Mentoring and Motorbikes
You might think that mentoring and motorbikes is a strange combination of topics, especially from an HR Consultant. However, as many of you know, I am a keen motorcyclist (together with my husband and sons!). So how did I get into motorcycling, and what’s the relevance to mentorship? Let me give you some context…
When I take off my business attire, I put on my protective motorbike gear. I then get onto my Z900 Kawasaki sports bike and, whenever possible with my husband and/or sons, we go for a ride. We often ride for a couple of hours on our bikes. Although this could be a stressor for some people, this is my form of stress relief (or mid-life crisis perhaps!).
With my work clothes back on, I am able to develop and mentor people and run programmes that enable others to mentor people. This is one of my favourite parts of being a HR Consultant.
So, how are my two passions aligned? I am an Advanced Motorcyclist through Coventry Warwick Advanced Motorcyclists (CWAM). Accredited by the Institute of Advanced Motorcyclists (IAM), the way this is run is like a mentorship programme.
Advanced Motorbike Course Principles
The IAM course follows the same principles of any good mentoring course:
A clear aspiration to achieve your goal. (More about this later!)
An initial light touch assessment (called a free assessment ride) to understand your current experience and level of performance.
Upon signing up to the scheme, a more formal assessment against clearly set out criteria, followed up with an effective one-page report.
Being realistic about the time and pace that progress will happen.
Working with a single mentor to make progress at a steady pace that you dictate but having access to numerous other people for support. (In the business sense, this can sometimes be skills or knowledge that the primary mentor doesn’t have)
Clear feedback in a positive and constructive manner, even if it is negative feedback (like making an unsafe overtake). Instant verbal feedback is followed up with a written sheet against the criteria from your initial assessment, so you can track your progress.
Giving you time to go away and practice on your own.
Support – demonstrations (where appropriate), additional support material, clearly identified areas to practice and develop.
Clarification where necessary.
Ultimately, getting ready for the final assessment to see whether or not you have achieved your goals.
If you want to move onto the next stage of progression, then discussing the opportunity to do so and what that looks like.
One of the principles of this course is that you already hold a license, and you have some riding experience. For my qualified and experienced group of mentees, this is no different.
Let’s use the example of a group of directors or partners in a professional services firm. If they wanted to mentor their managers, those managers will already be qualified and experienced. The aspiration is to develop leaders of the future and add to their current skills set. This could alter a few of those comfort zones and bad habits they may have picked up along the way. I would work at their pace to develop and help them reach their full potential.
Mentorship Programme in the Workplace
When I develop and run business mentorship programmes, these can be used to support different types of development within companies:
People new to their roles or company, where a mentorship programme can support an induction process.
People aspiring to move from good to great in their current role, who may or may not aspire to management or further role progression.
Managers who are qualified and experienced and want to become tomorrow’s leaders of their business.
HR practitioners starting out in their career or aspiring to more senior roles.
If I am supporting someone who is studying a qualification, the mentorship programme will be structured differently. Similar to the motorbike course, I would allow maximum practical experience, where possible, around the elements they are studying.
Let’s talk about aspirations for a moment. It’s important to understand why people want to aspire to what they have set as their goal, right from the start. This allows the mentoring programme to be bespoke to them alone. I help them to visualise what this will look like at the end of the programme and allow them to set their own individual aspirations.
Some people are great in their jobs, but they might not necessarily want to become managers. When these people are put into these positions, they subsequently fail because it wasn’t their aspiration to be a manager in the first place.
So why did I do the IAM course? I aspire to be the best and safest rider that I can be using the techniques that have been reinforced by my training. Statistics show a significant reduction in serious accidents and injuries to those who have achieved Advanced status. Therefore, why wouldn’t you want to do it?
Similarly, my company, Invictus HR, offers bespoke mentoring packages to help your managers and HR teams aspire to be the people they want to be. By developing the right skills, this will not only benefit them, but your organisation as a whole.
Mentoring for HR teams
Our mentoring programmes can also support HR Managers who are looking to progress strategically and employees new to HR. We can provide mentoring as a standalone package or as part of our cost-effective retained HR service.
If you are interested in discussing mentorship programmes in the workplace, please get in touch.
If you are a biker in the Coventry & Warwickshire area and interested in becoming an advanced rider, please visit: http://www.cwam.org.uk/ Not only is there the opportunity to become an advanced rider, but as a member you can join some super social rides, exploring the countryside with very experienced riders.
For Advanced motorist and motorcycle courses nationally, visit: https://www.iamroadsmart.com/