What is Mentoring?
Mentoring is an arrangement in which an experienced individual (Mentor) offers ongoing support and guidance to a less experienced individual (Mentee) to help the Mentee manage his or her own learning and career development.
Gordon F Shea in his book Mentoring - A Guide to Basics defines Mentoring as:
“….a process whereby mentor and mentoree work together to discover and develop the mentoree’s latent abilities, to provide the mentoree with knowledge and skills as opportunities and needs arise, and for the mentor to serve as an effective tutor, counsellor, friend and foil who enables the mentoree to sharpen skills and hone her or his thinking.”
Purpose/Objectives
The purpose of the Mentoring Scheme is to assist personnel practitioners (mentees) to develop their professional competence by mentoring help provided by more experienced HR practitioners (mentors). The Scheme is a service provided by the West London Branch of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, and participants (Mentors and Mentees) must be members of the Institute.
The Scheme is managed by a Steering Group of Branch Members, appointed by the West London Branch Committee. Each member has some experience of mentoring and one of whom must be a member of the Branch Committee. The Steering Group will:
• appoint Mentors.
• confirm Mentees.
• arrange Mentor/Mentee pairings.
• monitor the Scheme’s operation.
• report to the Committee regularly on the Scheme’s progress.
The Scheme provides a managed relationship between the mentor and the mentee to enable:
• knowledge sharing
• working through of professional and personal issues
• improvement and career development
• provision of a sounding board or critical friend when required
• Within the confidential relationship the mentor will act as an experienced and trusted guide. The intent is not to teach, judge or necessarily to offer solutions, to provide a sounding board which will help steer the mentee in the right direction, and help them develop their own professional and personal skills and resources.
Benefits For the Mentee
A mentoring partnership should develop the mentee's ability to:
• develop themselves
• meet challenges
• recognise strengths and weaknesses
• learn to build on strengths
• learn by example and mistakes
• do things differently
• listen
• gain knowledge
• practice effective inter-personal skills
What does the Mentor gain?
The benefits of this scheme do not just flow in one direction. Mentors will gain significantly by:
• nuturing talent and growing capabilities
• gaining satisfaction from helping a colleague to develop
• unlocking potential
• be instrumental in a career transition
• contributes to CPD
Registration.
Those wishing to take part in the Mentoring Scheme should contact Brian Johnson FCIPD. Tel 020 8922 0989 for further details and an application form.