Provided by members for members
Benefits of mentoring
Mentoring is the act of one individual sharing their knowledge, skills and experience with others, to help them develop and grow professionally or personally.
At CIH, we encourage reverse mentoring as this helps mentors and mentees gain a new insight into other fields, as well as social and cultural topics not necessarily picked up in traditional mentoring. This approach gives you the opportunity to gain insight into the importance of driving cultural change, learn digital skills and promote diversity.
Benefits of the program:
- Free and accessible to all members
- Grow your connections with members across CIH's network
- Completely confidential
- Get one step closer to achieving your career goals
- Gain insight and a fresh perspective on topics
- Support the culture of inclusion
- Build confidence, enhance your skills and advance your knowledge.
Online tools
We encourage collaborative learning through the platform by asking questions, challenging your mentor and/or offering support to your mentee.
Through the platform you can:
- Access a range of mentoring resources, such as bitesize videos and guides
- Find a mentor easily and quickly
- Schedule and attend meetings with your mentor/mentee
- Set goals and objectives
- Explore career progression opportunities
- Connect and build relationships with other members
- Take part in forum conversations
- Set up activity reminders and more.
Brett Sadler CIHCM | Chief executive officer, West Highlands Housing Association
I can't recommend getting a mentor highly enough. The ability to talk to a fellow housing professional who gets to know you well but doesn't work with you is invaluable. Having a mentor, I have been able to get some fantastic career advice and some much-needed sense checking on things that have cropped up where I've needed a second opinion.
Thinking of becoming a mentor?
Any current CIH member can become a mentor. We’ve listened to you and have removed some of the barriers to being a mentor to ensure we can deliver a diverse and accessible offer. Your membership will need to stay current for the duration of your mentoring partnership. You’ll need excellent communication and personal development skills and a sound understanding of professional development in a housing context.
Benefits include:
- Mentoring counts towards your continuing professional development (CPD)
- Forms part of the "significant contribution to the housing sector" required if you wish to become a CIH fellow
- It’s rewarding and empowering
- Grow and learn through collaborative learning
- Reflect on your own career and set your own goals and objectives
- Discover new ways of thinking and develop leadership skills
- Improve your interpersonal and communication skills
- Get a wider understanding of different organisations, industries, and job functions
- Gain new perspectives gained from listening to your mentee.
Becoming a mentor is a voluntary role in which you agree to support a fellow housing professional and CIH member. Mentors act as role models, motivators and sounding boards for the mentee.
In the mentoring platform, we have a range of bitesize video guides on how to mentor effectively, what is required and the steps to take.
A mentor's responsibilities include:
- Respecting boundaries and maintaining confidentiality
- Helping mentees set long-term career goals and short-term learning objectives
- Recommending learning and development opportunities
- Transferring knowledge in areas such as communication, critical thinking, responsibility, flexibility and teamwork
- Identifying strengths and areas for development
- Sharing experience and expertise
- Helping build a professional network, and where appropriate, drawing on your own contacts
- Acting as a sounding board for ideas
- Motivating and encouraging your mentee and building their confidence.
You’ll need to be able to commit time to talk with your mentee regularly and as this is a voluntary programme, please note that CIH is not able to cover any expenses you may incur.
It’s important to define your role as a mentor at the start of your mentoring relationship. Your role is not to be a counsellor or manager but will include:
- Providing impartial advice, sharing ideas and constructive, developmental feedback
- Assisting your mentee to establish realistic career goals with timeframes
- Identifying resources that help a mentee’s professional development and career growth
- Challenging your mentee to grow outside their comfort zone
- Focus on your mentee's development in the best way for them
- Sharing information gained from your own career and experiences
- Supporting the development of your mentee’s networks.
Carol Matthews CIHCM | Group chief executive, Riverside Group Ltd
I have mentored a lot of people over the years, and sometimes those mentees have turned into friends.
Are you looking for a mentor?
Mentoring is open to all CIH members to help you implement effective career development strategies at a time of rapid change in the housing world. The programme offers mentees a useful framework to help explore their career possibilities and identify relevant development opportunities, guided by a qualified and experienced colleague from the housing sector.
It can be of significant benefit to:
- Members who are new to housing and want to explore their career possibilities
- Members looking to develop their skills and knowledge or fill gaps
- Managers looking for higher-level career development opportunities.
Working with a mentor can help you to increase your personal knowledge and understanding of housing, obtain advice, help and encouragement in establishing your own career development plan and provides a confidential and safe environment in which to do so.
As a mentee, you need to be ready to work with your mentor to get the full benefit from mentoring. You should:
- Make a commitment to your own personal development
- Accept that it is your responsibility to set the agenda for your mentoring relationship
- Have an open mind and a flexible approach to learning and development opportunities
- Be open and honest about your behaviour and feelings so that you can take feedback constructively.
A mentee's responsibilities include:
- Driving the relationship
- Setting clear goals and objectives for the relationship
- Communicating work experience and interests
- Preparing for each meeting, following suggested guidelines and identifying relevant discussion topics
- Being receptive to advice, constructive feedback and new ideas
- Following up on set development activities.
At meetings or conversations, your mentor will expect you to take the lead in setting the agenda. For example, by bringing issues you have in your working life to the meeting, identifying problems you have experienced or outlining possible solutions you would like to talk about.
Before each meeting you should make sure you’re fully prepared:
- Review your last session
- Remind yourself of goals you agreed on at the last session
- Make sure the work you agreed has been completed
- Note interesting experiences (good as well as bad) that have occurred since your last meeting
- Note any questions you have.
Eden Bailey CIHCM | Head of housing services, Hft Ltd
Being a mentee is an excellent experience of gaining expert knowledge and assistance from a well-experienced mentor. I was able to get my new job because of the help of my mentor.
