Views from a mentoring partnership

Verity Barr, a Director at Cavendish has been mentoring her colleague Chelsea Reilly, an Account Director, for the last year.

Verity’s view: what I’ve learnt from being a mentor:

• From a selfish perspective, it’s made me realise that I have gathered some wisdom worth sharing over my 20+ years of working.
• That by sharing my experience, I can give Chelsea a different perspective and encourage her to approach challenges in a different way.
• The power of talking, and how just ‘having a chat’ can help chew over a tricky issue and find a solution or, at least, a constructive action that can start to change things.
• Mentoring is as much about listening as it is talking – I’ve learnt lots from hearing Chelsea’s perspective. It’s definitely a two-way process.
• Even though we’re at different stages in our career, we’re still facing the same challenges that women have come up against for generations. Imposter syndrome is very much alive and well, and no amount of experience puts it back in its box.
•  Which leads neatly on to the importance of us sharing our experiences and supporting each other. Knowing you’re not the only person who feels a certain way makes those feelings more manageable.
• But what I love most about mentoring is seeing my mentees’ confidence grow and their careers progress and thinking I might have contributed in a small way to their success.

Chelsea’s view: what I’ve learnt from being a mentee:

• I’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity to share challenges and seek advice from someone who is much more senior and experienced than myself who I wouldn’t ordinarily work with in the business.
• Not only have I had support in navigating on-the-job challenges, but I’ve been able to seek support on the softer, more personal challenges at work. Verity’s openness means it’s a zero-judgement environment where we have conversations that you might not feel confident confessing in a different environment.
• She is relatable, and when guiding me through a challenge Verity will offer her own stories and experiences of how she has handled similar situations. It has been a refreshing experience through which I’ve come to understand our senior leadership have too learnt their way to where they are. And the learning never stops.
• I hugely value Verity’s advice but on an equal footing, I value the relationship we have built and having another firm ally in the business. I value the fresh perspective it has given me, where I see we are all facing similar hurdles, albeit for some the stakes are higher.
• I am grateful to Verity for embracing it with an openness – and a complete lack of any judgement or expectation. It’s been a personal highlight of the past year in the business.