MENTORING IN BUSINESSES

Are you unsure where to start?

Need some help planning and running your business?

Unsure what forms you will need, how to carry out behaviour consultations or training sessions?

Does the idea of marketing your business fill you with a lack of confidence?

We can help with all of these.

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Mentors provide valuable knowledge, expertise, and support and will affect the professional life of her mentee not only by identifying skills, gaps in knowledge and encouraging progress; but also instilling confidence and a framework for growing their business.

If you are a recent graduate, current student or newly qualified canine behaviour practitioner you will find that mentoring can allow you to establish and build on interpersonal and business skills. In addition, your mentor will be an invaluable resource and source of support in case of difficult or challenging situations. 

THE HISTORY OF MENTORING

Mentoring is a fairly new concept to many but it is actually an ancient archetype originating in Greek mythology. In Homer’s Odyssey, Mentor was a wise and faithful advisor whose role was to protect Odysseus’s son, Telemachus, while his father sailed against Troy.

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Kathy Kram 1985 published Mentoring at Work offering a theoretical foundation for understanding relationships at work. Since then, Scholars have spent years grappling with the myths and meaning of mentoring.

Traditionally mentoring has been defined as a relationship between an older more experienced mentor and a young less experienced mentee for the purpose of helping and developing the mentees career.

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Although the definition of mentoring has changed over the years, a core feature that defines mentoring relationships and distinguishes it from other types of relationships is that mentoring is a developmental relationship that is embedded within the career context.

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Mentors are generally viewed as providing two functions to their mentees.

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Career functions – involve a range of behaviours that help mentees learn the ropes and prepare them to advance their own businesses

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Psychological functions – built on trust and interpersonal bonds and includes behaviours that enhance the mentees professional and personal growth and identity.

Studies have consistently found positive effects of mentorship on mentees from different samples and time periods, (Wang & Shibayama, 2022).

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MENTORING AND COACHING?

Often the terms mentoring and coaching are used interchangeably — but mentoring is not the same as coaching. Both are independent, but related by the communication strategies that are often used to promote professional development and facilitate growth. (Donner and Wheeler, 2009).