From mentee to mentor: Lessons learned along the way

The first time I recognised I was being mentored happed at sea on a submarine. It wasn’t a profound moment; it was the simple realisation that the person I was speaking to believed in me and wanted me to aspire to bigger things.

They asked the questions out loud that I had been asking myself in my head for a long time, easing my doubts and nurturing my confidence.

They put all the various references and requirements into something translatable to me. From that point on, I concentrated my efforts on achieving other things in my career that I wanted all along.

Soon after, I began to mimic the same mentoring approach to those around me. It fired areas of my brain that other roles didn’t, and I realised there was a genuine satisfaction to being a mentor. This continued after service-life, and I have carried it forward in every role since.

My pathway to mentoring was also reinforced by the realisation that things only happen when people get involved and that starts with ourselves, by volunteering.

The biggest difference this year is that that I started to mentor people in the APM community, who are completely separated and unrelated to my role and often my industry. This is where I have learned more than ever before.

How has being a mentor impacted you?

Meeting people from other sectors has opened my eyes to different approaches and their excellent work which I do not often get to hear about. Not all knowledge is transferrable as I work in defence, which has its own quirks, but seeing other people’s approaches provides the occasional nugget I am able to implement in my own projects.

We tend to operate in a bubble within the defence sector, and this has prompted me to question long-established processes as the industry faces the biggest change in posture and pace in a generation.

A surprising benefit

One of the pleasant benefits of being a mentor is seeing people realise their goals and ambitions. People I mentor sometime seek my help on the back of an unsuccessful application or simply need someone to provide a sounding board and objective viewpoint prior to submission. I mentor others in career progression and pursuit of certifications.

One of the strange side-effects of mentoring is the ability of someone else’s success and ambitions to positively feed my own sense of achievement. The achievement is not mine obviously, but it is extremely fulfilling to know I have played a useful role is assisting them towards their career goals.

What I have at the forefront of my mind throughout my mentoring activities is the memory from my earlier career when I needed help. I remember those who stepped in on their own initiative. The people who had the willingness, patience and understanding to help another colleague, and may never have seen the impact they had on me. That quality and behaviour is something I wanted to emulate, and I also wanted to ensure the people behind me have the same level of support to help them succeed.

The feeling is great when you have been a part of that, whether on the mentor or mentee side of the table.

Anything else you think would be worthwhile to mention?

If you are sat there thinking about whether or not to become a mentor, you are probably ready to be one. To become a mentor is to go through an evolution in your mindset and asking that same question is a part of it.

Be the change, the volunteer, or the mentor that you imagine. Have the confidence to sit on the foundation of your own experience and realise that this can be of benefit to others in the profession.

The change we seek begins with us.