The mentorship programme takes place over 9 months (July to March next year). Mentors are expected to commit to 3-6 meetings with their mentee, with each meeting lasting 45minutes to an hour. Further meetings will be at the discretion of the mentor and mentee.
Ideally, the best mentoring relationships carry forward beyond the end of the formal programme commitments!
The application period for mentees closes on 22 July 2022. We expect the mentoring sessions will take place from August 2022.
As this is an inaugural launch, we are looking to groom 15 – 20 mentoring pairs. However, final numbers will depend on sign-ups. As such, we seek your understanding that not everyone who signs up can be guaranteed acceptance as mentees or appointed as mentors. Our programme manager will definitely follow up with you individually post application.
The following topic areas have been identified for this mentoring programme. These will be reflected in the application form for you and your mentee to choose from:
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Developing Global Mindsets / Working Abroad – Managing across regional/global teams; developing global business savvy; intercultural empathy; taking on overseas postings – considerations and preparation.
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New Roles/Jobs/Career Transition - Career building / developing a career path; transitioning into leadership role; leadership skills; soft skills; networking.
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Women in Leadership – Work-life integration; breaking barriers; agency; authenticity; connections; confidence; sponsorship; negotiations.
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Innovation – Sparking innovation in teams; driving an innovative culture; entrepreneurship; collaboration; co-creation.
One main matching criteria of mentors to mentees will be the overlap in selected topic areas.
We will make arrangements for you and your mentor to meet each other for the first time. Following this, subsequent meetings will be arranged at the discretion of the mentoring pair. Ideally, meetings should be arranged in a neutral space with minimum distractions.
We recommend that mentor-mentee meetings take place once a month, for a minimum of 3 sessions, up to 6. The consistency and timings of meetings would ultimately be dependent on the individual availability of mentees and their mentors.
In terms of the agenda for each meeting, we will provide a suggested structure for sessions on our mentoring platform, which will be accessible to all confirmed mentees prior to the commencement of the programme. Very briefly, we recommend the first session be used for you and your mentor to set some ground rules and expectations, and to get to know one another better. If time permits, it can also be used to clarify your goals for the mentoring programme. The follow-on sessions will allow for discussions and conversations with your mentors on how you can proceed from where you are now, to where you want to be – depending on the mentoring topic, this can be through actionables or tasks, and so on.
We will ask mentors/mentees to check-in at the beginning, middle and end of the mentoring relationship by completing a short feedback form (no more than 5 minutes!) so we can gather areas of improvement on how we can better support the mentoring journey. Specificities regarding what transpires in the mentoring process can be kept confidential.
We understand that there may not be a perfect fit between mentor and mentee and encourage a sharing of expectations coming into the mentoring relationship. This will allow both parties to manage expectations moving forward. Nevertheless, if you strongly feel that a change is required, please contact us for further discussions.
We hope that both mentors and mentees understand the commitment required before signing up for the programme. Nevertheless, we understand that extenuating circumstances may affect your ability to fulfil your commitment. If you ever find yourself in such circumstances, please contact us for further discussions.
For Mentors
Development of your mentee depends on exploring career aspirations, strengths and weaknesses; collaborating on means to “get there;” implementing strategies; and evaluating along the way.
You, as the mentor, provide the “light” for the mentee to follow. Sharing your wisdom and past experiences is what the mentee looks for from you.
Here are a few roles and responsibilities to help you in the process:
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Support the mentee’s development of professional and interpersonal competencies through strategic questioning, goal setting, and planning.
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Create a supportive and trusting environment.
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Agree to, and schedule, uninterrupted time with your mentee.
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Stay accessible, committed, and engaged during the length of the programme.
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Actively listen and question.
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Give feedback to the mentee on their goals, situations, plans, and ideas.
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Encourage your mentee by giving them genuine, positive reinforcement.
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Serve as a positive role model.
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Provide frank (and kind) corrective feedback if necessary.
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Openly and honestly share “lessons learned” from your own experience.
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Keep discussions on track.
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Respect your mentee’s time and resources.
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Participate in the scheduled events for the program.
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Seek assistance if questions arise that you cannot answer
When you apply to our mentoring programme, you will be asked to indicate how many mentees you are willing to mentor. Nevertheless, in order to ensure quality mentoring relationships, we will go through a matching process to ensure proper assignment of mentees to mentors, and that no single mentor is taking on too much.
Yes, we will provide you the profile/s of your mentee/s assigned to you before you meet them for the first time. The sharing of profile information will have been consented to by the mentee/s.
Beyond the roles and responsibilities stipulated above, being a mentor with us will allow you to be part of an intra-group mentoring network within the SG Leaders Network. Our commitment is to provide at least one intra-group training session which will allow you to meet other mentors and also hone your mentoring capabilities.
The SG Leaders Network is a community-driven initiative – therefore, we encourage all mentors to contribute to this network by attending the intra-group sessions. Mentors are also encouraged to spearhead relevant events where appropriate (e.g. intra-group training, discussions, networking sessions).
For Mentees
All applications will be assessed fairly and collated for comparison and matching with potential mentors after the application window has closed.
Your development depends on your career aspirations, strengths and weaknesses and how you work with your mentor on this programme. Here are a few roles and responsibilities to help you in the process:
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Be motivated to stay engaged throughout the programme and work towards achieving results. Be proactive in scheduling your sessions.
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Listen and take advice – hear what the mentor is saying and reflect on your conversations after sessions to figure out what areas you need to address/work on.
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Take responsibility for Learning – The mentee (not the mentor) drives the mentoring relationship. The mentee decides what advice to accept or reject, what course of action to follow, and what risks to take. The mentor's task is to guide the mentee. mentees need to own their actions.
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Be willing to consider other viewpoints and stay open to constructive feedback
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Honoring your mentor’s time by arriving on time and completing agreed upon tasks (if any).
Yes, we will provide you the profile of your mentor before you meet them for the first time. The sharing of profiles will have been consented to by the mentor.