Marlene Spensley, Strategic Partner Manager, Hitachi Vantara, reflects on how mentoring changed her life and inspired her to build a culture of allyship.
Recently I’ve been thinking about my career path and how inspiring it is to share the counsel that I’ve been given and learned over the years to support young people in pursuing their own dream careers. I can’t overstate the importance of mentoring in both my professional and personal spheres. I believe it is instrumental to making a real difference in the workplace as it opens doors for everyone to express their own voice, step up and be encouraged to succeed in their career development.
A turning point
The real turning point in my career was when I found a business coach and finally realised exactly what I wanted to achieve. At the time, I didn’t believe in my own capabilities. Yes, I was very good at my job, but my background was different to my colleagues and I often felt less qualified. I had a natural ability to lead a team that shone through my work, but the confidence wasn’t always there for me to acknowledge it.
Having a mentor taught me how to appreciate my capabilities, discover my true ambitions and overcome the obstacles in pursuit of my goals.
Paying it forward
At a time when we are mostly working remotely, people need encouragement and support with their professional development journey. We all know that a big part of leadership is supporting others –helping them to gain an appreciation of their own strengths and capabilities, as well as encouraging their ambitions.
Becoming a mentor and sharing my own experiences with the young talent I work with has not only helped them to progress, but it has also allowed me to develop my leadership skills further. As business leaders we should lead the way with advice and tactics to help people hone their skills and encouraging them to find a mentor to develop their career.
My mentor, for example, helped me look at opportunities and obstacles from a different perspective – it is important to motivate people to be the creators of their future.
Providing a different perspective
If you’re someone who would like to become a mentor, here are a few pieces of advice:
- Start by getting to know your mentee and understanding their personal situation, needs and ambitions.
- Work collaboratively to identify the aspirations they have for development. Help them to acknowledge their capabilities and reflect on their achievements so far.
- Discover and note their qualities and achievements so you can replay them to your mentee(s) as proof points. It's very difficult to argue with fact, right? That way you can help them build confidence in their own unique capabilities and successes.
- Provide a roadmap and suggest actions to help them progress, being sure to support them throughout their journey.
Final thoughts
Helping young people to reach their full potential should be high on the agenda of every modern business. I believe that we have a key role to play in driving positive change where everyone has the opportunity to create their own path to success. It all comes back to fostering a culture of allyship and collaboration.
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