When a little goes a long way

I was encouraged to become a mentor in the ARITA Mentoring Program (where ARITA, in partnership with ThisFriday, matched you with a mentee from another firm to meet regularly over 7 months) and have been delighted by the experience. In my case the mentee is interstate, and all sessions have been virtual. 

The mentee faced the common mid-career challenge of transitioning from doing the work to leading the work, with the pressure of a big workload and finding time to train junior staff. He also wished to build his personal profile to position himself to win work in the future. 

Having discussed his roadblocks and challenges, he has had confidence to try some new initiatives with his team, encouraging them to step up into new challenges. He joined a discussion group and is asking potential referrers what their problems and pain points are to develop long term relationships rather than sell solutions. These changes have made a massive difference to his outlook and enjoyment of his role and have been recognised by his peers and partners. 

Full credit to him for making the changes, I am just thrilled that what seems like a small commitment from me has made a big difference to his career. 

If you have the opportunity to participate in this or similar programs, I highly recommend it as rewarding for both mentor and mentee.