The Institute’s View - August 2020

THE ORIGINAL ‘mentor’ was appointed by Odysseus to act as tutor and guide to his son Telemachus while Odysseus was fighting in Troy. The goddess Athena appeared to Telemachus in the guise of ‘mentor’ and advised him to stand up to his mother Penelope’s suitors. Hence. the idea of a ‘mentor’ as a guide and wise counsellor was born and subsequently nurtured.

The idea behind mentoring relationships is a semi-charitable one (ie that the more successful senior partner, the mentor, wishes to pass on some of what they’ve learned to someone else who will benefit from their experience). Some organisations run formal mentoring programmes that match mentors with learners. However, less formal mentoring relationships can also work well.

There’s a good deal to be gained from having a trusted mentor at all stages of the professional journey. Equally so, mentors can also grow and learn through a mentoring relationship.

On a personal level, I’m a big advocate of mentoring. This is something I’ve done for 20-plus years and have continued to do since joining The Security Institute’s own Mentoring Programme which was launched in early 2018.

I have extensive experience in security, education, management and leadership, which compliments my pro bono role as director of education on behalf of The Security Institute. My experience is an asset that I can share and, more importantly, it’s one that I’m willing to share with the broader security community as a mentor. On average, I engage with between five and seven mentees in addition to speaking with young people presently considering their career options within the private security sector.

Why do I mentor others? The answer is simple. I enjoy being part of a personal and or professional journey. Mentoring creates the opportunity to share knowledge and experience and offer guidance to enhance someone else’s future which is a great privilege. Through The Security Institute's mentoring programme, I’ve assisted mentees to return to the workplace, change careers, identify transferable skills, improve their confidence levels, move into a leadership or management position or take on some studying.

Mentoring has proven to be particularly useful for those transitioning from a military or police service career into the private sector.

Joining the dots

I’ve learned to progress at the pace of the mentee and to listen carefully to what’s said, while always having the ability to recognise when information is not forthcoming. A mentor joins the dots and identifies opportunities to enhance the experience.

For example, one of my mentees is Maitseo Pelaelo MSyI who joined The Security Institute in January 2018 and quickly discovered the benefits of participating in a mentoring/mentee relationship. Maitseo was seeking a mentor for career guidance and assistance to prepare for a promotion opportunity at work. Through the mentoring programme, I was able to offer Maitseo advice based on my years of industry experience and to assist with professional connections to support his personal and professional journey from within my network.

Speaking about our mentoring relationship, Maitseo has stated: “The mentorship programme exceeded my expectations. In three months, I achieved my objective of gaining promotion at work. As if this was not enough, the mentorship programme resulted in me building an international relationship between my employer (CAAB) and another organisation (CAA). This is something I didn’t foresee. I continue to engage with Angela as a colleague outside of the mentorship programme. This is a positive indicator of a successful professional relationship.”

Patience and confidentiality

For the learner, there’s the opportunity to explore their learning and benefit from someone else’s focus and expertise, either in a particular subject or in supporting the learning process. Learning and development can often be pushed to the bottom of the ‘To Do’ list when we’re busy, but a mentoring relationship brings it the fore again, not least because of the need to prepare for and then attend a mentoring session.

For the mentor, the benefits may be more subtle. It’s always nice to feel that we’re doing something valuable and supporting someone else. A mentoring relationship may also be a useful opportunity to work on a leadership style, particularly coaching, or other communication skills without comments from co-workers about the change.

The thought of mentoring can be pretty daunting, particularly so given that one is opening up to someone you may or may not know which, in turn, could create a vulnerability. The process certainly requires patience to complete the journey at the pace of the mentee. 

Confidentiality is also essential when it comes to building trust. Why? Well, a mentor may become privy to very private issues or ambitions. We all have those and many of us will guard them closely.

During these challenging times, security professionals are dealing with unprecedented circumstances that have been created by COVID-19. A host of new challenges have been created and we need to work through them. Now more than ever, having the support of a mentor can be invaluable.

Angela Vernon-Lawson JP MSc FSyI SFHEA is Consultant Analyst on Performance Improvement at Lawson Associates and Non-Executive Director at The Security Institute (www.security-institute.org)