Angela Hulm, SI Bromley from notes taken by Fatima from SI Barbados.
A lively discussion panel with Sriya, Marianne & Roxanne St Clair chaired by Eleanor Evans who also invited questions from conference delegates.
Sriya explained the key to mentoring was to develop a rapport with the mentee. Rapport is developed by listening carefully. The mentor’s role is to help the mentee recognise who they are and what they hope to achieve.
Mentoring involves first helping the mentee to be aware of who they are, their strengths and skills, and how they wish to develop. Helping the mentee to articulate their objectives is a key part of the mentoring process.
Girls Out Loud and Girls Network are 2 organisations that provide mentoring frameworks.
Mentoring projects have a defined timeframe eg 6 months or a year.
Mentees can ask for times and frequency to suit both parties.
Training of mentors includes experiencing mentoring support to develop self awareness and refine skills as well as providing for example safeguarding training.
Dos and don’ts:
- Do take the lead from the mentee by listening
- Do support mentee to review the appropriateness of their objectives if they are frustrated by them
- Don’t give lifts in your car
Types of Mentoring
Mentoring is usually one to one face to face, but is also offered online, in pairs or small groups.
Mentoring programmes are successful in schools and work places as well as in community networks.
Case Study
One young woman had joined a work place mentoring programme as a health care assistant in a care home and is now the Care Home manager.
he was pleased that she was now able to mentor her employees.
Her mentor Roxanne showed the great satisfaction from helping her mentee to develop and achieve.
It was obvious from all the panel members that both mentee & mentor benefit from mentoring.
Q. Does mentoring work better on line or in person?
A. In person is more satisfying as a mentor as you get to understand the background of the mentee more easily. Online can help anxious mentees as they have the comfort and familiarity of their home.
Q. How does mentoring work with mentees from another culture?
A. The mentor’s questioning and listening skills mean that they learn about the mentees values and beliefs.
Summary
Mentees come to depend on their mentors so reliability is essential, otherwise you risk setting them back if you let them down.