Maria Cox, a director of The Security Institute, is responsible for the institute’s mentoring.
With the introduction of student and graduate membership grades, The Security Institute has identified the importance of providing support to those at transitional and developmental stages of their careers. For this reason, it is anticipated that the mentoring programme will prove to be a major attraction to these two groups. It is important to note, however, that mentoring is not limited to any particular career stage, as the aim of the Institute’s mentoring programme is to provide informal professional support focussing on career development planning, skills development and general security and/or business advice to security practitioners at whatever point they perceive the need. The programme relies on the wealth of expertise within the Institute’s membership to offer a very tangible benefit to members; as recognition of the value attached to the programme, it will attract points for both partners in the Institute’s new CPD framework.
It is inevitable that we all experience challenging phases in our professional lives – moving up a level, moving into a less familiar area of security, getting to grips with the culture of a new company or, in these harsh economic times, being forced to seek new employment. These are all situations where we find ourselves on unfamiliar ground, and where a different, more experienced perspective – removed from our direct employment structure – can be invaluable. Equally, we might feel ourselves stagnating and therefore benefit from guidance on how best to prepare ourselves for the next move. A good mentor can highlight areas for self-development and offer constructive criticism in a way that a line manager may not be able to.
The role of the mentor is clearly key to the whole process, as is matching the right mentor with the right mentee. Time is taken to match the pairs appropriately, and each pair has a facilitator whose role it is to monitor and evaluate the developing relationship, and who will rematch the pair should it prove unsuccessful. Mentors can have differing levels of experience and still be extremely effective. A manager of two or three years, for example, might offer invaluable insights to someone taking a first step up into management, but might simultaneously be seeking support in their own career development from someone more experienced. Often mentors become engaged with the process because they want to give something back to the profession and wish to pass on knowledge gained through years of experience. Clearly this is the key benefit of the relationship; however mentors, too, can gain from taking part in mentoring – it is not a one-way street. For those in senior positions, it may be of benefit to reconnect with the issues and concerns of someone at a more junior level and may serve as a reminder of forgotten thought processes, in the same way that teaching someone else to drive can refresh the skills of the teacher! Mentoring can strengthen people management, as well as general interpersonal skills. It can make the mentor consider ways of conducting an effective business relationship without regular face-to-face contact, which in this age of ‘virtual’ teams can be a valuable skill to possess.
Maria Cox, Security Institute Director with responsibility for the mentoring programme believes that fundamentally a mentoring partnership is a relationship between two people, and for it to succeed there are commitments required from both parties, namely:
– Time – an hour a month for an initial six-month period being the minimum that both parties should commit to, at which point both decide whether they are happy to ‘sign up’ for a further six months;
– Trust – a commitment to confidentiality by both parties, as no relationship can be built without trust;
– To Make the Most of the Relationship – a collaborative approach needs to be adopted by both mentee and mentor and a clear agenda and goals for the relationship as a whole as well as for individual sessions, needs to be agreed by both parties; the mentor must commit to being constructive and above all, honest – there is no point allowing the mentee to continue working towards unrealistic goals simply to avoid hurting their feelings; the mentee needs to be prepared to listen and be self-critical, to take away suggestions and give them a try.
Maria emphasises that "for mentees undertaking academic studies, there is a need for a clear demarcation between the mentor and the mentee’s academic tutor, so that the mentor does not inadvertently impinge on any academic matters".
"At its best a mentoring programme can provide an invaluable support network, ensuring cross fertilisation of ideas, and dissemination of good practice, as well as good old-fashioned advice, freely given and gratefully received".
If you think mentoring might be of interest to you, in whatever capacity – mentor, mentee or facilitator – contact [email protected]
