life
-
To
help you raise self-confidence, self-esteem and self-awareness
-
To
help with identifying and pursuing a pathway, whether in relation to work or
your private life
-
To
start new projects, careers, or indeed a business.
There are
almost no limits to what mentoring can do for individuals, because it is meant
to be a safe yet energising environment in which to discuss ideas within the
fear of being judged or assessed in any way. A mentor is there to support you,
stimulate your thinking, and stretch you at times. BUT above everything else a
mentor is there to help individuals achieve their potential.
As a senior female educational leader put it to me ‘For me it
was about having the right mentor that understood the sector, culture and
politics. The process helped me navigate my way through some of the
complexity’.
Finding the Right
Mentor
Mentors can
be found in many context: in work, at a club, within professional associations.
Many
mentoring relationships are informal and therefore free. These can work very
well and suit individual situations if one has clarity about their objectives
and they fully trust the mentor. Often work-placed mentors fall in this
category, they take the role of sounding board, they open doors, they help us
network but we do not expect them to see us every month or to necessarily help
us set the agenda. They are slightly more reactive, responding to our needs as
and when we raise an issue.
There are
however situations in which it is better for the aspiring ‘mentee’ to put some
more structure around the relationship. For example, when clarity is missing or
when one needs to quickly identify positive and tangible outcomes. In these
cases a ‘professionally trained’ or qualified mentor is a better choice. This
when mentoring may demonstrate some overlap with coaching. When a mentor is a
third party, paid for its mentoring expertise and contracted for a period of
time, the relationship begins to resemble a coaching one. Nevertheless there
remains some important differences: for example, while coaching in the work
place is often seen as remedial, mentoring is focussed on achieving the
greatest potential and on moving from ‘good to great’. That is why people are happy
to promote their mentoring relationship, as it is seen as highly
aspirational!
How Does An
Effective Mentoring Relationship Work?
Traditionally
mentoring is done on a one to one, face to face basis.
Technology
has helped us develop different way to deliver mentoring and it is not uncommon
to have a remote relationship, taking place over skype or other such media.
Moreover,
mentoring can also take place in a group context, can be reversed (a younger
person mentoring a more senior professional), it can be focussed on specific
areas (supporting and promoting women in the work place, maternity and
returners mentoring and so on). Often these approaches are found within
companies who have embedded mentoring in the way they operate.
Whichever
way may work for you, I encourage you to look around you to see if you can find
a mentor to help you grow in different areas of your life. Through mentoring
you will discover opportunities and options you did not know you had.
Alessandra
is an experienced mentor, business coach, consultant and strategist. She
supports individuals - especially women - and organisations in achieving their
potential through customised, outcome driven interventions.