Enok Learn’s Post

One of my last internal training activities at QUT (Queensland University of Technology) last year was running a "how to be a good mentor" session with my colleague Jonathan Roberts at the School of Electrical Engineering and Robotics's annual retreat. I won't steal Jon's great advice but it covered aspects including trust, sponsorship, encouragement and progression. One of my first training sessions this year is joining a panel on how to be a good leader as part of QUT's 2024 Women in STEMM Leadership Shadowing Program. So I've had a lot of chance to reflect on and deliberate on how I like to do mentoring, and what I've learnt so far along the way. In this new Hacking Academia video, I focus on one of the key but I think often overlooked aspects of mentoring: the alignment issue. That is, without prying, finding out the general beliefs, goals, constraints and limitations of your mentee, and tailoring your advice appropriately (even if you do attempt to stretch their boundaries slightly). For example: - the advice you give to someone who has some financial runway and minimal to no responsibilities is very different to what you would give to someone who has critical financial responsibilities, where any gap in employment would be catastrophic - the advice you give to someone who plans in great detail how they'd like to carry out their career is very different to what you would advise someone who deliberately likes to be laid back and opportunistic, "going with the flow", so to speak. Again, you might try and gently stretch their horizons a bit, but some of the advice is going to be fundamentally different - if, after understanding where your mentee is coming from, there's such a huge chasm in outlook, you may help them find more appropriate mentors - but don't fall into the mistake of restricting mentor-mentee relationships to identical people. - sometimes you can adjust your advice to be aligned to someone's different point of view or circumstances. But sometimes, that mentee will simply benefit more from having a mentor who has the same lived experience as them - again it depends on the specific cirumstances, and is something your mentee and you can work out together. I also touch on characterising and communicating the quality and certainty of your advice to your mentee, and appreciating the role that randomness (or luck, as some would say), as well as, in some cases, privilege, has played in the career journeys you use as exemplars, and factoring your advice accordingly. This was a longer video so linking to the YouTube and Podcast directly here: YouTube: https://lnkd.in/dKd7TFiZ Podcast: https://lnkd.in/dNPTV3Ny #mentoring #sponsoring #advice #careeradvice #HackingAcademia #academia #university #jobs #positions #careerdevelopment #academicchatter #academictwitter Firuz Zare Ramziya Asanalishoeva (AFHEA) Karen Cavu (FHEA)

🤝 Meet Our Mentors 🤝 Introducing a NEW mentor who just joined The Forem two weeks ago... Magdalena Helena Rutkowska (just call her Mags!), Senior Director of Engineering at Talkdesk. 💗Why did you choose to be a mentor for The Forem? Two people in my network asked me to join and I was already supporting them in their careers, it felt like a natural fit. So, here I am! It's been an amazing experience. ✨ What are some of the most important qualities of a great mentor? A great mentor must have the empathy of a sage and the humor of a stand-up comedian! Understanding and laughter make the journey of learning much smoother. 🚀 What advice would you give to mentees to gain the most out of their mentorship experience? Be honest when stating your needs and goals and believe in the impossible! The sky's the limit. 💡 What was that lightbulb moment you experienced that encouraged you to want to be a mentor? I was blessed with my direct managers. I had two amazing leaders that showed me how to be the best you can be as a manager, leader, and mentor. And I had a few who showed me what I don't want to do. Every day is a school day, and I try to use every opportunity to grow. 🫂 Who was a memorable mentor for you growing up or during your career that made an impact on you? After my ex-colleague called me and said, 'Thank you. Without you, I would never have believed in myself. I would never even have tried.' 📈 Why should organizations prioritize mentorship programs internally for their employees? Because in the jungle of corporate life, a good mentor is like a GPS that speaks your language and knows all the best shortcuts! They're the secret sauce to cultivating talent and turning rookies into rockstars.

What keeps you motivated to mentor? ✏️ When an apprentice is consumed with their issues and thinking it is the end of the road. This is where the magic starts. As a mentor listening and validation creates rapport for the apprentice to truly be heard and understood. Followed by a discussion on: ✏️ The concerns they have around the issues. ✏️ The options available to move forward to resolution or changing the current situation. ✏️ The actions or steps for the apprentice to take to resolve their issues. This is followed up by checking in at another session to mentor on the progress or not made. In these sessions they share their gratitude for the mentoring support which is a big motivator to continue working with our future tradies.

Not every mentor-mentee pairing is a perfect match. Sometimes, the chemistry or communication styles might not align, leading to a less effective mentorship. Acknowledging and addressing these mismatches is crucial for a successful mentoring program. . . #mentorship #mentorpairs #chemistry

20 Inspiring Mentoring Quotes Learning comes with a sense of duty. It’s something we all feel. When someone teaches you a new skill, you may be compelled to go teach someone else.

Where to Start as a #Mentor Use the 5 Pillar Framework of Mentoring: PAEVC Profile, Assessment, Education, Verification, Certification https://lnkd.in/ghB7rHfi

Do you want to invest in yourself, but your mind is full of excuses? Ask yourself what can happen if you do and it goes right. Do you see a clear form of a structured mentorship program that will guide you and hold you accountable? Learn more https://lnkd.in/eC7EqCTE

Do you want to invest in yourself, but your mind is full of excuses? Ask yourself what can happen if you do and it goes right. Do you see a clear form of a structured mentorship program that will guide you and hold you accountable? Learn more https://lnkd.in/eC7EqCTE

Do you want to invest in yourself, but your mind is full of excuses? Ask yourself what can happen if you do and it goes right. Do you see a clear form of a structured mentorship program that will guide you and hold you accountable? Learn more https://lnkd.in/eC7EqCTE

Do you want to invest in yourself, but your mind is full of excuses? Ask yourself what can happen if you do and it goes right. Do you see a clear form of a structured mentorship program that will guide you and hold you accountable? Learn more https://lnkd.in/eC7EqCTE