Mentee Romana Prochazkova had already had experience with mentoring before joining our Mentoring program, and therefore knew it would be beneficial to her. Romana and her mentor Veronika Dvorakova were both fully committed to their mentoring sessions, which enabled them to build a trusting relationship. With Veronika’s help, Romana was able to make her return from parental leave and living abroad even more successful and get fully back into the business mindset. Find out more about their journey together in this interview.

Becoming a mentor is a great way to give back while also continuing your own growth and learning. However, there are many myths that might cause you to think twice before applying to join a mentoring program as a mentor. From fears that you aren’t experienced enough to concerns that it will take up too much of your time, we’re debunking five of the most common myths about mentoring.

Mentee Petra Sebkova found out about the Mentoring program through attending a Femme Palette event and thought she would give it a try. When she got matched with her mentor Maria Loparcakova, they were able to establish a genuine connection and build a trusting mentoring relationship. Thanks to that, Petra was able to gain a new perspective and grow professionally, but Maria also benefited from the program as a mentor. Come meet this mentor-mentee duo and learn more about their mentoring journey.

We spoke to three of our Femme Palette mentors working in HR roles — Olga Castillo, Becca Garner, and Nicolas Bowles — about why companies hire people with mentoring experience.

Mentoring can take shape in many different ways — from informal career chats and advice to internal programs at your company or global mentoring programs such as Femme Palette. No matter the format, being a mentor has many benefits including further developing your active listening, leadership, and feedback skills, just to name a few. However, sharing experience across companies, countries, and cultures provides even more value to both the mentor and mentee. 

Lisbhit England signed up for our Coaching and Mentoring program. After working with a coach first, she got matched with her mentor Lucia Belkova and they clicked instantly. And despite this being Lucia’s first time mentoring fully online, they managed to overcome this challenge through transparency and building trust. In their interview, Lis and Lucia open up about their mentoring journey, what surprised them, what they learned and what were their favorite parts of it all.

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.