Mentoring: What difference does it make?

What do businesses and individuals get out of mentoring? Two business leaders drawn from Executive Action’s diverse pool of mentors give both sides of the story.

Ann Cormack has more than 20 years of experience of leading businesses and global change for Shell International.

“I was one of the first wave of people to be trained as a mentor in Shell and have also benefited from having an external mentor myself. It is a great reality check and calibration. A problem that might rock your confidence is suddenly put into perspective when you talk to someone who has been there before. You realise that other people have solved the problem – or even not solved it, yet still moved forward, which really boosts your confidence in your ability to deliver.

Everyone needs role models, especially women at senior level who at least can benefit from knowing that they are not the first to face tough issues and grow from them.

It can be lonely for people near, or at, the top. As they report to someone very senior, there’s rarely time to talk in-depth to them about all kinds of issues, so mentoring is vital.

One of the lessons that I’ve learned and pass on to mentees is to make sure that others see and recognise your successes which is, again, particularly important for women who are perhaps less inclined to shout about their achievements. Whilst modesty is a commendable virtue, it mustn’t hold you back in the business jungle.

And a piece of general advice is to always aim high and keep the end in mind. Insights like this, gained from years’ of experience and adapted to specific business situations, help people to focus and excel .”

David Hollywood’s 40+ year international career in industry includes 14 years as a PLC main board director.

“Over the years, businesses have cut back so much that most people are at full stretch and the unofficial mentoring that once went on is disappearing. No one has much time to watch out for others and help them develop and prosper in the business. Formalising mentoring through an external, expert provider is a smart move.

There are many benefits to having an external mentor. For example, if you have been around as long as I have, you’ve been through fluctuating business cycles several times, whereas the people in a company may well have only managed in one climate. Lots of managers have no experience of an economic downturn which demands different skills so they need the insight of someone who has been there before and knows what to do. It can be difficult for those in a company to accept that the decline in their market is permanent and to know how best to use their core skills to open up new markets.

It can also be impossible to say to someone in your own company: ‘I don’t know how to do this’. There’s a reluctance to raise such issues internally so a mentor from outside can really add value.

What I’ve learned from my career is that business is all about people. It doesn’t matter if you have a great business model, if you don’t have good people, it won’t be successful, and if you have a bad business model, good people can fix it. This is where mentoring can really make a difference.”

Posted: January 13th, 2010 | Author: Executive Team | Filed under: Personal / Organisational Development | Tags: Career Development, Career Transition, Mentoring, Outplacement, Senior Executives | No Comments »