Back in November I attended a WiN-Durham meeting featuring the topic of mentoring.

The guest speaker, Pamela Jackson, described her own personal experience with mentoring and also provided some excellent qualities that both the mentor and mentee should possess in order to have a successful partnership.

The mentor needs to be available, patient (people learn at varying speeds, some need more guidance than others), sensitive, display tact and diplomacy (be loyal and don’t ever betray confidences), respectful and flexible (not everything happens to plan -accept mentee’s decisions even if you don’t agree with them).

The mentee needs to be eager to learn, receptive, open to new ideas, loyal and grateful.                                                

As the discussion progressed around this topic I became very aware of the high esteem female employees hold for women who are in senior positions. If the “top woman” in an organization leaves, for whatever reason, it has a profound effect on the morale of the female employees who looked up to her. I began to wonder if senior management even considers this issue when it makes decisions on promotions within their organizations. I also wonder what effect the lack of female role models at the top of the house has on younger women entering an industry or individual company.

Has a mentoring relationship helped you in your career? Has a senior women leaving your company affected your perception of career opportunities with your company? As a young woman entering the workforce, do you look at the number of women at the top of the house to determine if this is a place you want to work? Continue the discussion and post your comments.

For more information on mentoring Catalyst has prepared a guide on Creating Successful Mentoring Programs.  The guide expresses how in the workplace, mentors help people maximize their potential. “They give career advice, offer insight about work environment, and expose mentees to employee networks.” There is some great information in this guide for anyone thinking of setting up a mentoring program.