Sieze the Mentoring Moment

Mentoring is a critical component of career success with research showing employees who have been mentored are five times more likely to be promoted.

This week I attended a catch-up lunch organized by Samantha Reece of PropertyESP. A rare opportunity to sit-down with a network of like-minded women and candidly share the challenges we face in both our career and personal lives.

Whilst formal programs, like the Property Councils Women in Property mentoring program have proved highly valuable, opportunities for short, even one-off, informal discussions, often called “Mentoring Moments”, can be equally as important.

The insights shared at this catch-up were inspiring and valuable, not just because of the caliber and diversity of attendees but a large part because discussions were so open and honest.

Every woman needs a strong female mentor. We all need someone we can trust, that is in our corner offering encouragement, advice and guidance at all career stages, not just those that are starting out.

Women are far too modest for our own good. We tend not to champion our own successes or talk about how talented we are. The reticence to talk about ourselves or put ourselves forward is holding us back.

For those of us with longer career paths, it’s also an effective way to give back. There’s no better way to boost your career satisfaction than contributing to the success of others.

Although increasing, there are still all too few people being mentored by women. Competing responsibilities and restricted time often prevents women’s participation in formal mentoring programs.

Maybe more opportunities to catch-up like this is one solution. We jokingly suggested a series of networking events with a “speed dating” format.

 Pictured from the left - Su Groome (Access Housing), Joanne Fotakis, Sandy Papalia (Realmark), Natasha French (CBRE), Winnie Lai Hadad (HopgoodGanim), Sadie Davidson (Property Council), Nichola Hodge (Frasers Property), Samantha Reece (PropertyESP), Allison Hailes, (UDIA), Jacquetta Shelton (Frasers Property)