Mentoring

About Mentoring

Mentoring is the support and guidance of one individual to another with a focus on professional development and achieving career goals. The emphasis is on the needs of the individual with mentoring encouraging autonomy and self-development while helping to identify opportunities for future development.

Mentoring is available to a diverse range of employees and cross-organisational, cross-professional and peer mentoring relationships are actively encouraged. In the North West access as a mentor or a mentee can be made through our mentoring hub.

Benefits of Mentoring

Developing individual and collective leadership through mentoring is particularly important considering the ongoing transformation both within the NHS and across the wider public sector. To meet the ambitions for the future of health and care, we believe mentoring can:

Recognise and value the diversity of talent within and across our existing workforce

Create an avenue to connect people so we can enable development where the work happens

Generate collective leadership capacity in order to lead innovation

Connect beyond professional and/or organisational boundaries, to develop a wider understanding and view of the ‘bigger picture’

Offer an external sounding board and ‘time-out’ for reflection, feedback, challenge and support

Foster mutually developmental partnerships

Who can Access Mentoring?

The NHS NWLA Mentoring Scheme is open to all NHS employees working in organisations in the North West covered by the NHS North West Leadership Academy footprint (Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Merseyside and Lancashire and South Cumbria).

The Mentoring Hub

Becoming a Mentee

Working with a mentor will create a greater self-awareness of your unique talents and also identify some gaps in your current skills set. Using reflection you will learn what works best for you now and in the future, along with suggestions that can widen your horizons and narrow your actions. Mentoring is about getting support for your own learning and development wherever you are in your career.

It doesn’t matter what you do or where you’re from, having a mentor from a different organisation and professional background can facilitate new ways of working by broadening your horizons through sharing experiences.

Becoming a Mentor

• Are you interested in your own development and learning?
• Are you a good listener?
• Are you self-critical, reflective and curious?

Then mentoring is for you!

To become a mentor, create a profile on our mentoring hub and take part in a mentor development programme.

Find out more: Mentor Development Programme

Our Mentor Development Programme provides participants with the knowledge and skills to begin mentoring and to also join the NHS NWLA mentoring community. Delivered virtually this programme will provide you with the knowledge and skills to be an effective mentor and utilise the NHS NWLA Mentoring Hub.

These virtual sessions are a mixture of group work, discussions, practical activities as well as space for individual reflections and breaks to maintain energy. There is some pre-programme reading and activities to prepare you.

Register for an upcoming Mentor Development Programme

If you have further questions about the Mentoring Scheme please email: [email protected]