On March 29th, I hosted the Aite-Novarica Women’s Network meeting on the topic of mentoring in insurance. We were joined by Lori Bernier (AVP of Group Protection Technology Strategy and Planning, Lincoln Financial Group), Lindsay Bottari (Senior QA Test Engineer, Electric Insurance Group), and Melissa Hunting (Project Manager, Global Indemnity) who shared their perspectives on the value of mentorship relationships in insurance.
Here are the key takeaways from our discussion:
Mentorships Are for More Than Just Career Advancement
When thinking about mentoring relationships, many people think of them as ways to help you on your career path and work toward career advancement. Research supports this as well, particularly when it comes to women in the workplace. Mentorships are proven to give female employees the tools they need to keep their careers on track, and participants in mentoring relationships are also promoted much more frequently than those without mentorships.
However, mentoring can serve a purpose outside of simply career advancement. According to Guider, workplace mentorship can help with several aspects beyond career development, including business success; employee well-being; and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Both mentors and mentees in mentoring relationships experience increased confidence, job satisfaction, and feelings of empowerment.
Mentorship Relationships Should Be Mutually Beneficial
In mentoring relationships, we often think of the benefits to the mentee, but the mentor can also gain positive impact from the relationship. Mentees can get help from mentors in navigating challenges in their personal and professional life, while mentors gain new perspectives that can help them in their own jobs and interactions.
Being a mentor can also help create a better team environment at work and provide an opportunity to learn about different operations in the organization.
Set Goals for Your Mentorship Relationships
Whether your mentorship relationship is through formal or informal means, understand what you want to get out of the relationship. Use your mentoring sessions as an opportunity to work through timely challenges, but setting goals per session, per quarter, or per year can help ensure you will get the most out of your mentorship relationship.
One of our guest panelists stated, “It’s also important to go into your mentoring sessions with a set of objectives as the mentor and mentee, what things you want to talk about, and what you want to get out of it.” Other panelists agreed that this can help mentees get the most benefit from the mentorship.
Our next Aite-Novarica Women’s Network virtual meeting will take place on April 19th at 2pm ET. The discussion, “The Impact of AI in the Workplace,” will be led by Aite-Novarica Group’s Head of Property & Casualty Insurance Martina Conlon and Senior Principal Carey Geaglone. More information is available here.
