Managing Power, People and My Career: Australian Executives Share their Mentoring Stories by Sophie McCarthy is a detailed research report on the aspects of mentoring that mentees find most valuable. The report, launched May 2012, draws on a sample of the 600 mentoring relationships organised by McCarthy Mentoring over the past 14 years.
Australian executives surveyed claimed that having access to a confidential mentor ‘who had some runs on the board’ and was external to their organisation was often life changing.
Mentees reported that the key impacts of mentoring were gaining confidence, courage, skills and networks to manage a range of professional and personal challenges. Thirty two percent of the mentees interviewed were CEOs or senior executives, 60% worked in finance or law and 71% were women.
The executives sought advice from mentors to secure a leadership role, to manage work and family commitments; some looked for cultural insights to help them become part of Australian business. They used the time with their mentors to reflect, discuss their career paths, their definitions of success and how to develop strategies to manage a range of workplace problems and issues. In most cases they sought guidance in managing the transition from technical competence to leadership.
