Do you remember a teacher, a coach or a former boss who did something that changed the trajectory of your life? This is your chance to do that for someone else. Not every mentoring partnership has to be life changing to be beneficial, but every mentor can have the potential to instigate surprising change.

Usually, though not always, mentors end up working with younger mentees. Different generations think and act differently. If you are to be an effective leader, you need to understand how younger generations see things and where they can make a difference to the organisation. The intimacy of a mentoring relationship offers a unique insight into these generational differences.

Sharing your insights, learning and networks with younger colleagues, and those of many different backgrounds, can help to grease the organisational wheel. Stepping up the pace and increasing productivity helps everyone within the organisation – including you.

Learning how to work with people with whom you do not have a natural connection, demonstrating patience with those in need of guidance and support, helping people figure out the best path forward: all trademarks of a great leader AND skills honed through mentoring. The more you work at leadership on a one-to-one basis, the more you will improve in larger group settings.

Studies have shown that focusing on diversity and inclusion can have a positive impact on both innovation and success. When it comes to decision making, diverse groups are more likely to outperform non-diverse groups and individuals. Concentrating on building cultures of diversity and inclusion within schools will support and empower minority students and employees as well as build their network and increase leadership succession. The benefits of mentoring are endless, but when mentoring is utilised for the purpose of improving diversity and inclusion, it can truly make an impact.

Just in case you are thinking that all this talk of leadership and learning is a soft sell, let’s dish up some hard facts. Between 2010 and 2015 Sun Microsystems studied the career progress of over 1,000 employees. People who had acted as mentors were SIX TIMES more likely to be promoted than those who did not, and 20% more likely to get a raise. These results show the benefits of mentoring, should you decide to enrol in our mentorship programme.

Becoming a mentor can have beneficial effects on not only you as the mentor but your mentee as well. Mentoring has been shown to improve leadership success within the workplace, this is done by broadening networks and enhancing skill sets. Mentoring with a focus on diversity and inclusivity works to support not only minority students and employees but the entire organisation. By becoming a mentor with ECIS, you can take part in encouraging more minority individuals to take on leadership roles. Many organisations are using mentoring to increase gender and ethnic diversity in leadership roles.

Mentoring is a unique opportunity to step outside your normal circle of friends and social media’s echo chamber to gain an intimate understanding of how the world looks through someone else’s eyes. As everyone comes from a different background and therefore each has a unique view of the world, it is most beneficial to include as many of these perspectives as possible, including those coming from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, all ages and all genders. New perspectives lead to fresh ideas, and who knows where fresh ideas could lead you?

While the benefits of mentorship are immense, working towards your own goals by mentoring someone from a younger generation or of a different cultural background than you requires self-analysis of strengths, weaknesses, and values. Both mentors and mentees are more self-aware as a result, than those who are not. Self-awareness was shown to be highly beneficial when it comes to career development.