Why you need a mentor in your life.

There are times as a crew member, no matter how senior your position and how many years of experience, when it’s difficult to know where to turn when you need advice. It could be career related, a professional, personal or ethical dilemma, your training, your future plans, a business idea, or your own professional development.

Finding a mentor isn't easy, someone who is truly committed to being available to supply intelligent, informed, advice without agenda, Someone who has “been there and done it” who will challenge you as well as support you, with the benefits of their own experience and knowledge.

For the uninitiated, the idea of seeking a mentor, is to find someone that has specific skills in your sector and who has the experience to help an individual to develop and grow within their career, supplying time, wisdom and direction. In my capacity as a professional mentor, I help crew find solutions to their career, training, business and sometimes personal challenges, finding pathways and resources to lead them to successful outcomes. The aim being to enable them to find clarity and motivation to achieve their goals, not only in their current careers but forward onto life beyond yachting.

At times it can be a very careful balance, my role is to seek to add perspective and insight to help solve a dilemma, issue or decision that an individual is facing. By taking the wrong line of approach it would be easy for me to undermine the line of command on a vessel, rather than seek to give the individual the tools to deal with a situation professionally. Sometimes there is no perfect answer, the nature of the industry means that the issues I discuss with a mentee can kick up real moral and professional dilemmas, where tough decisions have to be made as to whether the response is one that would reflect the individuals personal moral and professional code, or one that retains their job.

Being a mentor is both a privilege and a challenge, I am acutely aware of the responsibility, especially when it comes to major decisions. But it’s not all a one way process, it’s a hugely rewarding experience for me too. A good mentor/mentee relationship is full of debate and conjecture, where both parties learn so much through each interaction. I love the work, following crew through their careers and watching them grow as individuals, meeting up having a glass of wine and laughing about their stories and experiences, the highs, the lows the cock ups, and the triumphs….. its all a huge pleasure. Even the whatsapp messages at 4am in the morning when someone “forgets” the time zones. On a more serious note it also gives me an extraordinary window on to the day to day reality of life onboard, and the collaboration of a group of professionals who support and underpin the work I do to effect positive and proactive change within the sector.

If you think it is something that would enhance your professional life, then please take a look at my testimonials, and get in touch.