Mentor speeddating: 20 minute impact
24 November 2021
Veerle Seymus
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Speed date mentoring: learning on steroids
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True to ADM's mission 'Share and Connect,' ADM youngsters met Ambits business mentors for 2x 20 minute-mentoring sessions about their challenges as young leaders.
It was most refreshing to listen to this bunch of very engaged youngsters. Some after-thoughts of our mentors:
- Young potentials are eager to manage and lead but need the patience to learn the skills of the trade. Take the time to make mistakes, improve and try again.
- Even speed-date-mentoring can significantly impact: my mentees contacted me the day after they used the insights and tips from the session.
- The event format of presentation with speed-dates worked as a very natural warm-up for further networking afterward
- Mentoring is beneficial for both mentee and mentor: there is value in helping others
- The younger generation is more aware of where they want to go professionally. A mentoring story fits them much better than generic leadership training.
- These young people are much goal-oriented in achieving career moves
- They are eager to learn but want to learn in a pragmatic, hands-on way
Thank you, ADM, for allowing us to show the power of mentoring.
And also a big thanks to our enthusiastic mentors Anke, Ronald, Suki, David, Henk, Valerie, Dries, Jürgen, Wim, Bart, Kris, and Stefaan.
Let's do this again!
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Listen to mentor Anke Vande Velde
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Listen to mentor Jürgen Heyman
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Listen to mentee Dries Pieters
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Listen to mentee Isabelle Poskas
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Listen to mentee Katleen Coppens
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Struggles of a manager
Managers are
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- lack self-confidence
- don’t know how to go from being a colleague to being a boss
- need to loosen up on the command & control leadership style
- must let go of the (technical) expert status
- cannot give or accept constructive feedback
- feel pressure to perform as manager
- have difficulty building relationships
- want to be liked by everyone or want to be the ‘bad boss’
- play the hero
- …
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- stay too involved in operations
- have trouble prioritizing
- cannot delegate
- fear conflict situations
- disconnect from the team
- deal with flawed strategic thinking
- do not relate to higher management
- lack clear communication skills
- remain not self-aware
- avoid difficult conversations
- miss political antennas
- ...
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- need mental preparation as successor
- need to be able to lead big changes ahead
- need to learn to be emotionally resilient and in control
- need to learn to make big decisions fast without all the information
- must become persuasive presenters
- need to learn how to cultivate their own personal brand
- need to learn how to lead by example
- manage by trust, not by fear
- need to overly develop empathy
- ...
