The Compelling Case for Mentoring

Mentoring is hardly a new concept – Socrates and Plato, Hayden and Beethoven, and Freud and Jung were all mentors/mentees – and it can make a significant difference to the workplace.

A mentor is an experienced or trusted advisor. Someone who is further along in their career path, but understands the journey in which someone less experienced is undertaking. The great thing about mentoring, therefore, is that pretty much anyone can do it. A second year graduate can mentor a first year graduate. A Supervisor can mentor a team leader. It is excellent for developing leadership skills, encouraging team work and building a good quality succession plan.

The research around mentoring is compelling. The ability of an undergraduate mentoring program for sustaining an interest in science was addressed by Campbell and Skoog, who reported that 90% of the program fellows pursued science careers. Surveyed fellows reported that the support, encouragement, and expertise provided through the mentor relationships were among the most compelling factors influencing their career choice. A similar pattern is seen when encouraging women into STEM careers – in a recent study by Downing, Crosby, and Blake-Beard, they found that 90% of female science undergraduates had a guide in the form of mentor, role model, or sponsor. Of these, mentors were the most influential in the women’s pursuit of science as a career.

Best of all, mentoring schemes can be set up at virtually no cost. With the evidence all pointing to the difference mentoring can make from a skills, talent, confidence and succession planning perspective, it all seems a little no brainer. Yet there are many businesses and individuals who are yet to explore this powerful relationship.

Encouraging Action

• Who do you know, who might benefit from having a mentor? (Psst – that might be YOU)
• Who would be a good mentor for this person?
• How might you kickstart the connection between these two people?

Be encouraged; lead well.