How Mentoring works

The mentor helps the other person become what they aspire to be and to realise his or her potential by:

• passing on knowledge and skills
• acting as a sounding board
• showing them the ropes - and helping them climb them
• signposting and support
• helping to put learning into practice
• talking about their career
• being a champion

all underpinned with a high degree of trust and mutual regard   

Mentoring is a helpful relationship based upon mutual trust and respect and in a successful mentoring relationship, the mentor can benefit as much as the mentee - it is is not a one-way benefit process.  Many mentors talk about the value of refreshing their own experiences and knowledge and also gaining an understanding of younger viewpoint and skills, as well as the satisfaction of helping a fellow professional to realise their potential.

Women in Property provides training and a set of guidelines to help both parties manage the mentoring relationship effectively. These lay down the principles of role model mentoring, the responsibilities of the parties and an outline of the process.