SociaLink, which supports the Western Bay of Plenty social and community sector, is offering mentoring for managers and emerging leaders in not-for-profit organisations to help them grow staff capabilities.

SociaLink Mentoring Coordinator Leanne Rhodes-Robinson is keen to hear from anyone with leadership experience who can work with people such as general managers, centre managers and board chairs and who understands the joys and constraints of the not-for-profit sector.

Applications close on March 9, or when 12 places are filled.

“Sharing your experiences and expertise with others is a wonderful way to connect and give back to your community,” she said.

“The time commitment is not huge - over the six months, two group meetings and six meetings held monthly with your mentee.”

“Mentorship provides several benefits for both mentors and mentees. In addition to growing a mentee's career and providing them with crucial knowledge that will equip them to be better leaders, mentors also strengthen their own leadership and communication skills.

“This programme has been running for a few years and continues to achieve excellent results.”

Dave de Graaf, who works part time for Community Insights, mentored Luke Frame, a team leader at Sport Bay of Plenty.

“I’ve really enjoyed being part of the programme. It's a fantastic opportunity to support others and share experiences.

“My mentee mainly benefited from having encouragement and someone to bounce ideas off. Many times, they had already figured out the answer. They just needed it teased out by talking it through with someone.

“I think the programme helped them gain confidence in themselves and clarity in their own goals.

Dave and Luke met in person at Classic Flyers, which was conveniently near Dave’s engineering workplace.

“The mentoring programme strikes a great balance between structure and flexibility, making it easy to connect and build a meaningful mentoring relationship. It’s been a rewarding experience, and I’d highly recommend it to others,” Dave said.

For Marie Paterson, General Manager of Kura Kai which provides meals to families through schools, the mentoring programme has been invaluable.

“Having a mentoring programme like this available to non-for-profit organisations is invaluable,” she said.

“Being able to connect, share ideas, and learn from my mentor Annika Lane was great for my professional growth. Often you just need that one person to bounce ideas off, and SociaLink takes the time to match you with that person.

“The programme strikes the perfect balance between one-on-one mentoring and group interactions. I now recommend it to anyone in a leadership role.”

More details about the mentoring programme here: https://socialink.org.nz/learning/coaching-mentoring/

Register to be a Mentee: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeEjalsK0PBzMbbwrAGAgjDEkhCmkZ9XMZ5X1CZ1Gl_L2pvLw/viewform

Register to be a Mentor: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeRK27SWK0kFk49IVtjPGuBOr2pbVbWrqeA0k-AEwvsMSQ-Lg/viewform

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