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Mentoring

Mentor

The Mentor Helps the Learner Discover their Wisdom.

The mentoring relationship is off-line — that is, the mentor does not have authority over the mentee — and centres on the learner’s personal goals.

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A successful mentor:

  • is committed to learning and helping others learn,

  • is a good listener,

  • displays empathy,

  • builds rapport,

  • encourages the learner to speak,

  • observes and reflects,

  • provides constructive challenge,

  • is self-aware and understands others,

  • has intuitive wisdom from life experience,

  • helps the learner reshape their thinking,

  • is politically or professionally savvy,

  • shares experiences,

  • steps back from the detail,

  • manages the relationship and not the goals, and

  • offers friendship.

  • Finally, the mentor will keep the relationship off-line. What is said between mentor and learner is confidential and never shared with others except in very special circumstances.

“A mentor is a more experienced individual willing to share knowledge with someone less experienced in a relationship of mutual trust.” – David Clutterbuck

Mentoring

  • Ongoing relationship that can last for a long period of time.

  • Can be more informal and meetings can take place as and when the mentee needs some advice, guidance or support.                       

  • More long-term and takes a broader view of the person.

  • Mentor is usually more experienced and qualified than the ‘mentee’. Often a senior person in the organisation who can pass on knowledge, experience and open doors to otherwise out-of-reach opportunities.

  • Focus is on career and personal development.

  • Agenda is set by the mentee, with the mentor providing support and guidance to prepare them for future roles.

  • Mentoring revolves more around developing the mentee professional's career.

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