Mentoring is often talked about as something experienced people do to help someone earlier in their career. But the best mentoring relationships can offer something valuable on both sides.

In this episode, I’m joined by Will Dickinson from Premier Foods, Caitlin Cannon from Kinisla and Laura James from Tesco to talk about their experiences with the Flourish in Food mentoring scheme, as mentors, mentees and sometimes both.

We explore why having someone outside your own business can be so valuable. An external mentor can offer a different perspective; help you recognise blind spots and give you honest feedback without the dynamics that can sometimes come with conversations inside your organisation.

Caitlin and Laura share what mentoring has given them, including greater confidence, accountability and a way to build connections beyond their day-to-day roles. We also talk about how daunting networking can feel when you’re starting out and how mentoring can provide a much easier route into building relationships across the industry.

But mentoring isn’t only valuable for the mentee. Will shares why supporting someone else can help you recognise how much experience and knowledge you already have, while developing your own leadership and people skills at the same time.

One of the biggest misconceptions we challenge is that you need 20 years of experience before you can mentor somebody. Sometimes being just a few steps ahead means your experience is particularly relevant to someone coming through behind you.

We also look at how Flourish in Food matches mentors and mentees, why being clear about what you want from the relationship matters and the genuine friendships that can develop along the way.

Whether you’re looking for support yourself or wondering if you have something to offer as a mentor, you might have far more to gain from mentoring than you realise.

Timestamps

00:00 – Why external mentoring matters in food and retail
02:40 – How Flourish in Food started during lockdown
05:06 – A mentee’s experience and the value of support
07:55 – Moving from internal to external mentoring
10:11 – Getting honest feedback from outside your business
12:10 – Building confidence and your network
14:00 – What mentors gain from mentoring
16:02 – Connecting across generations and experiences
20:06 – Why you don’t need 20 years of experience to mentor
23:39 – Mentoring as development for future leaders
25:54 – Applying for a mentoring scheme
28:40 – Friendships and genuine connection
29:13 – Why supporting mentoring in food matters
32:26 – Advice if you’re sitting on the fence

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Featured Guests

Will Dickinson https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-dickinson-212b8881/

Caitlin Cannon, Assistant Brand Manager, Kinisla https://www.linkedin.com/in/caitlin-cannon-032333158/

Laura James - https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-james-669a99263/

Flourish in Food

The mentoring scheme discussed throughout this episode, connecting mentors and mentees across the food industry.

https://flourish-in-food.wixsite.com/website-1

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