AICR Switzerland Mentoring

The AICR Switzerland mentoring program for all members of the AICR Switzerland including Junior Club.

This program is free of charge and part of the services the membership is offering. The AICR certified mentors are committed to the AICR, their values and following European Ethical Mentoring Guidelines. They are all sharing the passion for the hospitality industry; the desire to pass on their knowledge and experience, utilising their network and all their competences in order to support and develop others.

If you are a Junior Club Member looking for a knowledgeable mentor to guide you through your next career step(s) or if you are an experienced manager looking for a partner to talk to or assist you in challenging times that arise, than the AICR and the mentors are here to support and guide you!

NEWS:

All News, Events and useful insight information on our BLOG: AICR International » AICR Mentoring Blog

New mentor on board: Julian Ferrante with “Peer Mentoring” (our mentors)

Coming up next: Mentoring Reverse: young employees support a senior partner, for example by passing on technical skills.

If you are interested in joining this programme as a mentor with the aim to enhance the project and if you share our passion to develop people in our industry, please contact: mentoring@aicr.ch

Mentoring: A general description

A mentor is someone who acts as a trusted advisor, support, teacher and wise counsel to another person (often called the mentee). A mentor provides support by offering information, advice and assistance in a way that empowers the person he/she is mentoring.

A mentor is committed to your success and yet not attached or invested in it. That means that whilst mentors hope that you gain a lot from your conversations and involvement with them, that what you do as a result of mentoring sessions is essentially your choice.

A mentor does not ‘own’ your circumstances or control your decisions. A mentor wants to empower you to be effective and gain the results you want. That means that ultimately the responsibility for the outcomes of mentoring is yours. That’s a good thing, because it means that you stay in charge, e.g. of your own decisions and actions.

Mentoring is defined by relationship more than behaviour:

Mentoring can be confused with other relationships, perhaps because of the many different guises/approaches a mentor can have. For example, some mentors will be more outspoken about their opinions and advice, whilst others will encourage you to decide for yourself.

All mentors draw on their individual experience, skills, wisdom and world-view, in order to support you with your situations and objectives. It is the intention and the nature of a mentoring relationship that defines it, rather than a fixed list of behaviours and skills.

• That mentors’ involvement is likely to include a sense of benevolence towards you, e.g. that they would like to support you to be successful. However, you decide what constitutes success – for you.
• That you are influenced by your mentor from a sense of commitment to the relationship and also respect for him/her as a person, e.g. what he/she has achieved, or his/her world view/outlook.
• That there is a natural emphasis upon the experience, opinions, knowledge and resources of the mentor, and those are used to inform or support the mentee. For example, you might be interested in how to approach your career/life decisions and be informed by how is the mentors’ attitude/approach to theirs.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mentorship

Special types of mentoring:

Peer mentoring is a relationship between people who are at the same career stage or age, in which one person has more experience than the other in a particular domain and can provide support as well as knowledge and skills transfer. Peer mentoring may be a one-on-one relationship or experienced in a group. The exchange is usually mutual, even if one member of the dyad begins in the traditional role of mentee, or learner, and the other in the role of mentor. For example, a newcomer to an organisation or industry may start off as the learner, but as the relationship develops s/he usually discovers s/he has something to offer the partner in terms of other experience. The relationship then develops into an environment for co-learning.
www.artofmentoring.net

Subjects of mentoring*

• Providing a qualified professional, a sparring partner for discussions or advice
• Providing tools to self-development and self-reflect
• Analysing reoccurring behaviours and patterns
• Assist in preparing for upcoming challenges
• Develop in your area of expertise, setting new goals and how to achieve them.
• Identifying strengths and areas of development.

• Offering advice (Juniors)
• Showing up possibilities (Juniors)
• Drafting career development plan (Juniors)

*analysing your needs, subjects and length of monitoring is discussed during the first session and always depends on the specific situation of the mentee.

How to get started

The procedure in order to set up a fruitful relationship for mentor and mentee is:

After you identify your mentor, please contact him/her using the direct email or send your general inquiry to mentoring@aicr.ch for further information.

Before coming to an agreement and starting the mentoring program the mentor and mentee will need to plan a first session – an introductory interview either personally or online between you and your potential mentor. This first session will help to clarify whether you are on the same wave. In addition the meeting aims to identify the duration and the frequency of the cooperation. Both parties should have clear expectations and commitments.

Throughout the duration of your mentoring relationship – whether it is just one-off meeting or a long-term relationship – be assured that your personal data and all topics discussed are treated with absolute confidentiality.

All sessions should be recorded and filed from both sides in order to be most successful and as transparent as possible for later references.

How to get the most from mentoring

To maximise the benefits of mentoring requires both commitment and involvement from you. For example, much of the success that arises from the relationship will be gained from your actions between the conversations/sessions with your mentor. Here are some ways you might increase the success of your involvement with your mentor:

1. Prepare for sessions/conversation in advance, e.g. write a few notes as to what has happened since the last session and also what you would like to focus on in this time.
2. Get to know your mentor properly, e.g. his/her strengths, experiences, skills and also his/her worldview. Look for potential wisdom or learning in that for you, e.g. how is that relevant to your own situation and circumstances?
3. Be willing to accommodate differences in opinion or mind-set as a natural part of any relationship. For example, if you disagree with your mentor’s approach to a situation, remain objective about that (as something that is valid and yet less relevant for you).
4. Work to promote openness and trust in the relationship, e.g. by being open and trustworthy yourself.
5. Stay flexible as to ‘how’ the mentoring relationship develops, e.g. avoid being attached as to how a mentor ‘should’ be or how he/she actually provides support. Make efforts to remain constructive as to how you regard your mentor’s involvement and support.

As in life, the efforts you put into your mentor-relationship are likely to be rewarded in direct proportion to the benefits you experience from that. By preparing a little in advance, by staying open and flexible and by maintaining a sense of personal responsibility for your results you will increase the likelihood of an enjoyable and rewarding relationship.