by Charlene Wong
32 Mentoring Pairs have commenced their mentoring journey at a launch event to meet Mentors and Mentees, and hear how to get the most out of their mentoring relationship. Queensland Branch Committee Member and Mentor, Charlene Wong, has summarised the key tips shared at the launch for establishing a strong mentoring partnership.
The Australian Water Association’s 2024 Queensland Mentoring Program is officially underway with the launch event taking place on Thursday 14 March. This year, the program has successfully paired 32 mentees with mentors from across Queensland in both metro and regional areas.
The launch event was facilitated by the Queensland Young Water Professional Subcommittee Chair, Johanna Johnson, who spoke about her passion in sharing, connecting and inspiring the water industry through creating collaboration and networking opportunities such as the Mentoring Program.
The International WaterCentre has been supporting the AWA Mentoring Program since 2014. This year, at the launch event, the mentoring pairs, both online and in-person, heard from Brian McIntosh from the International WaterCentre on how to create and foster successful mentoring relationships. The audience heard that a mentoring relationship is just like any relationship, and foundational to a successful relationship are trust, mutual respect, support, courage, and intention. Brian provided the 2024 participants with useful tips in how they may choose to start, maintain, and equally importantly, end the mentoring relationship intentionally and respectfully.
The 2024 participants also heard from two mentoring pairs from 2023; Emma O’Neill (mentor) and Amber Craig (mentee), and Ian Cameron (mentor) and Max Warshawsky (mentee), who reflected on their experiences in the mentoring program and key takeaways. They shared the importance of creating a safe environment from the get-go by showing up, respecting each other’s experiences and opinions without judgement, active listening, and showing vulnerability. Interestingly, both pairs found the mentoring relationship was not only helpful for their professional careers, but also assisted them in navigating their broader goals and aspirations.
The 2024 Mentoring Program is a nine-month program with the official closing event in November 2024.
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