I am not being flippant when I use the word game.. What I am doing is calling attention to the need for a strategic approach to building a career. Much like a game, many careers and workplaces have intricate rules, some written but many of them unwritten, that you learn over time and with experience. There is complexity, with choices and decisions that lead to different payoffs, requiring various degrees of risk, and a need to look a few moves ahead. You get the idea. Careers don’t just happen. It is this career complexity that can make mentoring so valuable.
This report showcases a unique approach to developing enabling ecosystems for staff. As the external mentoring and sponsorship expert I am delighted at the integration of my research and practice with the experience and wisdom of academics committed to enabling the development of all in their School. This report is applicable far beyond their School, and we are all keen for others to apply and build on this work in their own contexts. .
This publication is an educational and strategic tool to guide universities, and individuals working within universities, to address gender diversity and equality issues that may arise through currently informal sponsorship practices. We position sponsorship not as a formal ‘program’ to be implemented, as you may do with mentoring, but part of effective leadership development and practice.
Mentors bring great goodwill to their role as mentors. But that doesn’t mean they are skilled. It doesn’t mean they have thought about the different approaches to mentoring. It doesn’t mean they have thought about alternative ways of doing careers. It doesn’t mean they’ve had the opportunity to reflect on or mitigate their bias. It doesn’t mean they’ve had good mentoring experiences themselves to draw on.