Maximizing Corporate Mentorship Programs and One-Time Mentoring Opportunities   

There’s been a lot of debate over recent years about how effective mentoring is at advancing the careers of women. There are powerful proponents for mentoring – such as British barrister Cherie Blair and organisations like the Aspire Foundation – but others have argued that what women really need are sponsors, not mentors.

On the other hand, mentorship is, at its heart, a supportive relationship, comprised of collaboration and cooperation. Sponsorship is more about having a powerful advocate — someone who will put their reputation on the line to push for another woman’s advancement, or to put her forward to work on important projects or accounts.

One common stereotype that’s persisted since the 1970s is that women can’t work together for mutual advancement — that there can only be one “Queen Bee” and that she will have no interest in helping other women get to a position of power. Does this mythology prevent women from proactively seeking out mentorship from a woman in leadership? Do mentor programmes even work? Can mentoring be successfully delivered in just one session? And how can mentors and mentees manage their relationship to get the best results for both parties?

Professional events like SXSW are a great place to network and meet someone you respect and would like to learn from, or work with, in the future. There are many mentor sessions you can sign up to, depending on what you’re looking to achieve. But it’s important to remember that it’s a relationship, rather than a one- off meeting, that will prove most beneficial to both the mentor and the mentee.  Following is a review of those two variations of the relationship.

Sustained Mentorship

Sustained mentorships are often designed to improve the position of women in the business. But mentorship is more than just a section in the employee handbook; it’s a process in which both parties need to be engaged, if it’s to succeed.

Corporate mentorship programmes are a great way to boost the opportunities for women to advance in business. However, the following points need to be considered:

• • • Are people being mentors because they have to participate?
    • Is it seen as an obligation, or are they passionate about helping the next generation of female leaders?
    • Are mentees taking part simply to manage perception, or because they want to be mentored by other women in the business?

All of these factors need to be addressed, because if the motivation for getting involved in a mentoring relationship is lacking, it won’t be a productive exchange.

Time is usually a precious commodity in business, for both mentors and mentees. The success of the relationship is dependent on both parties making time for it. If meetings are skipped, emails left unread and not responded to, or the meetings are spent discussing that great potluck dish from Jim in HR, the mentorship will be for nought!

Mentor and mentee need to work together to set goals if the mentorship is to thrive. Therefore, they should individually mull over the following:

• • • What does the mentee want out of the relationship?
    • Is it something that the mentor can help them with, if not, why is that person their mentor?
    • Do they go to meetings with a list of questions or does the session just become coffee and a chat?
    • Where does the mentee want to be at the end of the year? Does the mentor think that’s a realistic goal?

The upshot is that all meetings need agendas or goals of some sort to be productive, and meeting with a mentor is no different.

With goals comes accountability. So:

• • • Are the mentors accountable for delivering on their actions? Are the mentees?
    • What happens if the goals are never met?
    • Is it because one side isn’t pulling their weight, or is there a block within the company. Were the goals realistic?

Sometimes the mentor and mentee just aren’t suited to working together. Perhaps the mentor can’t see the potential of the mentee; maybe the mentee doesn’t respect the mentor’s experience, or doesn’t find it relevant to their ambitions. What happens then? Is the mentee allowed to find a different mentor, or, if it’s a corporate scheme, do they just have to make the best of it?

Moreover, there needs to be continual momentum in a sustained mentor – mentee relationship. It can’t just be about “checking-in” a few times a year (assuming either person can get hold of the other one, or people aren’t ‘too busy’ to meet up).

The mentor should help the mentee set goals, and be an advocate for the mentee within the business or industry. The mentee needs to communicate effectively, know what they want out of the relationship and from their own career, and be willing to do the work needed to advance.

Transitory Mentorship

With transitory mentorship – such as a one-time-only mentorship session at a professional event like SXSW, or getting the chance to pick someone’s brains over coffee — there’s an even greater need for the mentoring session to be productive. To get the most out of the experience, both mentor and mentee need to go into the event fully prepared. And the common thread with both sustained and transitory mentorship: both mentor and mentee need to set boundaries and know the limit of their relationship.

So, for instance, the mentor needs to know why they are there. What sort of subjects will be discussed? What’s the mentee hoping to gain from the experience? What are their short- and long-term goals?

Conversely, the mentee needs to know the background and experience of the mentor. They need to think about how the mentor’s experience could help them. They have to go to the meeting with their own questions already prepared it they’re able to gain maximum insight from the meeting.

Again, here are some points for both sides to consider:

• If it’s a one off session, will the mentee be able to connect to their mentor on LinkedIn?
• Will the mentor mind them emailing them with questions or for advice throughout their career?
• Or is the relationship over when the event is?
• If the mentorship is ongoing, what should happen if one side becomes unresponsive?
• If the mentor becomes too busy to meet up, or the mentee never works on their goals, what’s the process for fixing the situation? Both sides need to be clear on this to avoid turning the relationship sour.

Mentorship can be successful, but to get actionable insights from the experience, both sides need to know what they want, and where they want the mentee to be. The mentee needs to leave with advice that she can apply to her own situation. It’s not about the mentor’s story of success, but about how they can “pay it forward” by supporting future generations of women in business. The mentor and mentee also need to be of a similar mind when it comes to goals and ambitions — otherwise mentorship risks being ineffective and nothing more than an obligation to be fulfilled that gets the mentee no further in her career.