TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
Knowledge Partner M
MENTORING A PERSONAL JOURNEY
entoring isn’t something new. In ancient times Mentor was an old friend of Odysseus, and when Odysseus went off to fight the Trojan war, he left Mentor in charge of his house and his son, Telemachus. Since then, the word Mentor has become a synonym of faithful advisor, and the ‘mentee’ is in the role of Telemachus. Mentoring certainly isn’t just an engineering thing! Think back to when you were an apprentice/ trainee, and the people who helped you on that journey through your initial professional development. Can you remember the one person other than your boss or trainer that was interested in your career – the one who asked you questions and answered yours, and inspired you when you thought you couldn’t do it? In life you will have had mentor figures looking after you who will have stopped what they are doing to come and support you. Perhaps with a useful suggestion like ‘you might want to loosen the wheel bolts a bit before you jack up the car to change the wheel’. Simple things which might be obvious to people who have had to change a wheel before, but not so obvious when it’s your first roadside puncture. Remember the people
who opened doors to knowledge and experience opportunities for you when you were young in career?
My role in mentoring started when I had finished my apprenticeship in electrical engineering in a local hospital, and was asked to help train new apprentices and support them. I found it really interesting and very rewarding, and took that through my 45-year career in hospital engineering and estate management. In 1989 I became a local lay magistrate, and went through the initial and consolidation training. Guess what? – a few years later they introduced a mentoring scheme for new magistrates, and I was invited to become a mentor to the new magistrates. We were given formal training, and then assigned a new magistrate who we would support them in court from their first sitting to their first competence appraisal. I am now retired from the day job, but continue to mentor new magistrates. A mentor is many things to many people, but certainly not ‘one size fits all’. The common trait is that they are a person who is willing to give up some of their time today to help you on your career journey to equip you for your future. They can be your torch in daylight, illuminating your chosen path, having been on a similar journey themselves.
What skills and qualities do you need
to become a mentor? Mainly people skills, be a good active listener, respect, honesty,
Steven Palmer JP, IEng FIHEEM, Membership and Registration Committee.
Mentoring process of discussion and review
truth, trustworthy, empathy, confidentiality, motivational, positive attitude, patience, enthusiasm, focus, common sense, and of course, a sense of humour. Being open to the different learning styles people have is also key, as is having been through a similar career journey in your own initial or continuing development. What does a mentor gain from volunteering for such work? The benefits to the Mentee are obvious, but not so obvious are the benefits to the mentor. You learn from your mentee, and end up staying up to date with technical developments. There is a great deal of satisfaction in seeing your mentee flourish in their career, and knowing that you had a hand in their success. Mentoring is a personal skill that you can take and apply to many walks of life; not just your current field of employment. When you retire you can look back and have confidence that you have positively invested in the future by sharing your knowledge, knowing that you have paid back for the help you were previously given when you started. If you decide to become a mentor through IHEEM you will be supported with mentoring training and the IHEEM web-based system. If you want to discuss the opportunities, please get in touch with the IHEEM office and arrange for us to have a chat.
16 Health Estate Journal February 2024
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