Mentoring beyond boundaries: fuelling growth with conversations

I’ve received an email to let me know that I’ve been matched with a mentee. This comes on the back of the event we hosted last month, where we launched Perago’s partnership with Swansea MAD and Swansea University.  

This round of mentoring will last until early spring, when we’ll then review the process and partnership, and iterate to continue to offer mentoring to others who are looking for support in their personal development or career. 

The Perago mentoring scheme offers up the not-so-conventional routes that many of us within the team have taken into our current roles. It also benefits from the array of ages and experiences we have across sectors… and the enthusiasm we have to share with others, and to learn from others too. 

Not just a process 

While mentoring is recognised formally as having a beginning and an end, I believe there is also a mentoring mindset if you’re open to it, not bound by time or formality. 

I asked AI to summarise what mentoring is: ‘A relationship in which an experienced individual (the mentor) provides guidance, support, and knowledge to another person (the mentee) to help them achieve their personal, professional, or educational goals. This relationship is often built on trust, mutual respect, and the mentor’s willingness to share their expertise. Mentoring is a dynamic and mutually beneficial process that fosters growth, development, and lasting connections’. 

That last line really resonates with me – Mentoring is a dynamic and mutually beneficial process that fosters growth, development, and lasting connections. 

 If you ask me if I’ve previously signed up to and official mentoring scheme, either as a mentor or mentee, I’d say no, but when I reflect on the highlights of my working life to date, I remember the people who helped me get there, and how they helped me progress, either knowingly or unknowingly. They were my mentors. 

My unbeknown-to-me mentors all shared similar attributes. They gave their time to talk and to debate – our conversations weren’t stunted by role or rank. They shared their knowledge willingly – and acknowledged when my perspective pushed them to think differently. They had humility. They made space at the tables where it mattered for me and my peers. They celebrated the achievements of those around them. They were respectful of others. My development didn’t threaten theirs.  

My tips on adopting or identifying your own mentoring mindset: 

• Be curious about yourself – explore your personal values and know your boundaries.  

• Be interested in others – to provide guidance if asked, or to seek inspiration. 

• Be open to learning and sharing – commit to growth. 

• Develop your emotional intelligence – to better understand and respond to others. 

I’m looking forward to sitting down for that first cuppa with my new mentee, while we discuss their needs and goals, and set ourselves a plan.  

If you’ve not been matched with a mentee on this first round of our mentor programme, I hope the tips above help you to identify opportunities to learn differently outside of a formal process; and in doing so, you may unknowingly find yourself a mentor (or many), or even a mentee… because we are always learning and growing if our mind is open to it.