Mentoring is rewarding for both the mentee and mentor. Establishing a working relationship with a colleague at KBR helps develop a deeper sense of connection and purpose and allows us to pay it forward to others as they grow their careers. While sponsorship is very focused on driving visibility and progression, mentoring can be more focused on individual development and growth, building on strengths and fostering development even within a business unit or discipline. Mentoring is not necessarily about visibility and progression, but about personal and professional growth and development. As with sponsorship, mentoring supports KBR’s commitment to being an inclusive and diverse employer of choice and deepening our EVP.

Mentoring is a collaborative relationship between an employee and a more senior person that provides the mentee with insight and support to reach their career goals and develop specific competencies that support their career direction. Mentors dedicate time to assist mentees to gain a broader perspective, make smart business decisions, and overcome workplace challenges. While mentoring may include aspects of coaching, it is worth noting that coaching can occur in any workplace relationship for the purpose of providing performance feedback and improvement, while mentoring is a longer-term commitment to sustained growth and development. Mentoring is most often outside of the direct manager/employee line and takes a larger career growth perspective for building networks, establishing credibility and navigating the organization for success.

Mentoring provides several important inputs for the mentee: career guidance, organizational navigation, learning and network expansion. There is no script for the mentor/mentee relationship, but it should develop around the mentee’s career aspirations and development goals, so that time spent together helps the mentee expand and become more effective.