Rose was a mentoring client and worked through a number of sessions of several months with Faye. Her initial goals were to work on a 5 year plan and to also consider how she could bring more of what she was passionate about in to her role. Our sessions covered many elements that contributed towards this.
Starting Mentoring at a Time of Uncertainty
I’d been in my job for a couple of years when the opportunity for mentoring with Faye came along. It felt like good timing as things at work were changing and I was feeling a bit undervalued and insecure. I didn’t know what to expect from the sessions as I’d never had a mentor before.
What we Talked About in Our Sessions
Faye and I met for an hour every other week for several months. I often had something work related to explore. These included issues around the hours I was working, rate of pay, how to handle difficult conversations with colleagues, and how to handle dynamics in meetings. We also did work around personality types and learning styles. Sometimes things beyond work also came into the discussions, such as the idea of being a good Elder.
Making Space to Reflect and Take action
The meetings gave me time to reflect more deeply than I would otherwise have done on the knotty aspects of my work. They were an opportunity to voice my thoughts and feelings to someone with an objective view point. Faye was adept at getting me to explore how I wanted things to change or progress and really helped me to pin down how I was going to take things forwards with the relevant people at work.
Learning to Prepare for Difficult Conversations
I realised that my natural tendency might be to gloss over tricky situations, or have slightly hazy thoughts about how I might address things. Faye encouraged me to prepare ahead, script and practice key points and to clarify what I wanted the outcome to be.
Stepping Outside of My Comfort Zone
Through the work I did with Faye I gained the confidence to go beyond my comfort zone in initiating meetings around pay and hours. Knowing I was going to be checking in with Faye gave me the motivation to have those difficult conversations and not to keep putting them off. She gave me the tools to navigate the challenges and helped clarify my thoughts on how to proceed.
Having a Supportive Guide in My Corner
Faye gave me both practical and emotional support. She was always supportive, non-judgemental, clear thinking, strong, gentle and kind. I felt that Faye was in my corner throughout the process and that was hugely heartening.
I’d recommend mentoring to anyone who needs help with navigating the challenges of life and work.
Interested to know if mentoring may help you? Click here to book your free call with Faye to see how she, Caroline and CoMotion can support you