David Upton, John Lewis Partnership
I volunteered for the National Mentoring Consortium scheme, having been approached by a member of my personnel team.
I thought I could make a good contribution, and also add to my own skills and experience. The best bit was taking my mentee on secondments to other parts of the business that were relevant to his degree studies, for example going to London to look at our internet business.
The most difficult bit was trying to arrange meetings. Distance between Derby and Manchester was a problem and we communicated a lot by emails and telephone calls.
I have three bits of advice for other mentors:
- Don't have any preconceived ideas about the scheme or who your mentee might be.
- Don't push your mentee too far.
- Let them decide their own agenda andwhat they want out of the relationship, with your help.
Enjoy it!
I volunteered for the National Mentoring Consortium scheme, having been approached by a member of my personnel team.
I thought I could make a good contribution, and also add to my own skills and experience. The best bit was taking my mentee on secondments to other parts of the business that were relevant to his degree studies, for example going to London to look at our internet business.
The most difficult bit was trying to arrange meetings. Distance between Derby and Manchester was a problem and we communicated a lot by emails and telephone calls.
I have three bits of advice for other mentors:
- Don't have any preconceived ideas about the scheme or who your mentee might be.
- Don't push your mentee too far.
- Let them decide their own agenda andwhat they want out of the relationship, with your help.
Enjoy it!
