Formal and informal mentoring can be an aid to career and skills development for managers. The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) has relaunched its Mentoring Programme following a two year pilot and this is now available to members.
David Sullivan, Chair of the CMI Southern Region, said: "I was one of the early CMI Mentors and gained a lot of experience and learned so much from my 'mentees'. Hopefully they also benefitted!"He added: "Both formal and informal mentoring can play a significant role in career and skills development. It can be adapted to the needs of different career stages and work across all industry sectors. The CMI has been able to develop its programme through a two year pilot and members can now register to be mentors or mentees on the relaunched programme."
Jake Durbin, a member of the CMI Southern Board, reflects on how useful mentoring has been in his career development. He said: "Being mentored has been crucial for me, having recently started my management career. It has helped me develop my skills from completing my management degree to working as a manager. I would find it much more difficult without someone to run my ideas past. It has provided an opportunity to provoke deeper thought and reflection within myself.
"As I have become more comfortable in my role, I have been able to use mentoring support to develop answers. It has also been a safe outlet to air the challenges and excitement as my new career has taken off."
He added: "Through the support I have received from being a mentee, I have pushed further, risen higher and kept myself focused on perpetual growth and improvement."
The CMI Southern Regional Board, which covers Hampshire, east Dorset, parts of Wiltshire and West Sussex, and the Channel Islands, runs mentoring events and awareness campaigns. It is producing a resources sheet to help signpost managers to useful information and support members in using the CMI's Management Direct tool in their professional development. If you have case studies or resources you would like to share, please contact the team. The Board is exploring video and audio resources on mentoring and welcomes contact from CMI members in the region who would like to be involved in this project.
The Southern Region has a number of board members who promote understanding and awareness about mentoring. Contact them at the link above.
CMI Mentoring Scheme
The CMI Mentoring scheme is provided free to members and volunteer mentors come from within the membership of the institute.
A number of guides to support both mentors and mentees in the programme are provided through CMI's Management Direct website.
