Throughout my career, I’ve benefitted from people sharing their time and experience with me, so when I noticed the PMI mentor scheme advertised, I thought it was a suitable opportunity to support other people.

My mentee and I have been meeting ‘virtually’ once per month, after work, which has suited both of our schedules. We live in different parts of the country, so it’s unlikely we’ll ever have the stereotypical coffee I imagined before the scheme started.

The initial meetings were about getting to know each other and trying to understand what we would like to get out of the scheme.

Typically, we have both prepared some notes on areas we’d like to discuss with each other. I’ll refer to my notes of the previous meeting to see if there is anything that should be revisited, and bring along other items I think are interesting or relevant. We pencil in 30 minutes for each meeting, which seems to work well.

Our meetings have been an opportunity to focus on the mentee’s development. I’ve enjoyed getting to know another talented individual and having the space to encourage and support them. In our busy schedules, we often overlook thinking time so the discipline of taking a little time out to reflect on individual development, and provide a space to listen, is worthwhile.

We’ve had access to development modules from the Institute of Leadership & Management that cover an array of areas from adaptability to zocial responsibility (sic) which has been useful to drop in and out of as inquisitiveness, or the need, arises. I also found the mentor group session helpful to hear other mentor’s experiences.

Whilst I’m used to coaching people, this was the first time I’ve had a specific mentor role. It has been quite liberating to focus on the coaching without the usual management that often goes with it.

The learning and development has not been one-sided; through our conversations, I’ve learned about different aspects of the pensions industry that I, otherwise, may have overlooked or not been exposed to.

All in all, a worthwhile programme that I’m hoping my mentee has also benefitted from.