As part of our efforts to spread awareness about the importance of mentoring and the myriad forms it can take, we have created the Mentor Profile Project. Through this ongoing series we will be interviewing mentors from a wide variety of backgrounds to share their stories and experiences- the wins, the challenges, and the lessons learned along the way.
We were extremely pleased to have the opportunity to talk with Sam about her experiences as a mentor, from her work with Digital Boost to volunteering with a veteran support programme. She shares her valuable insights into how you can use your unique skillset in a variety of ways and to support a range of causes.
Read on to learn about how Sam makes a difference.
How long have you been a mentor?
I would say, in some form or another, probably the last ten years. If you’re familiar with Digital Boost I’m one of their mentors and I’ve been doing that for about three years.
What type of mentoring do you practice?
With Digital Boost there will be a person in employment, or running a business, or that’s in university or even at school sometimes. They will have a specific set of questions that they want answered, or some advice that they might need, and they will be assigned to me based on my skill set. Normally that’s a one off, one hour session that will focus on whatever they are doing.
To give you an example, with a small business it could be about ‘Ok, I’m trading in the UK, and I want to start selling in France. What do I need to do? How does that work? What things do I need to consider?’
Or maybe a self-employed person wants to know ‘what should I do to manage my finances? How should I set myself up? Do I need an accountant?’
I’m also doing coaching to get people back into work. That will sometimes be two or three sessions where somebody is trying to explore what they would like to do. We will then talk about their skillset and the practical side of things.
And then I’m working with a charity for wounded veterans. That is slightly different because we are assigned a mentee for a minimum of a year. It’s normally someone who is ready to go back to the workplace, but in civilian life. So that is helping them bridge the reality of going through a military career, where it’s a very different landscape, to civilian life. It’s very culturally different, and they need to understand what their skill set could lead them to.
There’s a chap that I’m mentoring at the minute who was a paramedic in the army. He was injured about seven years ago, and has had intensive, mainly psychological support, to get him to the point where he is ready to take on a civilian role. However, he can’t work in any kind of high-pressure environment, like a paramedic role, even though that is his skill set. So, I have been supporting him to start his own business, taking into context what his experience and abilities allow him to do.
And finally, in my job we are assigned apprentices who work on a six-month rotation. We got one just yesterday. She was an intern with Visa in the summer, has now graduated, and is rotating around the company to see what area of the business she wants to work in. We’re supporting her through that and giving her specific experience in business analyst work and project management.
What (if any) training have you completed/intend to undertake?
With the wounded veterans we must do training because we are working with vulnerable people. This can cover things like suicide awareness. We also have mentorship training so that we know how to get the best out of our mentoring situation. This includes practices to follow, and we run that training every year.
Also, every month we meet with our own mentor so that we can discuss what we have been doing. They will usually have more experience, although not necessarily in your field of business. They can be psychotherapists, or high up in the military (or had been), and have experience which dovetails in. This helps with having a better context of where your mentees are coming from.
We also have our own mentor community within the programme. Although we are not allowed to discuss the specifics about our mentees, we can share what we are struggling with and ask if anybody can advise. For example, we’ve had situations where some mentees have moved from one area of the county to another. We can say ‘oh I know your base there; do you have any good contacts for meeting up with new people?’ We try to create that level of community.
I think that good programmes will rely on that, because whilst you can be an expert in one or two areas, a person is more rounded. If know where you don’t have certain skills, you can rely on your colleagues to help you.
What made you interested in becoming a mentor?
I think sometimes these roles just organically happen. It’s not as formal as ‘oh, I’m going to be a mentor to you’, although that does obviously occur as well. I think, particularly when you are working in big corporates, that it’s always an element of your job. As you progress, you are meant to transfer knowledge; you are meant to be a person that others can connect to for experience etc. It is part of the culture.
Additionally, I always do something in my community, which I then review every two years to make sure it still aligns with my interests. This includes animal charities, food and hunger, and mentoring. I then tend to rotate them in and out. Before, I was working with a charity that cooks for children that are excluded from schools or don’t have a school placement. That came to a natural end, and then the veterans support emerged.
What is your favourite part about being a mentor?
I think watching a change for the better. With Digital Boost, by the end of the hour I’ve imparted some information; I’ve changed someone’s knowledge set. With the veterans it’s a much longer process, but that just means it can be more satisfying. What I like best is when you get a positive outcome at the end.
What is a challenge you have faced whilst mentoring?
I really dislike it when I can’t help. I get frustrated and feel like I have let people down; like I have let myself down. That’s the Yin Yang of it. You want the best for people and if you can deliver it then that is the high, but equally it can be the weak point as well.
Something which I have learned and had to accept, particularly with veterans with PTSD, is that sometimes a person’s biggest fear is to do anything. It’s the idea that if you do something, take a step, you might hit an IED, so the safest thing is to do nothing. That mindset is really frustrating sometimes.
I think that’s something you have to learn- that someone else’s context often isn’t intuitive to you, since you haven’t had that life experience. I think we’re all pre-programmed as humans to think that the world is the way that we see it, but it isn’t. 100%, that is the worst bit.
What piece of advice would you give to people thinking about being a mentor?
I think the thing about being a mentor is that what people benefit from most is connection. Sometimes you can have an idea in your head about what you want to achieve. You want to impart information, or change somebody’s situation for the better, and you have an expectation. But for the other person, the benefit might just be that someone’s paid attention to them for an hour. It can be as simple as taking the time to have a cup of tea and ask them how they are.
I think my advice would be: what you want to achieve is important, but don’t underestimate just turning up and being that consistency for someone. This can be more important to them than you fixing their issue.
Also, on both sides with any mentoring you need a person that matches your enthusiasm and commitment, and that doesn’t always happen. There are people who think mentoring means ‘oh, someone’s going to pick this up and do it for me’. As a mentor you are not meant to do things for the other person, you are there to guide them and be that person that they can come back to. If you are new to mentoring then that’s something to be aware of, although it shouldn’t put you off.
What are your plans for mentoring in the future?
Carrying on with what I am doing suits me where I am in my life stage, as long as I keep asking myself the question ‘am I making a difference? Am I being useful?’ Until the answer is no, then I will keep going.
People are often involved in these roles because they have something to prove to themselves, which is fine. For example, ‘somebody mentored me, and I got to this point, so I need to do 2 years of mentoring to repay that debt, create a balance, and then once I’ve done that I’m going to do the next thing.’
For me, so long as I can add value there is no end, there’s no linear path.
I think if you are open and putting yourself out there, opportunities will organically head your way.
If you would like to be a part of this project, don’t hesitate to get in touch via hello@thementoringschool.com
To learn more about how you can get started on your mentoring journey, click below: