Olga Maximova has built a career in international diplomacy and crisis management, and after nearly a decade she shifted into mission-driven work, helping organizations secure sustainable funding and guiding women to grow with confidence and self-trust. As she says, “I don’t measure success only in money raised, I measure how confident my clients become, how boldly they can articulate their value, and how they grow as leaders.” Today, as a longtime mentor at Femme Palette, Olga supports women in defining their own meaningful version of life and leadership, grounded in self-sufficiency, resilience, and community.
Sharing your experience is an important part of mentoring and is an easy way to give back. Even with just a few years of experience, you’ve likely gained a lot of knowledge during that time that you can use to help inspire and guide someone through their personal and professional development journey. However, simply giving a monologue about your life and hoping it encourages your mentee to take action isn’t the best approach. Here are a few tips for sharing your experience so that it has an impact.
Mentoring is a two-way learning experience that can be a great way to improve your leadership skills. Anyone who has been in a leadership position knows that being a good leader isn’t always straightforward. While it’s important to understand your own leadership style and what motivates you as a leader, you’re not the only person involved in the equation. A big factor in being a great leader is how you work with other people to meet their needs. Mentoring outside of your immediate environment is an excellent way to learn more about how other people think, how they work, and what they need.
We asked Femme Palette mentor Danial Hassan for his recommendations and here are some of the top books he suggests mentors (and anyone looking to improve these skills) check out.
When mentee Glorybeth Castillo got laid off from her job, it was a major blow to her self-esteem. However, she decided to turn things around and signed up to the Femme Palette Mentoring program where she was matched with mentor Lucie Chmelikova. And within a few sessions, things started looking up.
Mentoring is a great way to give back by sharing what you’ve learned throughout your career and helping guide a mentee toward their goals. Maybe you’ve thought about being a mentor but aren’t sure where to begin. The good news is that you don’t need any formal mentoring experience to start, but there are several ways you can build up your mentoring experience and strengthen the skills you’ll need to be a great mentor. Here are a few ideas to help kick of your mentoring journey.
Mentoring is one of the popular development tools out there, yet not everyone is ready to take on this adventure. Some think that they are too old (or too young), some think they are not stuck in their career enough to start a mentoring relationship, others believe that relationship is too one-sided. All of the above are common myths in mentoring and are very untrue. I have talked with three Femme Palette mentors to define these myths and see the accurate picture.
Mentoring can be a transformative experience for everyone involved. But what makes a good mentor? While sharing your personal experience and guiding your mentee toward their goals is an essential part of being a mentor, it isn’t the be-all and end-all. Here are a few other key competencies to consider when deciding if becoming a mentor is right for you.
Even though our mentors are experts in their field, mentoring is a continuous learning journey for everyone involved. That’s why we recently invited our Chief Mentor,
Cristina Muntean, to answer some of the burning questions in our Mentor Community. An expert on mentoring, coaching, and strategic communications, here’s what she had to say about some of the hot topics on our mentors’ minds.
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