Me and my mentor: Synergy and feedback accelerate learning
Ever since Anders Bjertrup started his banking job, he has always believed that "the best way to learn is to have someone to turn to as a sounding board." So, when he was a newly appointed leader in 2016, he read about the opportunity to get an external mentor. He took the chance and signed up for the mentoring programme by Finansforbundet (the Finance Union) and KMP+ House of Mentoring. He was matched with mentor Kim T. Andreassen, at that time Senior Relationship Manager at SKAGEN funds.
Anders Bjertrup had previously been informally mentored by supervisors and team colleagues but soon discovered the synergy and benefits of the formal mentoring process:
"You start a process to achieve growth, you see how you are developing, and you are made aware of this development... especially when Kim points out my development, it works really well." Anders is a leader in Private Banking at Danske Bank, and as a mentee, he is the one who brings up topics or challenges he would like to discuss with his mentor, Kim.
They both consider this a perfect match, created by the programme manager from KMP+ House of Mentoring. Both come from a background in banking. However, they believe that this is not essential for creating a successful mentoring process. Their collaboration has provided learning and growth for both of them. Trust and credibility were quickly established between them, along with mutual respect, which according to Anders Bjertrup, is "what's needed for one to want to share the difficult things."
Kim T. Andreassen believes that one of Anders' strengths is that he has been good at being open and courageous, and not afraid to take new moves.
Benefits for the mentor
It is not just Anders Bjertrup who has gained from their collaboration. Kim T. Andreassen also feels enriched every time he leaves their meetings:
"My heart is set on helping others apply even more of their potential, and in the role of a mentor, I have a unique opportunity to contribute to the acceleration of the mentee's development – and the added bonus is that I learn a lot at the same time, based on the things the mentee brings into play."
Anders Bjertrup is new to the role of a leader, a situation Kim T. Andreassen himself has experienced, and it has been very motivating for him to follow the development that Anders has gone through.
"It gives me a thrill when I see other people succeed – happiness is when others succeed," says Kim T. Andreassen.
Officially, their mentoring collaboration has ended, but they still keep in touch, and Anders Bjertrup keeps Kim T. Andreassen informed about new developments. The time for reflection after the ending of the collaboration has been important for Anders Bjertrup, and one of the most important take-aways for him from their conversations is the principle of "meeting a question with a new question, instead of going on autopilot and answering it yourself."
The mentoring programme at Finansforbundet
The mentoring programme, in which Anders and Kim participated, was running at Finansforbundet from 2016 through 2021. KMP+ House of Mentoring designed and delivered the programme, which involved the network of Executive Business Mentors selected and trained by KMP+ House of Mentoring to ensure a professional approach to mentoring and the use of the Mentor’s Many Roles.
The Executive Business Mentor network at that time included nearly 50 experienced leaders from various types of companies and industries in Denmark – most with international experience.
When a member approached Finansforbundet wishing to have a mentor, the process began. A senior consultant from KMP+ House of Mentoring reviewed the candidate's application, looked for a suitable match among our Executive Business Mentors, and facilitated the first contact between the mentor and mentee. After this, the mentor and mentee were responsible for carrying out their collaboration with 8 meetings over 12 months – and many pairs chose to continue informally afterwards. Throughout their collaboration, they were supported with inspirational emails and ongoing evaluations to ensure that the match worked and that both mentor and mentee experienced learning and development through their collaboration.
Over the years, the programme has received fantastic evaluations – the following is an average of all mentee responses:
The mentor/mentee collaboration between Anders and Kim is a good example a great mentoring relationship – and at the same time, each relationship and learning has been unique, based on their match. In this way, mentoring is a unique and individually tailored learning process, which will always adapt to the individual mentee’s development and learning desires and the mentor’s experience and contribution in the collaboration.