What is Mentoring?

Mentoring is where one individual provides support, encouragement and advice to another, based on their knowledge, life and experience relative to the mentoring theme. Mentoring often provides a two-way learning experience for both mentor and mentee, which can encourage deep satisfaction and numerous benefits in many personal, career, organisational and developmental areas.

Types of Mentoring

Informal Mentoring

Informal mentoring is where two people form a mentoring relationship without facilitation by a third party or the signing of formal agreements.  This form of mentoring is usually fairly unstructured and often begins spontaneously between colleagues or friends and evolves into a mentoring relationship over time.  However, it may also be initiated by a mentor or mentee seeking a mentoring relationship.

Formal Mentoring

One of the traditionally most popular forms of mentoring, formal mentoring is facilitated by a third party and often includes formal agreements between mentors and mentees.  Most formal mentoring is conducted within a workplace or association.  Usually there is a mentoring co-ordinator who matches mentees with mentors, organises mentor and mentee training and workshops, and generally oversees a structured mentor program.

Small Group Mentoring

Mentoring in small groups of up to 4 people can be quite effective in many situations.  Usually small group mentoring occurs within the same organisation so there is a common interest or goal between mentees and the mentor, however applying the small group mentoring format to mentees and mentor from different backgrounds can also be enlightening for the participants.

Professional Mentoring

Professional mentors have substantial personal experience in the industry in which they are mentoring, and use a combination of coaching and mentoring to achieve high levels of results with their clients.
Unlike informal, formal and small group mentoring, which has traditionally been conducted free of charge (albeit at some expense to the organisation facilitating the mentoring program), professional mentors charge for their services, usually in the order of $100-$400 per hour (depending on the type of mentoring and the experience and reputation of the mentor).

Mentoring v's Coaching

Coaching and mentoring are two different things, although they both involve elements of the other. They are both a partnership between two people whereby direction is clarified and support is provided to achieve goals.

Coaching, however, is the "boot camp" of mentoring. Encompassing elements of organisational psychology, management, and personal training as well as mentoring, coaching approaches the achievement of goals in a much more structured and results-driven way. Coaching is for people who are willing to stretch themselves to go beyond what they could achieve on their own, to make their goals a reality. Coaching, like mentoring, can target many different personal issues and is broadly categorised into three main areas - executive, business and life or personal coaching (including career coaching). Its powerful approach will almost always guarantee results if the client is serious about achieving major goals.

Life and Career coaching is available for AWMN members - click here for details.

Mentoring is perfect if you are looking for advice from somebody who has personal experience in the area or industry you are being mentored in. It's also perfect for getting support in achieving moderately hard goals, exploring a new industry, getting to know influential people in your industry, networking, and just having somebody who has already been through it all, to bounce your ideas off.

A combination of mentoring and coaching can be a very powerful formula indeed, and can be recommended for people who have the ambition and stamina to really take their ambitions to the next level!

Benefits of Mentoring...

Studies of mentoring in practice indicate that the benefits of mentoring and being mentored can include:

For Mentors...

• Development of management, leadership and communication skills

• A learning opportunity which will provide exposure to new ideas and ways of thinking

• Helping develop and support our female leaders of tomorrow

• Personal satisfaction in making a contribution through sharing your ideas and experience

• Transferral of knowledge

• Increased respect, prestige,  confidence and self esteem

• Contributing to your career development track record

For Mentees...

• Increase in confidence and self-esteem

• Personal growth and support for achieving goals

• Advancement of knowledge, net-working and communication skills

• Increased clarity in personal direction & development of ideas

• Development of skills to enable better career prospects and choices

• Gathering ideas and techniques for balancing work, life and family

• A learning opportunity which will provide exposure to new ideas and ways of thinking

For companies and organisations...

• Enhanced leadership, interpersonal and management skills of mentor managers

• Increase in employee motivation, work satisfaction, commitment and loyalty

• Increased ability to attract and retain excellent staff

• Increase in employees sense of being valued by the organisation, through the provision of career development and networking opportunities; and the recognition of individual contributions

• Retaining corporate knowledge and sharing of organisational culture and values

• Establishing staff support networks during periods of organisational change and low staff morale

• Decrease in staff turnover

• Demonstration of commitment to EEO and diversity issues in the workplace

(Note that the level of benefits obtained depends on the quality of the mentoring relationship and the commitment of each of the parties to making it work).