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BENELUX MENTORING PROGRAM EMPOWERING WOMEN

SOROPTIMIST EDUCATE TO LEAD Women in Finance & Law - Conference

January 18th 2017 Simone Polfer – National coordinator Mentoring Program

Union des Soroptimistes Luxembourg

Disclaimer : the view expressed and information displayed in this presentation represents my personal point of view and is not related to my job at the Ministry of Economy.

Who am I ?

Objectives / Take-aways :

- What is it being a “Soroptimist”

- Definition of “Mentoring” vs “Coaching”

- Why is Mentoring important to me?

- Learn about the Benelux Mentoring Program

Agenda

It is being a member of a service club of professional women and businesswomen.

Soroptimist International is a global volunteer movement working together to transform the lives of women and girls.

Its network of over 75,000 club members in 133 countries and territories works at a local and international level to Educate, Empower and Enable opportunities for women and girls.

What is it being a Soroptimist?

Luxembourg counts 10 clubs

www.soroptimist.lu

The Netherlands count 103 clubs

http://www.soroptimist.nl/

Belgium counts 57 clubs

http://www.soroptimist.be/

Soroptimist Benelux

Soroptimist project example

School for 400 children Centre San Marco in Kanombé Rwanda

What are the goals and what is the mission of Soroptimist International?

Goals : - The advancement of the status of women

- Promote high ethical standards - Human rights for all

- Equality, development and peace and - The advancement of international understanding

goodwill and peace

Mission :

Transform the lives and status of women and girls through education, empowerment and enabling

opportunities.

Definition of Mentoring

Developing a person‘s skills and knowledge so that their job performance improves, hopefully leading to the achievement of organisational objectives. It targets high performance and improvement at work, although it may also have an impact on an individual‘s private life. It usually lasts for a short period and focuses on specific skills and goals

Source : Chartered Institute of Personal Development (CIPD) https://www.cipd.co.uk/

Mentoring vs Coaching

• Mentoring A mentor is

transmitting his or her experience in a specific area to somebody who is looking for this experience.

A mentor is generally

not paid A mentor should always

be older than the mentee

• Coaching

A coach is a professional and therefore coaching is a paid service

A coach makes use of

a professional methodology

The way a coach asks

questions provides new insights to his client

Mentoring a career catalyst

Mentoring

Career relevant Benefit from exchange

and counselling Learn how to develop

career strategies Grow your own

network through valuable contacts

Personality relevant

Better sense of self Increasing self-

esteem Exchange of

experience Getting valuable

feedback, advice

Factors of Success - Mentoring Mentees

l Openess and willingness to learn

l Self-responsibility and competence to activly shape the mentoring

l Pro-activity l Realistic expectations

Mentors l Time- and energy l Personal involvement l Readiness for exchange,

passing on knowledge and experience, feedback

l Opening doors for contacts and networks

Mentoring-Tandem l Trust, Respect & Loyality l Clarifying the expectations

of each other l Engaging agreements l Confidentiality

Why is mentoring important to me?

In Luxembourg the political goal is that 40% of women should sit on boards by 2019...

Today:

- 11% of women sit on boards of listed companies (EU : 16% in 2012) - 15% of women sit on boards of companies in which the Luxembourg State is a shareholder - 19,22% of women sit on boards of public institutions - 25% of directorates are led by women in the public administration

A Female Board Pool has been put in place since 2010 : http://www.female-board-pool.org/de/

Positive actions by the governement : http://www.mega.public.lu/fr/index.html

Why is mentoring important to me?

I perceive it as my duty as a civil servant at the Ministry of Economy to

help young women open doors, benefit from my network and personal

experience.

I have mentored 2 young professional women so far and 2 young

students. It is very rewarding experience intellectually and on a

personal base.

Mentoring helps me structure my work too, reflect on it.

As Mentor you train your personal leadership skills and listening skills

Mentoring brings positive feedback from the mentee, recognition.

I would like to contribute to our Governement‘s goal to reach gender

equality

Why is mentoring important to me?

Source : Positive Action Campaign by the Ministry of Equal Chances Luxembourg

Goals of the Benelux mentoring program

The goal of the Benelux mentoring program is to empower women who are looking to take leadership in their career by working on the needed skills early in the career.

The Benelux Mentoring program helps you to develop the skills needed to advance your career:

Developing communication style and impact,

Understanding the company culture,

Working on interpersonal skills,

Developing one’s career road map,

Having a role model,

Navigating through the obstacles,

Learning to identify twists and turns to negotiate along the road,

Recognize the value of a good Network, engaging into networking, …

Benelux Mentoring Program Process – 5 phases

DESIGN Audience Goals & Objectives Format

ATTRACT

Recruitment Training

CONNECT GUIDE Mentoring MEASURE

Success User profiles Matching

Workflows Check points Learning

MENTORING PROGRAM WITH IMPACT

Starting date : September 2017 – June 2018 (duration: 9 months)

Content : 3 international training sessions (BE/NE/LUX)

1. Session : 29-30 September 2017, Belgium Kick-off : Introducing mentoring, roles, expectations & success factors – Career planning I – Self-assessment and setting goals – Team-building and networking

amongst mentees and mentors

2nd Session : 2-3 February 2018, Luxembourg Reflection : Mid-term reflection of the mentoring process – efficient

communication and conflict negotiation – leadership in times of crisis

3rd Session: 8-9 June 2018, Netherlands Closing : final reflection of the mentoring process, Career planning II, Self-PR and

business networking, Work-life balance – Closing together with the mentors

Benelux Mentoring Program

Interested to become a MENTOR or MENTEE in the

BeNeLux Mentoring Program:

Feel free to write a short email to : Mrs Rita Knott

Executive Coach & Mentoring Expert at knott@pt.lu

www.ritaknott.com cc: to Simone Polfer : spolfer@pt.lu

Luxembourg Coordinator

Thank you for your attention

Thank you for your attention

Thank you for your attention