Mentoring Guide: Women in Pharma Procurement Mentoring Programme

Life sciences is an industry where 90% of CEOs are men and, despite the DE&I initiatives to correct this, women continue to be under-represented in senior management roles. Mentoring is a powerful way to boost women’s career growth and drive change.

Mentoring helps to foster a diverse, inclusive and collaborative industry while helping to grow and develop high-potential leaders.

For our purposes, the definition of mentoring is:

“a professional relationship in which an experienced person (the mentor) assists another (the mentee) in developing specific skills and knowledge that will enhance the mentee’s career and personal growth.”

Mentors are typically seasoned professionals (male or female) who support mentees by providing professional guidance and support.

This could include:

• Sharing experiences that provide a valuable perspective on your current situation  
• Helping set measurable, achievable goals and holding you accountable
• Expanding your professional network, including offering you access to their own personal and professional contacts

In addition to the benefits a mentee can receive, mentors themselves will get value from the relationship. It is a two-way relationship which can provide a sense of fulfilment, establishing leadership skills and adding to the mentor’s own qualifications. 

In the video below, our first two Mentors talked about why they would like to share their experiences with mentees.

If you are interested in mentorship, you can contact them directly through PharmaSource:

• Kateryna Holovnia,  Head of Procurement, Dechra Pharmaceuticals Connect here
• Francesa Moro, Global Procurement Category & Sourcing Lead, Roche Connect here

Guidelines for successful mentoring

When embarking on a mentoring relationship, there are a number guidelines which, if followed, lead to more productive conversations.

Conversations should be confidential and the agenda driven by the mentee.

The mentee should take responsibility for organising the sessions – we suggest that the mentor sets out their availability front and agrees whether face to face, calls or skype will work best. We do suggest some face to face meeting if at all possible.

The mentor’s role

• Active listening, focused on the mentee.
• Taking appropriate approaches such as robustly challenging a mentee who is not sufficiently focussed or encouraging the mentee to take ownership of a situation.
• Helping the mentee to see the bigger picture and focus on the longer term.
• Taking an interest in the mentee’s progress.
• Managing the time and structure of the session.
• Mentoring is not coaching, so it may on occasion be within the mentee’s best interests that they be challenged by the mentor.

The mentee’s role

• Ensuring the sessions take place.
• In control of the agenda, taking responsibility for his or her development, rather than expecting ‘quick fixes’ from a mentor.
• Prepared to be challenged when the mentor feels that this, rather than perhaps sympathy, will be of benefit.
• Professional in the relationship with the mentor, for example being punctual, respecting agreed ground rules, and talking openly and honestly with the mentor.

How to find a mentor/mentee 

While many organisations have their own mentoring programme, we are recommending PharmaSource members make use our community platform to find potential mentors or mentees.

• If you are not currently a PharmaSource member, sign up here.

To connect you with a mentor or mentee on the PharmaSource platform you should:

1. Update your profile status

In your PharmaSource user profile you can now specify your interest in mentoring by selecting your interest in either providing or receiving mentorship. Adding this to your profile will help you get found by potential matches.

2. Introduce yourself in the Women in Pharma Procurement group

Next, introduce yourself to the community by posting in the Women in Pharma Procurement community group.

When you introduce yourself. please include these three points:

1. Your name and role
2. A short summary of your career and experience
3. What you would like to get from being a mentor/mentee

Please note: our community groups intended to be a safe and confidential space, where only logged-in, approved members will see your posts.

3. Reach out to other members

Feel free to contact other PharmaSource members, there’s nothing to be lost by asking!

We hope to see you at an upcoming Women in Pharma Procurement event.