But these are the challenges – insecurity, job stress, questioning our decisions – that we need to rise and stand together to overcome.

Supporting our fellow women has never been more important than right now as so many businesses are closing their doors around the globe in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But now is not the time to panic over the things you can’t control, instead, we need to weather the storm together and find (or create) the opportunities we all need to succeed and come through the other side.

And we at The Mentor Institute want to deal with this the best way we know how.

By seeking and sharing knowledge, experience, support, and even hope during this time of crisis. Staying together, staying strong and focusing on new mentorship opportunities.

We are a tightly knit community that is there for one another allowing you to tap into the superpowers you already have (but might not know about) and pick up a few more along the way.

With that in mind, I want to offer free mentoring sessions for April, May, and June to give back and help those who need it most. If you’re going through a difficult time, have lost your job, and feeling overwhelmed, know that we are here to help you get through this.

I also want to send out a call to arms to my fellow brave and powerful women to join me in mentoring and supporting those that have been hit the hardest right now. Any free mentoring time you can spare could help build a foothold for a fellow woman whilst it’s particularly tough to hold your ground right now.

As a mentor, you can lead the way for others and give some security in these uncertain times! If you’re in need of mentorship or can donate some of your time right now, please get in touch. 

Email me directly val@thementorinstitute.com

With our International Women’s Day event behind us, our guest speakers Claire Bibby and Nat Kringoudis and moderator Catherine Brooks provided us with much-needed insight on tapping into our powers as women and making a difference in the world.

This year’s IWD theme, Each for Equal, tied in well with what our speakers talked about. During discussions on taking charge of our bodies and listening to what they are saying, and standing up for others who don’t have the courage to speak up on their own, there was one topic that stood out and was repeated a lot: Creating a supportive community.

A community makes all the difference

Community plays a large role in how women can help other women. It’s a safety net that helps us overcome challenges and stop us from falling. Dr. Nat gave us a beautiful insight into how being a country kid played a huge role in where she is today.

As she explained, growing up in the country meant that she was part of a very tightly knit community, and when she moved to the city, she always tried to get involved in whatever community she lived in – to find, or even create, a beautiful and supportive community.

Her burning passion was finding a way to help.

Claire Bibby shared her own personal journey with us and what an inspirational, passionate speaker! She had us riveted as she worked the room talking about women kind, how to overcome challenges in the workplace and the importance of authenticity.

What matters most about the community? To just be there – to be supportive and look out for everyone who is part of it, and to look for clues and cues from those who aren’t as vocal. To be the best possible version of ourselves as part of those communities while inspiring others to do the same.

We need to come back to that tightly knit community that we lost somewhere along the way. Many of today’s issues – be it physical health and mental health issues, stress in the workplace – boils down to being utterly disconnected, without a community to support us.

Community of Business Women

This is especially true for women in business who are taught from a young age that they have to brave the world alone, and no matter how awful we might feel, we are supposed to not talk about it.

But that’s wrong.

We must talk about our experiences, good and bad, and share them with other women. We must openly share our struggles, fears and doubts, so that other women know they are not alone. We must build that community again and face the uncertainties, be it in our business and career, or in private lives, together.

That’s the only proper way forward.

Many young women starting their career path feel discouraged when stepping into the workplace for the first time, as the educational system hasn’t prepared them well. A mentor and an accepting community can make all the difference.

They can assist with guidance, share their experience, and give the much-needed confidence to face challenges together. When women get stuck in place, a community can help them go forward.

Where can you find such a community? Anywhere! We have to come back to that community. The Mentor Institute aims to be such a tightly knit community where women will support women and carry them forward.

International Women’s Day is upon us and we’re getting ready to celebrate!

Although there is still a lack of representation in professional leadership, Australia stands out as one of the countries with the most significant increase in the number of women in leadership positions in the Asia Pacific region! 

But that doesn’t mean our work is over. Whether you’re a female entrepreneur, lawyer, HR Executive, or an established CEO, access to influential networks can help overcome common barriers for female professionals! 

And what better way to support, and network with other powerful women than with cocktails and canapes? 

With this in mind, we have decided to host our event “Enabling an Equal World” on the 6th of March. Where we will be discussing the current lack of representation in professional leadership as well as how future mentoring can re-dress the balance for the next generation. 

As well as some of the incredible women supporting women at our event, we will be hearing from two guest speakers: 

Claire Bibby 

Discussing the impact that mentoring and sponsorship has had on her own career, as well as the importance of bringing both men and women on the journey to enable an equal playing field. Claire is a senior lawyer, non-executive director, and life coach with incredible success operating at the top-end of the corporate market, SME, and NFP space.

After more than two decades of building and mentoring award-winning teams, she creates and speaks about environments in which business leaders and employees can make bold decisions with confidence. 

Dr. Nat Kringoudis

Best selling author, Acupuncturist, and Dr. of Chinese Medicine, Nat is a bona fide women’s health revolutionist. Having recognised a large gap between conventional medicine and supporting wellness, Nat has accepted the task of inspiring wellbeing and educating women about their health choices. 

Nat will be sharing her wisdom on the importance of wellness as part of the western medical approach. As well as why accepting your body is different from men’s is important and how you can use it to boost your journey to become a great leader.  

If you want to connect with an amazing community of female changemakers, or it’s time for you to overcome your own barriers, join us at our Enabling an Equal World event on March 6th from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. 

Tickets are limited so be quick.  Get your tickets here

Mentoring is a rewarding experience. For mentors, it offers professional development, the platform to refine interpersonal skills, greater authority and recognition, and an opportunity to share their experience with the next generation of leaders. Mentees benefit from the wisdom of established professionals, an unbiased perspective, tangible support, and networking opportunities. 

But should mentoring be the responsibility of the employer, or arranged outside of the workplace? There’s a compelling case for the former, which we’ll explore in-depth here.

Mentoring and Job Satisfaction

Mentorship programs are known to improve job satisfaction – for mentors and mentees. There are many reasons for this. For experienced professionals, being asked to participate in a mentoring program is a form of recognition that strengthens their position as an authority figure. This can reinforce commitment to their organisation, making them feel more satisfied in their current role. 

Mentees have a similar experience. The opportunity to develop their career with the support of a senior figure within their organisation improves job satisfaction. Mentees feel valued by their employer, and a stronger sense of belonging. 

Both parties in a mentoring relationship benefit from improving their interpersonal, organisation, communication, and other soft skills. Refining these abilities has a positive impact on day-to-day work, which in itself boosts achievement, favourable feedback, and so, job satisfaction.

Mentoring and Employee Retention

According to a research by Diane Kostrey Horner,  “[Mentoring] can provide a positive environment, which can lead to increased job satisfaction. In turn, a higher level of satisfaction in the work environment can be associated with reduced turnover and improved retention and patient outcomes.” 

It follows logically that better job satisfaction encourages employees – whether they are mentors or mentees – to stick with their employer. 

Let’s say that an employee is considering a move to another organisation. If the role or salary is similar to their current situation, other factors such as company culture, scope for promotion, and a sense of belonging will help them to decide whether a move is right. 

Where mentoring programs are already in place, an employee who is at risk of leaving can be offered a mentoring opportunity. This may prompt them to reconsider a move, and re-dedicate their career development to their current company. 

Likewise, if an employee is not feeling confident in their current role – which can be a particular issue for women in the workplace – a mentor can help them to unlock their self-belief, be more assertive, and ultimately improve their happiness at work.

Mentoring and Career Development

Good mentoring tends to have an overwhelmingly positive impact on a young professional’s career trajectory. At the start of a mentoring relationship, it’s common for the mentee to share their immediate and long-term objectives, which the mentor uses as a framework for their custom program.

A mentor will draw on their experience to give the mentee potential routes to achieving their professional goals. They’ll also provide feedback on progress and constructive advice on improvement. 

One of the most beneficial aspects of working with a mentor is that they may offer networking opportunities. Even the most innocuous of encounters with senior figures in an organisation can result in a giant leap towards reaching career goals – whether that involves training, expansion of responsibilities, or recommendation for a promotion. Every meeting counts.

Mentoring and Gender Equality

Legislation and training have improved the outlook for women in the workplace, but gender inequality still exists there. Women are paid less than men, they are overlooked for promotions, and in some industries, an old boys’ club still effectively operates. While the door might officially be open to women, in practice it’s locked shut. 

It’s important for women to have visible role models, especially when they can interact with them on a one-to-one basis. The confidence gap between men and women stunts the careers of females who would otherwise develop into leaders. Good mentoring can prevent them from dropping away, instead empowering them with self-assurance, resilience, and the right skills to excel. 

Female leaders get results. Companies with women in top roles hit financial objectives, improve employee retention, and attract top candidates. With effective mentoring, women take a leading role in the success of their companies.

It’s time to embrace mentoring for female employees. Find out how The Mentor Institute can support your organisation.

The hectic schedule of a professional doesn’t always permit spare time for mentoring. However, digital technology allows the mutually beneficial results of mentoring to happen with greater convenience. How does it work? Let’s take a look.

What Is Distance Mentoring?

Mentoring has traditionally taken place in person. Whether at the office or in a more relaxed setting like a café or restaurant, effectively the only way to exchange ideas was face-to-face.Thanks to leaps in modern technology, mentorship partners now have a wider range of options at their disposal. As well as meeting in person – which remains a valid and productive way to facilitate mentoring – it’s now possible to conduct the relationship by video chat, phone calls, instant messaging, and email. This is what we mean by distance mentoring.

In fact, using a combination of different methods is now the best way to work around work and family commitments, while keeping the lines of communication open.

Who Might Choose Distance Mentoring?

Busy professionals have to work around a multitude of conflicting demands on their time. As well as the packed schedule of a thriving career, we all need to make time for family, friends, and leisure – for our sanity, if nothing else!

As such, it can be prohibitively difficult to squeeze in time to fulfill mentoring duties in person. Distance mentoring offers a useful solution.

Instead of travelling to a meeting place, spending time with a mentoring partner, then reversing the journey home, it’s quick and simple to set up a video call. Mentors and mentees still have the opportunity to meet face-to-face, just in a slightly different way!

Materials can be shared by email or instant message, then discussed in a video or voice call. The key strengths of mentoring – sharing guidance, exchanging ideas, providing feedback, and developing soft skills – still happen, in a much more convenient format.

Distance mentoring also allows for impromptu advice to be given. Let’s say a young professional is due to deliver quarterly results at a team meeting. They might be feeling nervous, concerned about their performance, or otherwise lacking in confidence. A mentor will be able to provide instant support, either with a quick text, a brief call, or a video message. Urgent questions can be answered in the nick of time, without serious disruption to the mentor.

Similarly, if a mentor has a last-minute invitation to a networking event that might be of interest to the mentee, they can share it digitally in seconds.

Distance mentoring is, therefore, perfect for the modern mentoring partnership. It combines the benefits of traditional mentoring with the convenience of up-to-date communication technology.

The Benefits of Distance Mentoring

Formal education, vocational training, and employers’ curricula provide the background knowledge and on-the-job expertise that allow you to succeed in your role.

However, there remains a gap for a type of learning that goes beyond the standard box-ticking. To truly flourish in your career, it’s helpful to work with a mentor.

Mentors are highly experienced professionals, usually working within your industry, that offer guidance to people who are new to their chosen career, or working their way up the ladder.

Mentoring isn’t the same as working in a school or university, or as a professional lecturer. Participants draw on similar teaching skills, but they also tend to take a less structured and formal approach. Instead, the mentoring relationship is personalised; the mentor assesses the current status of the mentee and what they want to achieve, then offers practical advice, tips, and feedback.

There are huge rewards for each party. Mentors have the opportunity to develop their soft skills – such as teaching, listening, and compassion – as well as strengthening their position as a leader and expert in their field.

For mentees, the guidance received from an experienced practitioner in their sector is invaluable. Soft skills such as confidence, assertiveness, and resilience are improved, while mentors may also provide exclusive networking and shadowing opportunities. Working with a mentor can, therefore, shorten the amount of time that emerging professionals take to reach their career goals.

How to Get the Most Out of Distance Mentoring

Modern technology advances at breathtaking speed, but the core principles of mentoring remain the same – no matter which format it takes. To get the most benefit, each partner must be willing to invest time, energy, and commitment.

Although distance mentoring largely takes place digitally, meeting in person at least once is strongly recommended. If opportunities are limited, the best time to meet face-to-face is at the start of the mentoring relationship.

From the outset, the mentor and mentee should agree which methods of communication are suitable for each party. For example, the mentee may be happy to send messages using their personal number in the evening, but the mentor might prefer to use only their work number, or restrict contact to set times. Discussing this at the start of a partnership avoids difficulties further down the line.

It’s a good idea to set up a regular appointment – especially at the beginning. Consistent communication provides an excellent foundation for meaningful cooperation.

Finally, always be honest with one another. The mentee should be open about what they want to achieve, and the mentor must be able to provide constructive feedback. In fact, when both sides are able to speak frankly – and respectfully – to one another, the conversation is at its most productive.

Are you interested in sharing your expertise with a young professional? Or would youbenefit from mentoring from a leader in your field? Click here to find out more about TheMentoring Institute.

When women support other women, success is limitless. In this article, we’ll share the stories of four women who have improved their careers by working with female mentors. 

Kate Hardcastle and Anita Roddick

Kate Hardcastle is a British retail expert and founder of business transformation organisation Insight With Passion, who has featured extensively on TV, radio, and in written publications. She’s worked with top brands, such as Google and McDonalds, and her entrepreneurial success earned her an MBE in 2018. Kate has won countless awards, including Media Personality of the Year 2018, Innovator of the Year, Inspiration of the Year, and Entrepreneur of the Year. 

Sally Singer and Anna Wintour

Sally Singer is the creative director of digital at Vogue. She’s previously worked as the fashion news director at the magazine and as editor-in-chief at T: The New York Times Style Magazine. 

It’s unsurprising, therefore, that one of her most profound influences in Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue since 1988. 

On their mentoring relationship, Sally says of Anna, “She taught me everything about everything.” There’s no better endorsement than that!

More specifically, Anna instilled a sense of confidence in Sally and encouraged her to be true to herself, without compromise. 

When considering a move back to Vogue from T, Anna gave Sally more good advice. Anna is renowned for – amongst other things – the ability to predict what will be fashionable in the future. As it turns out, that vision extends to shifts in the workplace. She told Sally that a move to the digital director position at Vogue would be beneficial to her long-term career, as the industry is moving in that direction. As Sally explains, “That was an incredibly generous act; what she was saying was that she was thinking ahead for my interests.”

Arlene Kelly and Pamela Anderson

Arlene Kelly, Health and Safety specialist for life science company Sigma Aldrich, found a rewarding working relationship through Business Mentoring Scotland. She was paired with Pamela Anderson, a senior HR consultant with Square Circle HR, and owner of Sounding Board Associates. 

Pamela’s extensive experience in various industries made her a good match for Arlene, who wanted to gain confidence and practical advice after being promoted to a new role. Arlene found that the challenges of her new job, and the criticism she sometimes faced, were having a detrimental effect on her attitude, which she believed would negatively impact her career.

She shared these concerns with Pamela and drew up a list of learning objectives for the mentoring relationship. But the initial meetings weren’t formal. Instead, Pamela gave Arlene the opportunity to simply speak without judgment and to let go of some of the pressures that had built in her new role. 

This was very helpful for Arlene, and as the meetings progressed, they discussed behavioural changes that could improve the situation. Arlene appreciated Pamela’s ability to offer an alternative perspective, and to show her tactics to think more objectively and calmly at work, rather than going straight to emotional reactions. 

Mentoring has helped Arlene to manage the pressures of work more effectively, accept things she can’t change, and move on with a positive outlook if things don’t go exactly to plan. Arlene now looks forward to challenges at work, empowered by greater confidence and improved productivity.

Judith Jamison and Carmen De Lavallade

Judith Jamison is the Artistic Director Emerita of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and has had an illustrious career as a dancer, choreographer, and entrepreneur. As well as winning an Emmy, she’s been honoured by the Kennedy Centre and secured her rightful place in the Hall of Fame at the National Museum of Dance. 

Judith points to actress, dancer, and choreographer Carmen De Lavallade as one of her most important mentors. When Judith first arrived in New York City, Carmen and her husband welcomed Judith into their lives. Prior to meeting, Judith had already been inspired by Carmen. As a woman of colour, Judith was proud to see a fellow African-American female performing on TV in the 1950s – an extremely rare occurrence at the time. Carmen’s visibility encouraged Judith to pursue dance, and having the opportunity to meet and be mentored by her when she came to New York bolstered her confidence. 

Carmen taught Judith to remain grounded, even when her career was taking off. According to Judith, Carmen explained that, “Fame and beauty are fleeting, but what’s interior is important.” 

That advice extended to how Judith thought about herself in relation to other dancers. Instead of looking outward, she competed with herself and improved continuously through self-reflection. Carmen’s influence made a difference to Judith from a young age, right through to the present. 

As we can see, mentoring has been invaluable across a variety of industries and disciplines!

Are you ready to lead other women to reach their aspirations? We’re here to make it happen. Get in touch with The Mentoring Institute to discover exciting mentoring opportunities.

A lack of confidence and appropriate training can be limiting factors in reaching objectives. Fortunately, these factors can be addressed constructively.

A popular goal-setting strategy used in different industries is the SMART method, in which objectives are described as Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely.

Here’s how it works:

SMART Goals and their Role in Your Success

As a legal professional, you’ll likely juggle several goals at once. Some will be achieved over the long-term, while short-term goals are more immediately gratifying. Defining all of these goals clearly will help you achieve them.

The SMART goal method will help you to identify the right career goals, no matter how experienced you are.

Specific

The goal you set should answer the five “W” questions:

• Who is involved?
• What do you want to accomplish?
• Where do you want to achieve it?
• When do you want it?
• Why do you want this goal?

For example, you’re a law practitioner who wants a promotion. That’s a decent goal, but it’s not specific.

Instead, it should sound something like this:

“I wish to obtain a partner position in my current law firm within the next five years, so I can bring in more clients.”

Measurable

Your goal should always have a clear metric; otherwise, you won’t be able to tell whether you have made progress or not. Regular performance conversations can tell you how well you are doing.

For example, you might have identified specific skills that need to be improved, such as legal analysis, negotiation, or communication. Working with a manager, or even independently, you can build a portfolio for each skill to demonstrate how you’ve worked to address it.

Achievable

The goal you set should be within your remit. It’s easy to wish to become the next big partner of your law firm, but is there actually a chance to get there? We’ll stick to the senior position example from above.

Some questions to determine whether you can achieve this are:

• Do I have the required skills, resources, and capabilities to get a partner position in my law firm?
• Is there someone who has done it? How did they do it?
• How many have failed? Why did they fail?

Realistic

A realistic goal is one that you can achieve with the resources you have.

In your pursuit of a partner position, think about your current skill set and the benefits you bring to the law firm, and compare them to the skill set and benefits a partner should bring.

This can help you identify what you are missing:

• Should I be more productive?
• Am I cooperative enough?
• Do I need to bring in more clients?

Timely

Your goal should have a clear lifespan, alongside a staggered timeline, that will help you work on all the prerequisites of achieving the end goal.

Your partner position goal will be long-term – it usually takes 6 to 8 years to get there. To maintain momentum, define a timeline of smaller goals that will help you get there.

Within a year, you might want to be better at negotiations. Within two years, you will improve your legal analysis. You’ll grow your network and form strong connections with clients, representing your law firm in the best light.

As you improve these skills and attributes, you’ll start bringing in more clients, and so generate more revenue, leading ultimately to you landing that partner position.

Do you have the skills to guide emerging legal professionals, or would you like to develop them? Are you interested in learning from experienced lawyers? Mentoring could be right for you. Click here to find out more.

Knowing how to navigate office politics helps you to be assertive, demonstrate your capabilities, and maintain power in your career.

Power Structures in the Legal Industry

Law has historically and contemporarily been dominated by white wealthy men. Although women, minorities, and people from a wider range of socioeconomic backgrounds have made their way into the industry, it remains an old boys’ club, persistently driven by who you know, rather than what you know.

As such, female legal professionals continue to face power structures that shut them out. There is an old adage that women must work twice as hard to be considered half as good. And for early female entrants into law in particular, this was the case.

The good news is that women are asserting themselves in the legal workplace and steadily redressing gender inequality. In the UK, 48% of lawyers are women; in the United States, it’s 34%.

Still, there is work to be done in changing the structure of the legal industry to better support womens’ careers – such as network-building opportunities, flexible working, pay equality, mentoring, overcoming the motherhood penalty, access to continuing education, and autonomy in terms of clients and cases.

Addressing all of these issues is a collective effort, but for individual women in law, it’s possible to confront prevailing power and politics in a positive and constructive way.

Office Politics and the Professional Woman

It’s not only the legal industry where women face professional challenges. Office politics permeates most workplaces, and females can be particularly susceptible to the negative consequences.

What do we mean by office politics? Although the term has broadly negative connotations, its definition is relatively innocuous. Essentially, office politics covers interactions and networking within a workplace setting. Challenges arise from the use of power in these interactions. Workers without influence are at a disadvantage, while those at the top are predisposed to advantage the most.

Office politics can bring about difficult working conditions, categorised by nepotism, favouritism, gossip, back-stabbing, and unnecessary stress. It can also create circumstances that workers – no matter their relative power – may leverage to their advantage.

For example, identifying positive, prominent female figures within an organisation, and aligning with them through work or networking, can be advantageous for women in the legal industry – particularly at the start of a career. Mentoring provides an excellent opportunity to nurture these relationships.

In fact, networking in general is the best way to flip office politics from a challenge to an advantage. Checking your company’s organogram is a good way to start. Seek influential people – or those with a reputation for being well-connected – and find opportunities to speak with them. Attend networking events and get your name out there.

In short – use power structures to your benefit!

Appreciating Your Value as a Legal Professional

A lack of confidence is a common issue for women in the workplace. This is amplified in sectors that are dominated by men, such as law.

To navigate and combat existing power structures, you must be confident in your own abilities. Remind yourself, as often as is necessary, that you are a knowledgeable, capable, and valuable legal professional. Review your cases, look at what you’ve done and learned. You might not always receive validation externally, so it’s important to be self-assured.

Establishing Your Power at Work

The legal profession is famously competitive, so you may find yourself in power struggles more often than you would in other careers.

The confidence gap experienced by women in work can prompt female professionals to feel crushing self-doubt, to the point of developing imposter syndrome.

Know that you are not an imposter in your workplace. You’ve worked hard on your education, training, and career; nobody has handed it to you on a platter. A position of power is not something to fear; neither is it grandiose or above your capabilities. Wherever you are in your career, you can assert your power.

Understand where your authority lies, share your opinions, make decisions – and stick to them, speak up when something isn’t right, take your time if you need more information, and don’t focus your worth on being liked by everyone. Respect is far more valuable to your career.

Be assertive, honest, and confident; that’s where your power lies.

Keeping a Distance from Unnecessary Politics

Office politics can be curated to your advantage, but that doesn’t mean you should involve yourself in everything. If you know a situation is negative, keep away from it. Don’t engage in gossip or sharing of confidential information.

If you’re a manager, never demonstrate favouritism. Be a mediator in conflict resolution, rather than an instigator or perpetuator. And if you need support, seeking it is not a sign of weakness. In fact, it’s the action of a powerful, responsible professional.

Mentoring helps female legal professionals to establish, develop, and maintain their power in the workplace. Interested in becoming a mentor or mentee? Click here to find out more.

An Opportunity for Professional Development

For experienced lawyers, professional development remains an important aspect of a well-rounded career. Taking on the role of a mentor provides a unique opportunity to develop new skills, which can be transferred to other mentoring or teaching roles. There may also be an element of formal training involved; this can be useful if you wish to take on a coordinating role within a program at a later date.

 Development opportunities for lawyers can be difficult to find, especially when you’re at the top of the career ladder and mentoring is a rewarding learning experience for everyone involved.

Sharing Knowledge and Skills

As a leader in the legal profession, you will have gathered a range of skills and a veritable database of knowledge. Mentoring allows you to share those skills and draw on your own experience to provide practical advice to those who are new or emerging within the industry.

 Mentoring can also be a stepping stone towards teaching, which some lawyers move towards once they are established in their careers.

Positioning Yourself as a Leader

Your expertise grows steadily over the course of your career, but it can be a challenge to find appropriate peer recognition for what you’ve achieved, particularly if you’re a woman.

 Mentoring allows you to demonstrate your leadership skills in a practical and attestable way. By taking on the role of a guide to professionals on their way up the ladder, you will become a source of inspiration and aspiration.

 This has been a problem for women, historically and contemporarily. Persistent underrepresentation of females – particularly those from a minority ethnic background – remains a major challenge to diversity within law.

 You can be the change. As a female legal professional, you have a unique perspective and have overcome specific hurdles to be where you are. Women still face these hurdles; your experience will help them to navigate their careers and become successful.

 In short, you are ready to lead.

Enhanced Interpersonal Skills

We sometimes lose sight of soft skills when looking at professional development. Mentoring helps you to refine those qualities – especially when it comes to interpersonal skills.

 To be a good mentor, you must have the ability to speak and to listen. As an expert, it can be tempting to focus on the former; after all, you’re the expert. But a mentor does more than just share their wisdom one way. You’ll be tasked with understanding the current position of your mentee, where they want to go, and which challenges are in their way.

 Formal training can be helpful to get you started. From there, your experience as a mentor will help you perfect these skills, which are transferable to all aspects of your career.

A Fresh Perspective

There’s a lot to learn from the people you mentor. Young lawyers have fresh and exciting perspectives to share, and their ideas can help you to adapt your own practice for the future!

 Mentoring is always a two-way relationship – a mutually-rewarding experience that works best when both parties are willing to learn. For you as a mentor, collaborating with an emerging lawyer can help you with client relationships, as well as attracting and maintaining talented professionals.

Guiding the Female Leaders of Tomorrow

Mentoring can offer a more professionally-rewarding experience than teaching classes or writing books. This is because you have the opportunity to work directly with your protégés, one-to-one.

The future of law will – ceteris paribus – be more equal and diverse. As a female legal professional, you are well-placed to offer practical guidance to the next generation of women in the industry.

Your influence can fuel confidence, inspire emerging legal stars to pursue their potential, and to craft the leaders of tomorrow. Through mentoring, this can be your legacy.