As nature is renewing itself in these early spring days, I found myself doing similar – quietly reflecting on some of my roles in professional life. Last summer brought me back to the role of mentor, and it felt right to summarize my thoughts on mentoring. This isn’t a school paper on mentoring, but rather a personal reflection over time.

First Signs

I never imagined myself as a mentor, but it seems that the foundation for this role had already been laid in my school years. Toward the end of elementary school, I was advised to consider a couple of occupations where I might thrive. One of them was teaching. Even some of my schoolmates tried to convince me that I had a talent for explaining things simply and understandably, and they believed that I certainly had the patience to teach others. But at the age of 15, at the peak of my teenage years, I probably just rolled my eyes and thought to myself, this is not my cup of tea. Well, life happens, and years later, I’ve found myself, somewhat unexpectedly, in the role of mentor, which has naturally surfaced along my professional path on multiple occasions.

How Did It Start?

Usually, the first steps of mentoring appear during the onboarding of new team members – explaining how the project works and sharing many tips and tricks along the way. Naturally, for newbies, there are always too many details at the start, and they’ll definitely return with more questions once they start digging into the first tasks. As Rome wasn’t built in a day, I learned that it’s best to divide onboarding into several learning chapters, and I guess this is how my mentoring path evolved.

Mentoring Memories

Over the years, I’ve mentored quite a few colleagues – from new team members to, on one occasion, even my own successor, who took over my role as team leader when I needed a profound change in my work scope. I’ve introduced colleagues to horizontal roles within our projects to strengthen internal capacities, and more recently, I’ve handed over coordination of a particular expert pool that I’ve gradually developed over the past five years.

Writing this blog made me reflect on the full scope of my mentoring. Somewhere along the way, I concluded that I’ve been doing far more mentoring than I had realized. Since many of the tasks had been incorporated into my daily routine, I had come to take them for granted.

I’m the first name that comes to mind within the CEF team, when my colleagues need guidance on the internal process of expert management. When I started this internal process some years ago, it was indeed more of a technical matter. But to make it more practical, I introduced on-the-spot mentoring for colleagues going through the process for the first time or whenever they got stuck. This turned out to be a good solution to keep things running smoothly in our projects and aligned with internal procedures.

What Have I Learned?

Firstly, mentoring should create a positive change, which is probably one of the strongest reasons that keeps me inspired. While we might traditionally believe that mentoring is a one-way direction of learning, I quickly realized that’s not the case. For sure, you share plenty of details about the project, a particular process, or how to manage certain areas of work. But through your words, you also reflect on how things currently stand, as you vocalize your thoughts and summarize them for mentees. Sometimes, in the process of explaining or advising, you realize how something could work better. On the other hand, the questions and comments from mentees offer valuable insights – things you may not have paid attention to before. Often, mentoring sparks great discussions about some elements of our work, and you quickly realize it’s no longer a one-way direction of learning. I have to be candid here – I’m glad it’s that way. Otherwise, it would become a routine… After all, like any learning process, mentoring builds confidence for both the mentor and the mentee.

Another Side of Mentoring

But not to idealize mentoring, let’s also look at the other side of the coin. Being a mentor requires quite some discipline to systematically sort your thoughts, plan how you’ll share your knowledge and experience, cluster them into some meaningful chapters, and balance it all with your other work obligations. You also need to keep in mind your energy management. Not every day is a good one for learning or for keeping your thoughts fluent. As Murphy’s Law tends to show up in our lives, it can happen that your mentee needs you when you’re in a rush, or when some deadline is chasing you on your screen. Of course, you can’t avoid these kinds of situations – but be resourceful. Sometimes, you can explain it in the elevator on your way to the next meeting. And not to forget, mentoring is certainly an ongoing practice of patience. Some people learn faster, or they might catch on more quickly, while others require a bit different approach.

Being a Part of the Organizational Culture

I guess it’s no coincidence that I work in a learning organization where mentoring is an integral part of the organizational culture. However, I’ve also realized that the mentoring role is perceived differently by people, which can result in different outcomes. While some recognize the value of mentoring, for others it may feel like just another task on their to-do list – rather than an opportunity for meaningful growth, learning, or, even better, connecting with team members or peers. Therefore, encouraging a culture where mentorship is appreciated as a two-way learning experience can unlock so much potential for both mentors and mentees. So, it's wise to incorporate the mentoring role in your annual working plan.

And for closure – somehow, my best mentoring experiences weren’t only about guidance or exchanging knowledge, but about mutual discovery.