All of us can recall someone whose experience and example transformed the way we work. Perhaps it was a more experienced colleague who shared their knowledge willingly, a line manager who helped them take on new challenges, or someone who fostered a new way of doing things.
We grow personally and professionally thanks to people who share the experience and knowledge they have accumulated over time. People who broaden the way we think about things and eventually become reference points for us. This exchange of experiences helps us to avoid errors, get a better perspective, and take on challenges more confidently.
The learning that emerges from observing, listening and sharing experiences is precisely the essence of mentoring: una relación que permite transmitir conocimientos y acompañar en el desarrollo a otras personas, generando un impacto que va más allá de la formación formal.
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Homer’s epic poem “The Odyssey” tells the story of Odysseus’ (Ulysses) return journey to Ithaca after the Trojan War. Before leaving for the war, he had entrusted the care and education of his son Telemachus to his faithful friend Mentor.
The word “mentor” has its origins almost 3,000 years ago, in Homer’s “The Odyssey”.
Mentor does not represent the figure of a teacher who instructs, but of a guide. He does not replace Ulysses in the role of father but becomes Telemachus’ tutor and helps him develop. He inspires Telemachus through example, dialogue, and reflection, and helps him mature to take on new responsibilities and strengthen his self-reliance and critical spirit.
Indeed, this is the value of Mentor’s role. More than transmitting knowledge, he provides Telemachus with the experience of having lived through similar situations. He helps him think more clearly, prepare himself to take on the challenges he will find in his life, and deploy his potential.
Over time, the word “mentor” has been used to describe a person who shares their experiences, guides another person, and contributes to their growth. Long before it became a practice fostered by organisations, a form of learning based on the transmission of experiences was already in place. Nowadays, we call this approach ‘mentoring’.
Not everything we need to develop as people is learned in a classroom or from a manual. Some knowledge is acquired through experience: holding a difficult conversation, dealing with uncertainty or facing up to an error. Fortunately, it is not always necessary to experience each situation in the first person for it to be transforming. And herein lies the value of mentoring.
We learn by watching how people around us act, interpreting their decisions and learning lessons from errors and successful outcomes. The psychologist Albert Bandura explained this through the concept of vicarious or observational learning. Adopting a leader's communication strategies, resolving conflicts peacefully, or understanding how a colleague manages to establish priorities when everything seems urgent are examples of silent learning that take place in organisations every day.
A mentor does not just transmit knowledge; they put their experience at the service of another person to help them walk a path that they have already travelled.
A mentor does not just transmit knowledge; they put their experience at the service of another person to help them walk a path that they have already travelled. Sometimes they do it in a conversation; at other times, simply through their example. In both cases, individual experience becomes collective learning.
It is precisely in these situations that one of the most valuable assets of organisations and professions comes to the fore: tacit knowledge. Informal processes, market-specific features, ways of dealing with unexpected events, or working styles acquired over the years emerge in conversations but are difficult to transmit through procedures and manuals.
Nowadays, the relationship between the mentor and mentee (the person guided by the mentor) can take on many forms: formal, informal, in groups, pairs, or even in the reverse direction. Aware of the benefits of mentoring, many organisations drive structured mentoring programmes. Regardless of the form, the aim is the same: to take advantage of the knowledge of people who are more experienced in a particular area to drive the professional development of others.
Some mentors who have worked in the field have never participated in mentoring programmes nor do they define themselves as such. They have shared, in a generous way, what they know with others who needed that knowledge.
Some people do not specifically set aside an hour in their agenda to carry out different types of mentoring. They do it on a daily basis, as they work, with a cup of coffee or when they join a meeting. These are small gestures that rarely appear in a development plan, but they leave a lasting mark. Small things that inspire us to improve our performance and grow in the process.
Think back to who taught you what you know today, and there will probably be nobody who played the role of mentor. Nevertheless, they were the people who taught you to flourish, to make your first decisions, to discover (and trust in) your abilities or who participated in your process of onboarding.
In general, and in our imagination, a mentor is someone with considerable experience, and we usually think that person is older than the one receiving the guidance. This is not always the case, however. In working environments that are constantly evolving, experience not only depends on the number of years. Nowadays, knowledge is renewed at unprecedented speed. In some cases, a person who has been in an organisation or a profession for a shorter time may be more familiar with computer tools, flexible methodologies or emerging trends such as Big Data or AI.
This is perhaps the greatest lesson from mentoring: nobody always occupies the same space.
Reverse mentoring, emerges from this reality, a notion that challenges the traditional idea that knowledge only flows in one direction. In it, junior professionals share their knowledge and perspectives with their senior counterparts. The result is learning that circulates in both directions.
This is perhaps the greatest lesson from mentoring: nobody always occupies the same space. In our professional careers, we all alternate in the roles of learner and reference person. For this reason, after asking ourselves, "who taught me what I am?", it is worth considering "who am I a mentor of?". The real professional influencer is someone who leaves a positive mark on others.
Graduated in Pedagogy from the National University of Distance Education (UNED), he has more than five years of experience in advancing professional careers and connecting talent with companies. He currently leads the Professional Development Department (Career Guidance, Training & Employment) at the Official College of Building Engineers and Technical Architects of Madrid.