Recognising the crucial role of mentoring in empowering entrepreneurs to navigate challenges and achieve sustainable growth, this series of ten modules will guide you through the essential Ten Steps to build and support a professional and high-quality Mentoring Program.

John Cull
Boris Tkachenko
Ana Gessaghi

YBI Mentoring Experts
Discussions available

Share within communities
Certificate

Certificate available
Total duration

5 hours
(10 x 30 minute modules)

Ten Steps to Mentoring Excellence explained:

Focused on building and supporting impactful Mentoring Programs.

Recognising the crucial role of mentoring in empowering entrepreneurs to navigate challenges and achieve sustainable growth, this series of ten modules will guide you through the essential Ten Steps to build and support a professional and high-quality Mentoring Program.

Our approach, refined through years of global experience and adapting to evolving realities, emphasizes matching volunteer business mentors with entrepreneurs at the 'point of readiness', facilitated by effective Mentoring Managers.

By the end of the ten modules you will be able to:

Understand the importance of the ten steps approach in delivering a quality mentoring programme.
Know where your programme is strong and where it needs to improve by completing & applying the self diagnostic tool for mentoring excellence.
Consider how the YBI mentoring approach can be adapted and applied in the local context of a members programme.
Engage critically & constructively with your stakeholders ensuring ‘what comes next is better than what you had before’.
Learn & grow more confidently in your role as mentoring manager/coordinator as a result of completing the programme & taking ownership for your learning & development needs.

00:00:04.320 --> 00:00:04.960

Building and

00:00:04.960 --> 00:00:08.560

running a successful mentoring program can be challenging.

00:00:08.760 --> 00:00:09.520

With mentoring

00:00:09.520 --> 00:00:14.560

being a familiar concept to many, it has many different interpretations.

00:00:14.800 --> 00:00:16.040

In simple terms,

00:00:16.040 --> 00:00:20.360

mentoring is about two people connecting and supporting each other,

00:00:20.640 --> 00:00:24.040

which is something that as human beings, we do all the time.

00:00:24.240 --> 00:00:29.520

For YBI we define business mentoring as voluntary, personalised support

00:00:29.640 --> 00:00:33.520

that helps young entrepreneurs develop their abilities and insights

00:00:33.680 --> 00:00:36.600

as they start and grow their own business.

00:00:36.600 --> 00:00:40.320

A formal and structured mentoring program is essentially trying

00:00:40.320 --> 00:00:44.200

to recreate the conditions of what often happens informally.

00:00:44.440 --> 00:00:46.040

Formal mentoring programs

00:00:46.040 --> 00:00:50.280

also create opportunities for those in vulnerable situations,

00:00:50.600 --> 00:00:55.160

or those who might not generally be able to access this type of support formally.

00:00:55.440 --> 00:00:58.840

That's why we've been harnessing the power of mentoring

00:00:58.840 --> 00:01:03.000

for years to drive impactful support for young entrepreneurs.

00:01:03.240 --> 00:01:07.920

In that time, we've helped design and launched numerous mentoring programs,

00:01:08.160 --> 00:01:11.840

many of which have become highly successful in empowering

00:01:11.840 --> 00:01:16.840

young entrepreneurs and their businesses with ongoing support and development.

00:01:17.240 --> 00:01:20.760

Far too often, we've seen programs that have only been

00:01:20.760 --> 00:01:24.520

focused on putting two people together and telling them to mentor.

00:01:24.840 --> 00:01:28.480

Through our work and the extensive experience of our teams

00:01:28.480 --> 00:01:30.520

of experts and members.

00:01:30.520 --> 00:01:33.400

We know that it all starts with great design

00:01:33.400 --> 00:01:36.400

work and with three values in mind.

00:01:36.520 --> 00:01:37.760

Quality.

00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:41.120

We work with a tried and tested, consistent approach

00:01:41.120 --> 00:01:46.120

based on our ten step mentoring model, which leads to mentoring excellence.

00:01:46.320 --> 00:01:47.640

Collaboration.

00:01:47.640 --> 00:01:52.760

We work with local needs and expertise and tailor our approach accordingly.

00:01:53.240 --> 00:01:56.400

And tenacity as we support the member

00:01:56.400 --> 00:02:00.240

to build a complete and sustainable program for the future.

00:02:00.680 --> 00:02:02.880

We also know through expertise

00:02:02.880 --> 00:02:06.480

that only preparing and training mentors is not enough.

00:02:07.880 --> 00:02:08.800

Mentees must

00:02:08.800 --> 00:02:12.760

also be given the space to learn what is expected, how

00:02:12.760 --> 00:02:17.240

the relationship will work, and how to get the most out of the relationship.

00:02:18.280 --> 00:02:21.280

Clearly manage the expectations from the start.

00:02:21.400 --> 00:02:23.920

Deliver huge value later.

00:02:23.920 --> 00:02:26.880

Through 1 to 1 bespoke support, mentees

00:02:26.880 --> 00:02:29.880

are able to access the skills and resources,

00:02:30.040 --> 00:02:34.520

develop their leadership abilities and foster professional connections.

00:02:34.840 --> 00:02:38.800

Whether you are new to mentoring or have been involved in delivering

00:02:38.800 --> 00:02:40.920

mentoring programs for some time.

00:02:40.920 --> 00:02:45.800

Our learnings will allow you to understand and assess your current situation

00:02:46.040 --> 00:02:49.840

and develop a successful and sustainable mentoring program.

00:02:50.080 --> 00:02:55.280

We have continually learned, developed and evolved our offer so that mentoring

00:02:55.280 --> 00:02:59.480

programs across the network can benefit from this journey to evolve.

00:02:59.520 --> 00:03:02.520

Good practice for running an effective program.

00:03:02.840 --> 00:03:07.680

Our mentoring materials are aimed at program managers who work directly

00:03:07.680 --> 00:03:12.360

with mentors and mentees, and wish to strengthen their development program.

00:03:12.880 --> 00:03:14.400

We encourage you to share

00:03:14.400 --> 00:03:18.120

your knowledge and insights through our mentoring community.

00:03:18.240 --> 00:03:22.160

As with all why our resources, we continually seek improvement

00:03:22.160 --> 00:03:23.440

and development.

00:03:23.440 --> 00:03:26.280

Therefore, if you spot an area for improvement,

00:03:26.280 --> 00:03:29.280

consider it an invitation to help us make it better.

00:03:29.400 --> 00:03:32.640

We look forward to hearing about your mentoring experiences

00:03:32.640 --> 00:03:36.120

and the impact of our mentoring resources on your work.

Ana Gessaghi

Ana Gessaghi has been supporting the YBI Mentoring team since 2014, working with Mentoring Program Managers from Latin Amercia and delivering Mentoring programmes for women in Asia and Africa.

Boris Tkachenko

Boris Tkachenko has been a key member of the YBI mentoring team since 2008, leading the way with International Mentoring Days and contributing to the SOS mentoring webinar series.

John Cull

John Cull has supported YBI with Mentoring since 2002 and was awarded the YBI Lifetime Mentoring Recognition Award at the Global Summit at The Hague 2022.

We extend our sincere thanks to YBI’s esteemed mentoring experts: Ana Gessaghi, Boris Tkachenko and John Cull. Whose deep commitment to the transformative power of mentoring continues to shape the success of young entrepreneurs across our global network. Their collective insights, drawn from decades of experience within the YBI community, have been instrumental in co-developing this refreshed mentoring module and associated learning tools for the EYE Academy. Together, we are raising the bar for mentoring excellence across the YBI network.