Let’s Mobilise the Power of Mentoring to Drive Business Growth

We’re calling for political and business leaders to work with us to boost the uptake of professional business mentoring.

Business mentoring is a vital part of the business landscape.

At the ABM, we know that the expertise and skill of a well-matched, experienced mentor has been proven to transform the growth and viability of businesses. Whether a mentee needs support with financial health, operational growth, sector success or employee health and wellbeing, every business can benefit from the guiding hand of a skilled and experienced expert.

Yet many businesses owners and leaders are still unaware of the tremendous impact that working with a professional mentor will have for their business.  

We believe it’s time for this to change.  

Five Actions to Make Mentoring Mainstream

CEO Georgina Waite agrees that the time is right for mentoring to take centre stage in the business support world.

“At the ABM, we see constant evidence that mentoring works: businesses that know this are growing and thriving. The UK Government’s recent Help to Grow Management programme has helped put mentoring at the forefront of today’s business support conversation. We want this conversation to continue and so we are calling on business leaders, networks, support organisations, local authorities and policy makers to come together to ensure mentoring becomes a routine resource for all business owners and leaders.”

We are calling for action in the following five areas:

• We want to work with business and political leaders to raise awareness of the impact of professional business mentoring on business growth.
• We want to combine our efforts to demonstrate the value of mentoring and guide ambitious business leaders to seek professional support.
• We want to collaborate to provide partnership programmes that deliver accessible mentoring opportunities to businesses.
• We want to join forces to raise the standard of professional business mentors, including through accreditation, codes of practice, continuing professional development and qualifications.
• We want to support advances in mentoring that embrace the future economic climate and long-term growth ambitions for businesses.  

With greater knowledge of the impact of mentoring, a range of mentoring opportunities delivered to professional standards, and a forward-looking approach that supports the UK’s long-term growth ambitions, more businesses will seek mentoring, supporting their business success now and for the future.

Now Let’s Change the Conversation

ABM members are used to asking “Do you have a business mentor?” but how different would our conversations be if we asked “Why don’t you have a business mentor?” instead?  

By discussing the value and outcomes of mentoring, we can all encourage business leaders and owners to consider how mentoring can impact their business success. As Simon Fordham, ABM Chair, says:

“Professional business mentors are the ‘secret weapon’ for business success. It’s time to shine a light on the impact of these professionals. If every UK business embraced the power of mentoring, the economic impact for UK PLC would be transformational.”

Download the ABM Call To Action

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