My Mentorship Story - Michael Elder

Author: Michael Elder, Senior HR Advisor at Sobeys

I’ve been fortunate to have participated in eight separate mentoring relationships through the Human Resources Institute of Alberta and have appreciated each one. What has been particularly enjoyable is that I have worked with individuals that have run the gamut of career stages, from those still in post-secondary or those that had years of HR experience but from another country. Each has been beneficial in their own way.

Initially I had some self-doubt when I first was considering signing up. I found myself wondering “Do I have enough experience?” or “Can I really bring value to a developing HR professional?” Within a few meetings, I grew more and more comfortable with the topics of discussion, with the experience I possessed, and overall, with what I feel I could provide value wise. There is ultimately a reason that I’ve come back for seven additional mentoring relationships, as even years later I find myself enjoying them and the conversation.

From a mentor standpoint, there are many benefits to participating:

• Improving leadership skills – professionally I have had limited experience overseeing a team; through mentoring you are able to hone many of those skills. Being able to effectively listen, provide advice when needed, problem solve, and review options are all skills that are developed with mentoring. Knowing how to work with your protégé and have them determine the best solution with your support and through coaching is not a skill that most come by easily. I have found that this has already assisted me in my personal development and anticipate that it will only help me even more so in the future.
• Mastery of HR subjects – it is often said that to truly master a subject you need to be able to teach it. While not formal education, mentoring requires you to be able to distill your experiences into information that is relevant and interesting to your protégé. It makes you reflect, think through your accomplishments and skills and explain it in a beneficial way. This sort of teaching on relevant topics can clarify future career directions, prepare you for future interviews or advancement opportunities, and encourage you to participate in your own research as you look for more details on HR topics.
• Practicing problem solving in real world situations – depending on the stage of your protégé’s career, there is often opportunity to discuss challenging situations at work (in a confidential manner that does not disclose names and too many specifics). You may not have experienced these situations before, and it’s a fascinating way to consider what could be done in a similar case. Talking through contingencies prepares you should you run into them in the future, builds your problem-solving skills, expands your knowledge, and can serve as a satisfying “case scenario” to consider.
• Giving back to the profession – lastly, mentoring gives back to the HR Profession which only continues to grow in terms of professionalism and recognition. Reflecting on my career to date, I had many informal mentors that took an interest in my success, supported me, and gave advice that I still use regularly today. Participating in mentoring allows me to do the same and pay it forward to the future generation of HR Professionals that are just starting or coming into the workforce now.

Ultimately, for anyone considering becoming a mentor, I would strongly recommend giving it a try. You may be surprised by just how much information and support you can provide someone coming into the field, as well as how easy it can be to prepare for meetings. HRIA Alberta offers many supports as you are starting out, and by working collaboratively with your protégé, you’ll be able to create a mentoring relationship that will benefit both yourself as well as them. If you’re anything like me, cast aside your doubts and think to the benefits; you’ll be pleasantly surprised just how enjoyable it is. 

The views and opinions expressed in this blog post belong solely to the original author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of CPHR Alberta.