Mentors Help Others Know Themselves

BOCCONIANS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE MENTORING COIN SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES AND THEIR VIEWS ON THIS VERY USEFUL RELATIONSHIP

 
There is mentorship, but the relationship is not the one between master and disciple of classical culture. There is deep listening, but we are not in a session of psychoanalysis. There is career advice, but we are not talking about head-hunting. In fact, the mentoring service of the Bocconi Alumni Association (BAA) enable members to re-focus their careers by asking for advice from more senior alumni. In 2016, there were 18 pairings of mentor and mentee. But what does this opportunity actually offer?
 
"It is above all a chance to look at your job experience with a little more detachment and, by telling it to the mentor and listening to his/hers, to evaluate our own career path and decide if that's still what you want," says mentee Cristina Gallo, Group Product Manager at Bayer, Animal Health Division. The first time, Cristina did not really know what to expect: "Instinctively, I thought I'd take part in a more structured activity, something like a workshop. I then realized that in a one-to-one relation it's the dialogue-based mechanism that really matters."
 
Also because the role of mentor, says Alessandro Cremona, President of Goldmann & Partners, who mentored Cristina "is more about listening than offering advice. I believe that each of us in his/her own heart has the answers to certain professional dilemmas, what matters is to suggest the right questions. We are basically letting mentees learn from the mistakes that we mentors have made ourselves."
 
Mentor Manuela Vallecchi of Santulin & Partners is on the same wavelength. She has already collaborated on several occasions with the BAA mentoring service. "Listening is the fundamental ability of a mentor and it is quality that is rare to have. But for those who want to make themselves available for mentees, I would say that mentorship is a partnership, not a master-apprentice relationship. Even the mentor must question his/her own assumptions and communication must be a two-way street."
 
One of Manuela's mentees was Gloria Paolucci, who decided to turn to the mentoring service to build on her rich resume of on-the-field experience with NGOs, and develop her strong interest in financial management of health non-profits. "I found it very beautiful and useful that my mentor decided to get involved with my experience in a deep, rather than superficial way. It was a very positive experience." An experience that, according to the mentee, is born under the right auspices "if you are clear from the start that mentorship is not a placement service.”

And here we come too other mistakes that shouldn't be made. In addition of forgetting about exploiting your mentor to find work, it is good that a mentee "keeps in mind that a mentor's tips are no less valid if he/she comes from a different professional area. I do marketing, but this doesn't mean I should be necessarily mentored by a marketing person," mentee Cristina Gallo remarks.
 
"There is a line that shouldn't be crossed," mentor Alessandro Cremona adds. "A mentor must have leadership and ethical qualities, be a confident person, but cannot be asked to make decisions in place of the mentee. Our job is to teach how to dig into yourself." Manuela Vallecchi agrees, and adds: "Mentees cannot be given trivial and ready-made answers based on common sense. A mentor must listen carfefully, if only to see whether he/she is the right shoulder for the mentee to lean on."
 
The benefits of mentorships go both ways: "What are the pros for the mentor? First of all the opportunity to renew one's own motivations and keep abreast of business changes by discussing with a younger person, and especially the great satisfaction that comes when you are able to transfer knowledge to others," Cremona concludes.
 

by Andrea Celauro
Translated by Alex Foti