
What
is mentoring?
Mentoring
generally involves one to one relationships between a more experienced
person (the mentor) and a less experienced person (the mentee). Mentoring
can also happen between peers, regardless of age or skill, who learn
and mature through sharing experiences and knowledge. The relationship
can be formal or informal, long or short term.
What
is informal mentoring?
A
mentor and mentee can be attracted by a mutual interest or friendship.
Most people can recall periods in their lives when someone showed an
interest in them by providing support, advice, information and wisdom
in order to contribute to their personal or career development.
What
is formal mentoring?
Formal
mentoring is a method of establishing links, guided by a third party,
and is based on a matching process that joins mentors and mentees with
common interests or expertise.
What
is facilitated mentoring?
Facilitated
mentoring is a deliberate pairing of a more skilled or experienced person
with a lesser skilled or experienced person, with agreed upon goals
of having the less experienced person grow and develop specific competencies.
How
did the Australian Women's Motorsport Network Inc develop their mentoring
program?
The
AWMN is committed to supporting women in motorsports and the auto industry
through training and development. A number of different ideas were tested
to find the most effective methods for delivering this support, with
mentoring coming out on top.
Formal
mentoring workshops have been run in the past, and hands-on mentoring
is now proving a very popular option. The AWMN held its first Women's
Speedway Training day on 30th May 2004 at Brisbane International Speedway,
and it was a huge success. Since then requests have been coming in for
a variety of motorsport training days, including drag racing, burnouts
and circuit racing.
Mentor
partnerships can be a combination of just one or all styles of mentoring,
as mentioned above, depending on the needs of the participants.
What
are the benefits of mentoring?
Different
people want different things from a mentoring relationship. Some people
may want more than one mentor, and some mentors may also want a relationship
where they are the mentee. Relationships may involve female mentees
being matched with a female or male mentor depending on their goals,
expectations and needs.
Regardless
of the situation, if a mentoring relationship is to be successful, it
must have enjoyable, satisfying and measurable outcomes for both the
mentor and mentee.
What's
in it for the mentor?
As
a mentor you will gain opportunities to share your knowledge and skills.
It can revitalise enthusiasm and commitment to your field, enhance your
networks, help reduce feelings of professional and personal isolation,
boost your confidence and personal development... it may even challenge
your perspectives. There's also the satisfaction in helping others aim
for excellence.
What's
in it for the mentee?
As
a mentee you will have opportunities to learn new skills and acquire
knowledge while gaining constructive feedback. You will be able to discuss
your ideas and strategies and have support and reinforcement for your
goals. Opportunities to network and get known will grow, helping reduce
feelings of isolation and building confidence and self-esteem.
Are
there fees involved?
Fees
vary depending on the type of mentoring.
*
Hands-on mentoring caters for groups rather than individuals, and involves
theory and practical training at a motor sport track or driver training
venue. Entry fees for this type of event depend upon any fees charged
by the track and other related costs;
*
Mentors, as volunteers, are fee free;
*
For current AWMN Members who wish to be matched with a mentor, there
is a one-off admin fee of $20, and for Non-Members $30. This fee helps
us cover the costs incurred in matching mentees with appropriate mentors.
What
type of mentoring programs is the AWMN currently running?
Individual
mentoring relationships are ongoing, and can start at anytime once an
application is received and processed.
As
hands-on mentoring is proving so popular among the ladies, our next
planned event is a drag racing and burnout training day for women on
10th September 2005 at Warwick Dragway in Queensland. Click
here for more info
Is
there any information available to guide mentors and mentees through
their mentoring relationship?
We
now have a "Mentoring Guidelines" booklet available. Developed
by Redline Mentoring, specifically to assist and guide mentors and mentees
in their ongoing relationships. It includes the basic mentoring agreement
through to roles and responsibilities, goal setting and much more.
Hard
copies of the booklet are available to Australian residents @ $14 a
copy plus $5 postage through the AWMN's Head Office. Send your order,
along with a cheque or money order for $19 to: