Mentors can point professionals in the right direction – Amanda Harris
The commitment of the mentee is key to enact change and make the most of the mentor relationship, according to Amanda Harris, Head of Risk and Insurance at Sovereign Housing Association, and an Airmic member.
Amanda has signed up to be a mentor in Airmic’s Mentoring Scheme and has had a varied career in sales, procurement, audit and standardisation, and risk management in both the technology and auto sectors.
In May 2022, she joined Sovereign Housing Association and told Airmic News it was “a deliberate move away from the corporate world as I wanted to work somewhere with a social purpose rather than just profit and loss”.
The Airmic Mentoring Scheme, which began in 2020, illustrates the value of mentoring. Currently, the scheme has 70 mentees and 31 mentors registered – all members. Sixteen mentoring relationships have been completed since the start. All others are continuing, as mentoring continues for as long as both parties want.
“I believe strongly in coaching and mentoring to help understand and achieve your life aims, whatever they may be,” said Amanda. “It’s not always about work. Sometimes it’s about building self-awareness and emotional intelligence in order to understand what makes your life fulfilling.
“[A mentor can help] to understand what you are looking for and then offer advice and guidance on how you might achieve it. It’s important to understand the ‘work’ still sits with the mentee. A mentor can help you, but the commitment still needs to come from you to make any change.”
Amanda added that one of the reasons she has volunteered is because there were so few, if any, such schemes available to women when she was new to the profession.
Airmic News has previously featured Airmic mentors Richard Hoult and Neil Timberlake.
For more information and to download a guide to the Airmic Mentoring Scheme.