What does it mean to be a Mentor?

Today, 27^th October 2023, is National Mentoring Day, which begs the question ‘What does it mean to be a Mentor?’

Having mentored many BAs in my time I wanted to find a great definition of what mentoring was …but very few of the definitions I came across resonated with me. They were factually correct however they didn’t get across the bond that a mentor and mentee create over time.

And then I found this definition from the University of Southampton:

Mentoring is a protected relationship which supports learning and experimentation and helps individuals develop their potential.

A mentoring relationship is one where both mentor and mentee recognise the need for personal development. Successful mentoring is based upon trust and confidentiality.

Unisversity of Southampton

What I particularly like about this is the second part, which recognises that in a mentoring relationship, both parties are on a journey of self-development …a fact I can attest to in my own experience.

Now before we delve a little deeper into that all-important relationship, a little bit of background on my journey to becoming a mentor.

I’m a seasoned Business Analyst with many years of experience and over the years I found people naturally graduated towards me to look for support and guidance on how to perform aspects of the BA role.

Giving this support has always been something I do willingly and enjoy immensely as I find it very rewarding to pass on my knowledge to others in this wonderful profession of ours.

Then, at some point, someone asked me to be their ‘mentor’…

Initially, I was reluctant and if I’m honest a little afraid of whether I could do this. It was only when an old friend pointed out I’d already been informally practising mentoring for many years that I gave it a go!

When I took the plunge and started mentoring, I immediately loved the experience.

There are many highlights I could talk about, however, to keep this short I’m just going to talk about three.

1 – Building a bond between mentor and mentee

The earlier quoted definition talks about a “protected relationship”, and that’s exactly what it is. I’ve always found it important to have a connection from the start, giving you and the mentee something to build on. When you start to learn about each other that relationship and trust will grow. This helps to develop a learning environment for both of you.

As an aside, and given the importance of the relationship, it’s also okay not to progress a mentoring arrangement if that bond isn’t there at the start.

2 – You learn from each other

It’s easy to think that the learning happens in one direction, from the mentor to the mentee. This simply isn’t the case, as a mentor you may start off imparting your knowledge and experiences, but a mentor soon finds they pick up new ideas and tips along the way as well.

Not only that, but both parties also learn so much about supporting and helping other people, and in turn, you learn a lot about yourself too.

3 – Rewarding

It’s not an easy ride, a mentor can’t just turn up at a mentoring session and start talking! You need to prepare, research the techniques or tools that you may be talking about, and look at notes from past sessions. In short, you must work at it.

But the warm feeling you get as a mentor knowing you have helped someone is amazing …and not just helped someone but helped shape someone’s future. It truly is a wonderful feeling.

As I said, these are just three brief highlights from my perspective, and there is so much more I, and I’m sure many other people too, could share.

If you can find the time to do it (which I wholeheartedly suggest you do!), mentoring is a great way to give back to your work community, and as a Business Analyst, I highly recommend trying it.

Mentors and mentees speak for themselves

Don’t take my word for it, check out these quotes about mentoring from the perspective of other mentors and mentees:

I used to think people who said they had a mentor were just saying it for effect.  So, I was very sceptical when I decided to take the plunge and become a mentee. Now I have had two mentors and I want more.  I’m addicted! Being a mentee is a real privilege, you get the benefit of learning from someone else’s experiences and challenges, and you get the opportunity to think and act in ways you wouldn’t have thought about before. 

Mentee: Sandie Briant, Aldermore Bank

I initially volunteered to be a mentor as a way to give back to our amazing BA Community and support whoever I was matched with on their BA career path. What I actually experienced was much more in terms of connection with my mentees on the wide variety of things we talked about, including building safe spaces to work in and exploring emotional intelligence. Sharing in the joy of their progress as they applied new knowledge and seeing a mentee grow in confidence makes me encourage others to get involved – I know I’ll be volunteering again!

Mentor: Kristy Dean, Head of People & Culture at Perform Partners

I started my mentoring journey almost 3 years ago when I joined the Business Analyst community as a Junior. Apart from external courses, I was also offered support from a Senior BA who worked in the same team. I not only had the chance to gain practical experience, but I felt safe – there is nothing more supportive than having a Senior mentor overlooking my work and guiding me. From there I departed to another domain, but I remained in touch with my mentor who kindly offered further support. I have been continuing my mentoring this whole time. I believe that there is always something that I can learn about or improve, and this is where mentoring is the key!

Mentee: Zaneta Threlfall, Registers of Scotland

Maybe all people who decide to mentor choose to do this as a way of sharing experiences and giving something back to the community.  I’ve found the experience to be so much more than this and made lovely friends along the way too!  I’d say the most surprising aspect is the reverse mentoring, i.e. what I can learn from my mentees!  I think we’ve reflected each other’s strengths, resilience, and willingness to try something new so that we’ve both grown and benefited from this relationship.

Mentor: Julia Newell, Chapter Lead BA, Lloyds Banking Group

I joined PMI UK’s mentoring program because I wanted to learn from an experienced professional in the field of Business Analysis. What I got out of it was not just knowledge and skills but a priceless opportunity to be guided and inspired by someone who believed in my potential and helped me navigate the complexities of this profession. Mentorship through PMI (UK) has been a transformative journey of growth and learning.

Mentee: Ben Warr, BA Life Volunteer

In 2020, I enrolled in IIBA UK’s Mentoring Programme as a mentee. With the guidance of my inspirational mentor, I harnessed my strengths and evolved into the best version of myself. This mentorship not only accelerated my journey in business analysis but also ignited my passion to give back as a mentor in the 2023 IIBA Mentoring Programme.

Mentee: Fae Marcano, Winner: IIBA UK Business Analyst of the Year 2022

So whether as a mentor or mentee, find the time and enter a mentoring relationship …and then watch as you grow to be an even more effective and successful Business Analyst.