Whilst It took us a while to get going, I can already see how valuable the mentoring scheme is and will be over the coming months. Face-to-face meetups have been replaced by Skype calls and regular emails instead – but this is working for us and we’ve begun to build a great relationship.

For someone like me who is still relatively junior in my career, having access to my mentor’s skill, years of experience and knowledge has been invaluable.

She can share with me some of the challenges in her career and how she has overcome them – many of which I’m sure I’ll also face in the future. Or, sometimes, my mentor will simply listen in a completely impartial way to whatever I’m sharing and offer her observations in a way I haven’t considered.

We’ve started exploring some of the topics I’d like to be mentored on, and I’ve been able to put into action some of the suggestions my mentor has put forward. Not only has that helped my personal development, but I also feel it is a positive for the business I work for.

Becoming a mentee also means I’ve gained access to the Institute of Leadership and Management’s (ILM) MyLeadership Programme; an e-learning scheme with a focus on what makes great leadership.

Being a working mother and trying to juggle home and work during a pandemic has been a real challenge. But the flexibility of the scheme is one of its great assets. There’s lots of information packed into the MyLeadership Programme, all readily available at a time that suits me.

The programme begins with a leadership profile questionnaire and every mentor receives a personalised report assessing their skills in each area. This was a great starting point, revealing my strengths and weaknesses, and allowed me to focus on developing in areas that need it the most.

I’m excited to see where the coming months take us. If you have the opportunity in the future to join the scheme – either as a mentor or mentee, then I would encourage you to take a leap and go for it.