I signed up for the IoIC Mentoring Programme at the beginning of my IC career about a year ago, at the suggestion of my line manager, who also took part in the programme when she was coming up through the ranks. I felt particularly lucky to have been matched with my mentor, Sam, who actually works at the IoIC itself – I knew this would be insider IC knowledge at its best!
I was somewhat hesitant to commit to the programme at first. As a natural introvert, I felt daunted by long calls, solely about work (in a role I was brand new to), with a virtual stranger. But I’m so glad I pushed myself to sign up. My mentor and I aim to meet for an hour once a month – or as much as we can, depending on both of our heavy workloads. I feel I’ve benefited from the programme and have found myself genuinely enjoying our chats.
The time flies by as we compare our (very) different perspectives. I work for a research company, made up of around 2,000 employees globally; while Sam works at IoIC HQ, with eight employees. Coming from such different industries, we have very different experiences of IC in our respective roles, but at the same time, we face many of the same challenges and have many of the same goals. It's valuable to me to be able to hear about a totally different side of IC to the one I started in and have grown so used to. To be able to talk through a problem and receive solid advice from an outsider’s perspective has helped me to excel in my role; I've been able to form a more well-rounded idea of what IC is and can be.
The mentoring programme has also allowed me to feel much more connected to the community of internal communicators. Though we work with a variety of stakeholders, IC can be a role that’s somewhat detached from the rest of the business. Having to communicate for the C-suite, HR, and a multitude of other teams within the business, while working on engagement and always having to be the one to question how and why things are being done or communicated in a certain way, can be challenging and isolating – especially when you’re part of a small team (as in my case, there’s just three of us). But with the relationship I’ve built through the mentoring programme, and tuning into IoIC round tables and webinars, I feel like I’m part of a much bigger team – the team of internal communicators.
I plan to continue to benefit from the mentoring programme for as long as I can – until my mentor gives me the boot! – as I don’t see a point in time when such a supportive relationship of sharing different perspectives, experiences, challenges and goals, won’t be beneficial.
