Mentoring is the most under-utilised aspect of individual and organisational learning. Mentors are in high demand, the rewards are great, but the gap exists where there aren’t enough people willing to mentor for the number of people who feel they would benefit from having a mentor. How do we fill this gap? There are three ways people find themselves taking on the role of a mentor.
“I didn’t ask to be a mentor but I think it’s already started”
According to a recent survey of 3,000 full-time US professionals from across 21 industries, 61% developed a mentoring relationship naturally. This happens more often than we realise, as I learned myself with a friend and fellow filmmaker. It began with our usual check in phone calls about what we were up to, which developed into her discussing a piece of writing she was working on. Ultimately it ended up with me reading and giving feedback to her work and listening more to her career transition from news to scripted television. I had done it the other way round, transitioning from scripted television to documentary. This all developed because I had slightly more experience than she did, and as a friend I felt it important to keep her motivated through her career transition.
“I was asked to be someone’s mentor”
If mentoring had a platform like a dating app, you’ve just been swiped left. If only asking someone to mentor was that easy, as the research shows from the survey above, someone asking you to mentor is actually the least likely way a mentoring relationship begins.
“I want to offer to mentor someone”
1 out of 4 mentoring relationships begin this way and taking initiative is a great way to begin determining if you are mentor material.
The Mentoring for Mentors interactive experience on Gamoteca is set up to help you better understand what is involved in mentoring and how to get started. A recent survey by AllBright showed that 91% of women surveyed wanted to have a mentoring experience but two-thirds did not know where to start. Considering the majority of mentoring relationships start naturally, the data from the Olivet Nazene survey seems to align with this. So whether you find yourself dropped into being a mentor, asked to be a mentor, or you’re inspired to become a mentor. You’re in the right place to get yourself started with mentoring with some important do’s and don’ts you can learn from Mentoring for Mentors.
Let’s get started together
Just because you’re starting to mentor does not mean you have to go it alone. Mentoring for Mentors is an interactive two-player experience and will connect you with others looking to mentor so you can start the journey together .
Try the Mentoring for Mentors experience on the Gamoteca learner app today.
If you are looking to scale up mentoring within your organisation, you can adapt the template to your company’s training needs by creating a free Gamoteca Creator account.