What is mentoring?
In simple terms mentoring is about one person learning from the experience and wisdom of another. For the Mentoring Foundation, this is about a relationship that supports and encourages the leadership journey of the mentee.
Becoming an effective leader is more than just a specific set of skills or tools that can be used to get a set of results. It is about the overall mindset, confidence and approach of the leader to be able to understand, develop and harness their own unique strengths and values to achieve outcomes.
Our programme takes a holistic approach, matching a mentee with a mentor who not only has experience relevant to the mentee's specific leadership development needs, but who will also view the leadership journey in relation to the mentee's personal context, priorities and well-being.
This ongoing relationship connects with the leaders at whatever point they are in their leadership journey and helps them unlock the traits within themselves by talking through issues, offering advice, or even just getting a bit of insight from an external sounding board.
And this has real benefits for their organisations. Mentored leaders are more effective at getting things done. They are more inspired and more inspiring to their staff. They’re less likely to move on, because they can make a real difference in their role. They go on to be great mentors themselves, passing the benefits of mentoring down the chain.