FOCUS ON MENTORING
their contacts, build their network, and those things you can’t always o er in house. Industry-wide mentorship programmes o er that sense of con dentiality and breadth of experience and knowledge.” e bene ts of external input are exempli ed by Elevate mentor and founder of e Asembl Group, Gavin Farley and his mentee, Make Events Ltd event coordinator, Mike Linford. “ e obvious bene t of being a mentee is getting to pick the brain of someone who has been in the industry and encountered the issues that you will someday face,” says Linford of his relationship with his mentor. “Gav was able to remove any ‘noise’ from my thought patterns and help me identify a clear pattern to overcome challenges. e ultimate bene t is the ability to tap into a vast network. Since mentoring with Gavin, I’ve joined the team at Make Events, attended numerous industry events, and managed to increase my industry contacts.”
Richard Allchild and Fay Sharpe
of new feedback from, most likely, someone outside of your circle,” says Zarywacz. “She brings a di erent mindset to how I approach new challenges and encourages me to put myself out there which is something I would never have done before.” Opening up and asking for guidance from someone outside of your circle was also a task for IMEX Group’s head of North America sales, Richard Allchild who was mentored by FF15 founder Fay Sharpe. “I had always questioned how much value there was in doing things like vision boards and setting smaller goals,” he says. “But having gone through the techniques in the mentor programme, I can see how you can achieve more in a short space of time and reach your goal. It helped me to look at what I wanted to achieve in 10 years’ time and then how I can get there. It made it a lot more realistic.” e techniques, Fay Sharpe adds, are the most essential part of reaching those goals, because “a goal is just a thought unless you take actions around it.” Knowing your worth Max Fellows and Melissa Noakes, co-founders of the Elevate mentoring programme say there is a common theme among all mentees, of any age and job title - imposter syndrome. “ e number one threat is that people just don’t have the con dence,” reveals industry consultant Fellows. “Last year’s mentee intake showed imposter syndrome was the biggest concern, number two was that they didn’t feel they had the skills to do the job, and third was a disconnect from what was going on.” Regardless of HR ‘open-door’ policies, sometimes employees don’t feel comfortable discussing their work worries internally, hence the power of mentoring programmes, explains Noakes. “People want external input into their career and development, and they o en grow their awareness of an industry, build
I wanted to be that person whowould mentionmy mentee’s name in a room full of opportunities
Mike Linford and Gavin Farley
con dence,” Narain explains. “When I was asked to be a mentor in this year’s FF15 programme, I already understood the value of mentoring and wanted to repay what I had gained. I wanted to be that person who would mention my mentee’s name in a room full of opportunities, the way Caroline did for me.” Blossoming friendships Mentoring also has the power to create lifelong friendships, as Parallel Blue Group
Caroline Jackson and Priya Narain
Giving back Paying it forward is something Priya Narain, former FF15 mentee turned mentor, knows something about. “Imposter syndrome is something I’ve always struggled with but when you’ve got a great mentor like Dr Caroline Jackson, vice-chair of BVEP, who saw the potential in me before I did, it grows your
event executive and FF15 mentee, Milly Pickles, and FF15 mentor Shonali Devereaux prove. “Shonali has taught me how to be more con dent and develop my presenting skills,
Shonali Devereaux
36 / 2022 mitmagazine.co.uk
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