This year sees the tenth anniversary of National Mentoring Day.  The Day, which was founded in 2014, was inaugurated as an official National Day in the Houses of Parliament in 2016.  The not-for-profit organisation running the National Mentoring Day looks to educate, connect, support, and celebrate mentors and mentoring initiatives worldwide.  Their mission is to make mentoring accessible to everyone.

As we celebrate National Mentoring Day, we wanted to reflect on the benefits of mentoring for mentors and mentees.

The benefits for the mentee include:

• Clarification of goals – being challenged on goals, ensuring that they are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and with a Timeframe
• A sounding board – being able to discuss issues and receive advice and guidance from someone who has walked a similar path as the mentee
• Developing skills and knowledge – identifying the skills and knowledge they need to develop and also the route the mentee could take to develop those skills and knowledge
• Development of networks – a mentor will make introductions to enable the mentee to achieve their goals
• Accountability – a mentor will hold the mentee to account, preventing procrastination and driving the mentee forward

However, it is not just the mentee who benefits from a mentor-mentee relationship; there are also significant benefits to mentors including:

• Reverse mentoring – in their interactions with mentees, mentors very often develop new skills, knowledge and perspective
• Personal satisfaction – watching the mentee develop and achieve their goals, results in a real sense of satisfaction for the mentor who has supported the mentee on their journey.
• Developing networks – as the mentor encourages the mentee to expand their networks, so they continue to develop and expand their own networks
• Developing communication and relationship-building skills – working with a mentee provides opportunities for the mentor to develop their communication skills including empathy and active listening. This in turn supports the mentor in building positive and trusted relationships.
• Promoting self-reflection – as the mentor shares their journey with the mentee, it encourages them to reflect on what they have achieved as well as how they got there.

For both the mentor and mentee there is evidence that the mentoring process provides greater confidence – according to Forbes 87% of mentors and mentees feel empowered by their mentoring relationship and report greater confidence and career satisfaction.

There is also evidence that being a mentor and a mentee provides real tangible benefits.  Research undertaken by a global technology business following 1,000 employees over a five-year period found that both mentors and mentees were around 20% more likely to receive a pay rise than people who did not participate in their mentoring programme. 28% of mentors received a pay rise, whilst only 5% of managers who were not mentors received a pay rise.  Employees who received mentoring were promoted five times more often than people who didn’t have mentors; whilst mentors were a staggering six times more likely to have been promoted to a bigger role.

In addition, some say that being a mentor provides positive karma for the mentor, as they give without the expectation of receiving something in return.  This in turn encourages further positive karma as 89% of mentees go on to become a mentor.  Whether we believe in karma or not, the fact that such a high proportion of mentees become mentors demonstrates that the time and support the mentor gives is very much appreciated by the mentees.

As the team behind National Mentoring Day say: “Mentoring gives a sense of purpose to both parties, it’s not only good for business, it’s good for the soul!”