1.
EPWN Marseille-Provence
MENTORING programme
What is mentoring?
Mentoring is a relationship between an expert who is willing to share her
knowledge and experience with one or more mentees who want to learn from this
expertise and profit from her guidance to develop personal or professional skills.
EPWN mentors offer their mentoring services pro bono.
Mentoring basics
Defined goals
One of the most powerful ways of using a mentoring opportunity is for the
mentee to progress towards a defined goal. This well-known approach assumes
some or all of the following:
• The clear definition of goals is important for making personal and/or
professional progress.
• A goal can be defined before beginning the mentoring relationship or early in
the process.
• The chosen mentor is qualified to work with the mentee in the area of the
agreed goal.
• The mentee will progress towards the goal faster with encouragement from the
mentor.
• An agreed upon goal will remain more or less as defined for the duration of the
mentoring relationship. Over time, a goal may change.
• The success of the mentoring relationship depends, at least partially, on the
achievement of the stated goal.
Trust and confidentiality
Trust and confidentiality are important in a mentoring relationship. Several rules
must be followed during the relationship:
• Trust includes absolute discretion about anything discussed between mentor
and mentee.
• Trust includes honesty from both the mentor and mentee.
• Trust also includes business confidentiality as far as the protection of ideas and
other intellectual property that either the mentor or mentee share in the context
of mentoring sessions.
• A mentee also needs to feel that her mentor respects her own development
pace and style, and can be trusted not to push or cajole inappropriately, for
example, on sensitive topics.
• Disclosure builds trust in a mentor-mentee relationship. It is the reaction to the
disclosure in terms of its appropriateness and affirmation of the other person that
contributes to the kind of active trust that encourages further disclosure. The aim
is honest disclosure; however, there is no obligation to reveal details that are
considered too private.
• The Mentoring Agreement (APPENDIX F) can establish the structure of a
mentoring relationship and can be a vehicle for building trust around the issue of
time management.
• It is important that both the mentor and mentee can be trusted to be on time
for a meeting, demonstrating both respect and commitment to the relationship.

2.
One-on‐one mentoring
One-on-one mentoring provides a great opportunity to learn about ourselves and
our skills, goals, needs and priorities. We may learn more about how we react to
challenges and criticism, and how we communicate our experience, knowledge
and achievements. The privacy of a one-on-one mentoring relationship can
provide the safest place to explore such issues. We can change our approach and
behavior as we enhance our understanding via the point of view of a respected
mentor. Being open to change-related learning of this kind should be a
prerequisite for a mentoring relationship. New ways of thinking about our choices,
past and present, may arise or be proposed, and it is important to create a
framework of honest self-appraisal to accept, or at least consider, new ways of
approaching situations. In addition, the mentor and the mentee may even
operate in the same industry or sector. If this is the case, the mentor could
provide introductions or advise the mentee on specific challenges.
The difference between mentoring, coaching and teaching
A mentor, a teacher and a coach may all work towards the same goals; however,
their methods for achieving these goals differ. In a mentoring relationship, the
mentee asks the mentor to share information, knowledge, experience and advice.
Usually, this happens in a format of questions and answers. It is usually a two-
way conversation. Many mentors try to be a coach; however, that is not the
intention of mentoring. Most mentors are not qualified as coaches. A teacher may
provide the necessary knowledge, theory, experience and tools as she sees fit in
order to help a student achieve her goals. Often, teaching is a one-way
conversation from the teacher to the student. In a coaching relationship, a coach
asks specific questions to draw the right answers out of the coachee in such a
way that the coachee becomes aware of a behavior or a need, usually leading to
valuable insights that may change a specific behavior. The coach provides skills
for the coachee to reach her goals. Within EPWN, there are a large number of
certified coaches who can combine mentoring and coaching to help the
mentee/coachee.
The Matchmaking process
The matching process for one-on-one mentoring begins with completion of the
mentor/mentee profile forms (see APPENDIX A and APPENDIX B). As long as the
mentee has been explicit in her requirements for a mentor, and the mentors have
been explicit in the assistance they can provide to a mentee, this process should
not be difficult.

3.
Matching criteria
• Industry sector: From a career perspective – does the mentee want her mentor
to be within the same industry? For a mentee who is interested in a mentor
within the same industry, this can provide a great opportunity to learn about
growth within the industry and future opportunities. Additionally, it can be
important for a mentee who is considering changing her industry to have access
to someone in the new sector to confirm whether this may or may not be a
good fit for her. This is a hugely valuable resource for mentees, as it can help
to prevent someone from making a potential mistake in her career path – or
alternatively, can lead her to a new career!
• Skills and tools needed: Does the mentee specifically want leadership advice or
mentoring? Or would she like advice about the politics of an industry? Or what
does she need to know about addressing an executive board?
• Education: What level of education does the mentee have? Should she be
matched with someone who can provide assistance in finding the right level of
education she needs for her career? Additionally, if a mentor and mentee have
attended the same university, or if they worked together, there can be an
automatic connection in the relationship.
• Current role/title and future ambitions: A mentee's current role/title and future
ambitions are the areas that are the most important information needed to
make a good match. The current career level of the mentee and her future
career path can also help to match the mentee to a mentor who can help her
take the next step in her career.
Matching process
The matching process can take some time to get the right match. The Mentoring
Matchmakers spend a lot of time studying the profile forms to try to make a good
match. The process is difficult, especially matching those who may have never
met before. Unless there is a specific reason why the match cannot work (e.g.,
the mentor and mentee work for competitor companies), the Mentoring
Matchmakers would ask the mentors and mentees to meet and explore the
potential for a relationship between themselves.
Once the matchmaking process is complete, a event launching the programme
will introduce the pairs, give some guidelines, answer the questions and help the
pairs to start their mentoring relationship.
The mentoring relationship
The Mentee
Who is she and what is she looking for?
A mentee is a more junior person looking for a transfer of knowledge gained
through the experience of the mentor. She looks for guidance, empathy and
flexibility from the mentor. The objectives of the mentee should be discussed at
the matching event and the first one-on-one meeting, either virtually or face-to-
face. Trust and confidentiality should be discussed (see the section on Trust and
confidentiality).
What should the mentor know about the mentee?

4.
When the mentor has a full picture of the mentee at the beginning of your
relationship, you can better understand the context in which the mentee works
and lives, and therefore understand her questions and needs better.
Some suggested questions for the mentor to ask during the introductory meeting
are
listed below.
• What is your nationality and cultural background?
• What is your job history?
• What is your national/international educational background?
• What is your current country of residence?
• In which countries have you lived and for how many years did you live in each
country?
• What are the nationalities and cultural backgrounds of your managers and of
some your colleagues/team members?
• Do you live with a partner or are you single?
• Is your partner from the same cultural background?
• If not, is your partner European or from another cultural background
(e.g.,American)?
• Why did you move to the country you currently live in?
• What industry do you work in?
• What type of mentoring are you interested in?
The Mentor
Who is the mentor?
Ideally, the mentor is a more senior person who is capable in realizing the
objectives of the mentee because of her experience and knowledge. It is
advisable that the mentor has experience in a higher ranking position in the same
sector as the mentee.
It is not advisable for a mentor to have only worked as an independent consultant
and/or an independent uncertified coach. In this specific case, the mentor does
not have the experience of working as an employee in a large organization and
may not be familiar with the dynamics involved in this environment. Of course it
all depends of the needs of the mentee!
What does the mentor have to offer?
The mentor should be open about what she can offer the mentee. She can refer
to her education, her experience in various jobs in different industries, the way
she built her career, her entrepreneurship, specific knowledge on a specific topic
or skill, etc.
Confidentiality should also be discussed (see the section on Trust and
confidentiality). The mentor should voluntarily provide information that is
necessary to build trust and understanding. This includes her experience in
business, but also includes personal details, such as whether she is married or
has children.
The mentee can ask any questions of the mentor that she thinks are relevant to
establishing the mentor-mentee relationship.