Mentoring: the OG Career Developer

Mentoring is a collaborative process. One that invests in your career, enhances your knowledge in a specialist clinical area, and helps develop your professional networks.

Mentoring is dependent upon an individual, the mentor, taking on the role of teacher, model, advisor and sponsor

Unlike other professional relationships, such as workplace supervision or colleague peer support, a mentor is self-selected. To get the most satisfaction and success, it is important you choose someone whom most closely aligns with you, and your characteristics.

“With great power comes great responsibility”

Peter Parker aka Spiderman

The most effective professional relationships are the ones built not on the most academically or indursty experienced mentor, but on a more personal and individual basis. If the mentor closely aligns with your values and goals you will have more likelihood of success.  

Here are a few considerations when starting your mentoring journey;

1. Establish Your Core Values

Core values are your guiding principles. They represent your best self. Your behaviours.

Are you easily able to identify your personal values? Have you spent time reflecting on and writing these down? It is a valuable exercise to evaluate what type of person you are and how you behave.  

Values can far-reaching and encompass a wide variety of personal skills and behaviours. Examples include; being charitable or a team-player.  

It is important you are honest about yourself and the values you choose are a true reflection of yourself. These can then be used to provide a clear idea of matching with a mentor that closely aligns your values.

2. Acknowledge Your Learning Style

We all learn differently.

It’s important to have an understanding of how you like to learn. Maybe reflect on times when you were studying or learning a new skill. How did you like the information presented to you? Do you like to read and fully understand the theoretical aspects of why, or are you hands-on and learn on reflection later.  

Having an awareness of your learning style, early in the selection process of you mentor, will ensure you pick someone whom will support your learning and development.

3. Goal Setting & Time Management

Mentoring is often done in your own time, at your own pace, outside of your normal work life. 

Setting clear and measurable goals, alongside a workable timetable is imperative for mentoring to succeed. Having unrealistic expectations, or setting unachievanl goals in developing and support is setting yourself up for disappointment.

Key considerations;

•          How much time can you realistically dedicate to mentoring a week?

•          How would you like to conduct your meetings? For example; Face-to-face, virtual, telephone calls .

•          How could you measure, or check progress on your goals? Is setting a milestone achievable?

Your mentor will give you the space to develop, challenge you with new experiences, but also give you the freedom to develop. This takes time and needs to be done in a manageable timeframe.