The Power of Mentoring: Lessons from my journey

I’ve been mentoring women for many years, but when I first began working with what was then the local enterprise agency I’ll admit, I found it challenging. At the time, I often confused mentoring with coaching, and the distinction is an important one.

Coaching is about asking the right questions to unlock someone’s potential, helping them find their own answers and improve their performance often around work-related challenges.

Mentoring, on the other hand, is a relationship built on shared experience. A mentor offers guidance, knowledge, and expertise gained from their own journey, while the mentee brings fresh perspectives and ambition. And when both parties have different skill sets, the exchange can be just as valuable for the mentor as it is for the mentee.

Much of my mentoring has been with entrepreneurs at the very beginning of their business journey. I can relate when I launched my first business, I was inexperienced and hugely grateful for any advice I could get. Over the years, I was lucky enough to have several mentors with very different strengths.

One stand’s out: she helped me develop assertiveness, a skill I sorely lacked but desperately needed for negotiations and business meetings. In return, I supported her with her marketing a perfect example of how mentoring can be mutually empowering.

For me, mentoring has always been more than guidance it’s empowerment, growth, and connection. If you’re thinking about finding a mentor, here are a few simple steps to get started:

✨ Know yourself – Make a list of your strengths and weaknesses.
✨ Look around you – Identify someone you admire with the skills you want to develop.
✨ Reach out – Invite them for a coffee and ask if they’d be open to mentoring you.
✨ Set shared objectives – Ensure both of you gain something valuable from the relationship.
✨ Agree on boundaries – Decide on the time, place, and duration of your mentoring journey.

Mentoring isn’t just about learning it’s about transformation. The right mentor can open doors, build confidence, and give you the tools you need to thrive.