1. MENTORING Supporting Mentees to be great
Amanda O’Brien
Group Professional Development Director
15 September 2016

2. The Roots of Mentoring
Mentoring can be traced back to Greek mythology and Homer’s tale of Odysseus.
When Odysseus left home to fight in the Trojan war he entrusted his friend and advisor Mentor, to protect, advise, guide and train his son, Telemachus.

3. Definition of Mentoring
Mentoring is a term generally used to describe a relationship between a less experienced individual, called a mentee or protégé, and a more experienced individual known as a mentor
Traditionally, mentoring is viewed as a dyadic, face-to-face, long-term relationship between a supervisory adult and a novice student that fosters the mentee’s professional, academic, or personal development.
(Donaldson, Ensher, & Grant-Vallone, 2000)

4. Definition of Mentee Webster’s Dictionary Cambridge English Dictionary
‘someone who’s welfare, training or career is promoted by an influential person’
Cambridge English Dictionary
‘someone who is given support and advice about their job by a Mentor (= a more experienced person who helps them)

5. My experience of being a Mentee
Best manager I have ever had was also my best Mentor:
He took a genuine interest in me as a person
He knew when to give advice, when to lustre listen and when to challenge
He had high levels of Emotional Intelligence and self awareness
He didn’t tell me what I should do but gave me lots of tools and techniques to help
He helped me learn to reflect
He had a profound and positive impact on me and the advancement of my both my career and my personal life

6. My experience of being a Mentee
The worst Mentors were the ones that…..
Never really committed the time – meetings were often cancelled at short notice
Never remembered our previous conversations and I felt we were starting from scratch every time
Didn’t challenge me to think but kept telling me the answers to how I should act and feel
Made me feel I was not competent and I started to loose confidence

7. My experience of being a Mentor
The fit and the relationship between the Mentor and Mentee was very important
As a manager it was critical that I did not move into managing mode
The responsibility should not be underestimated – you could very influential so beware!!
I learnt alot from my Mentees – both from a technical aspect but it also improved my communication skills
I learnt a lot about myself and my EI
I hope on reflection it was a win/win for both of us
Those relationships that lasted a long time were amongst the most rewarding work experiences that I have ever had

8. Mentor / Mentee Symbiotic Relationship
Self Actualisation
Esteem
Love/belonging
Safety
Physiological
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs 
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
1943 Abraham Maslow – The Theory of Human Motivation
1954 book Motivation and Personality
Love/belonging - Physiological Need
3rd level of human needs is interpersonal and involves feelings of belongingness
Belonging and acceptance among social groups
Esteem – Physiological Need
Humans have a need to feel respected – the need to have self-esteem and self-respect
To be accepted and valued by others
People often engage in a profession to gain recognition
Self Actualisation – Self Fulfilment Need
This higher level of need refers to a person’s full potential is and the realization of that potential.
Maslow describes this level as the desire to accomplish everything that one can, to be the most that one can. 

9. Your role in the Motivation Cycle
Increases
Comprehension
Skill level Increases
Self-Esteem
Learner Experiences
Success

10. My Mentoring Checklist - my advice
Do you want to share your knowledge and experience with others?
Do you enjoy encouraging and motivating others?
Are you comfortable asking challenging questions?
Are you prepared to invest time on a regular basis?
Are you self aware – what about EI?
Can you move from telling to advising?
Do you know why you want to be a mentor?
Finally, I hope you enjoy the experience and that it enriches you as much as the Mentee?

11. And finally……. Trusted Advisor
It can last for years or just a short period of time
A long term relationship allows the building of a strong relationship and can be a rich experience for both parties
However, equally it can be a short-term relationship to help someone through a specific challenge or problem.
Peer Mentors
This may typically be when someone is in a new job or at the start of their career. Typically within the same company CIPS is good at Peer mentoring and we manage many informal Mentoring sessions to support people coming into the Institute which is normally seen as far more complex than most people imagine
Career Mentors
This is the type that most people would associate with. Tend to be more senior than the Mentee and are there to guide and support as a career advisor both understanding their profession and learning to understand the bigger picture of an organisations goes and how they are going to add-value
Life Mentors
Usually someone from outside the mentees workplace They act as an objective sounding board