Mentoring post maternity leave
We were delighted to welcome a new family member, Oscar. It’s great to have a baby in the family again and Oscar is a little star, although I recognise, I’m probably a little bias. It’s been a joy to watch and support his development.
Our daughter Beth, put her career on hold but is now starting to think about a part-time return to work. Beth works as a TV Production Manager, which is a fast-paced, constantly changing environment, so as a returning Mum, this has the potential to be quite daunting.
Given the personal development coaching I do, I was really encouraged to learn that Beth has enrolled onto a mentoring programme to help her navigate back into the workplace.
What is mentoring?
Mentoring is nothing new and has been around for thousands of years in fact the word mentor comes from Greek mythology. In recent years mentoring has also spread beyond the world of careers and work to wider community support.
Whenever I work with clients whose companies offer mentoring, I encourage them to think about that option, but what exactly is a mentor and what do good ones do?
I’ve introduced mentoring schemes into places where I’ve worked and ensured that mentors received some structured training.
This training covers:
- Things to consider when setting up a mentoring programme
- The role of the mentor
- Helping to guide and support your mentee
I do come across mentoring schemes where there’s an assumption that as the mentor has been in the business for some time or is seen as a subject matter expert, they should somehow know how to mentor and how to approach their mentee.
Sadly, this isn’t always the case, so I recommend that a training programme accompanies the mentoring scheme so that everyone is clear on what the expectations are.
The difference between coaching and mentoring
There’s often confusion between coaching and mentoring. When should you coach and when should you mentor? Both discussions have a very different approach.
The difference being that mentors will have specific knowledge relating to a sector that they are happy to share, whereas a coach may know nothing about your working environment but has tools and techniques to help you to identify a plan of action.
David Clutterbuck’s mentoring model highlights four different areas that a mentor / mentee relationship might cover, including:
- Networking
- Counselling
- Coach
- Guardian
Or as Clutterbuck describes them, four different ways of helping, but each need more thought and understanding in a particular context.
A good mentor will know when and how to coach. A coach will only be able to mentor if they have any knowledge of the mentees sector or relevant experience.
Introducing a mentoring scheme
What characteristics should companies look for in a mentor when establishing a mentoring programme?
Been there, seen it, done it is a start but won’t maximise the benefits that mentoring can really offer.
When creating a mentoring scheme, consider these 5 points:
- How mentors are chosen and on-boarded
- Does the mentee and mentor understand their roles?
- What is going to be discussed at the first meeting
- When and how do you finish a mentoring relationship?
- What can a mentor learn from a mentee?
Beth is looking forward to her mentoring support and I know that her mentor has received some great training to help make the relationship a success. Unfortunately, experience has taught me that this won’t always be the case.
If you’re thinking of starting a mentoring scheme, but don’t know where to start, need to train your mentors or would like your existing scheme revised or re-energised then please get in touch.
As a final thought – with many people thinking about career change, wouldn’t it be a shame to lose your top-talent because they didn’t feel valued or think anyone cared about their future?
Perhaps a mentor might just help your employees see the benefits of remaining at your company.