1.4 Introducing the ‘Client Journey’

The client journey is the process by which your mentee interacts with you and others who may be involved in the process of identifying and achieving their goals. In order to ensure that your mentee reaches their goal, you must first understand what has led them to this point, and identify the steps that they will need to take to make their goals a reality.

The client journey cannot be predicted or assumed as it is very specific to the life experiences of your mentee. Therefore, the best way to truly understand your mentee’s journey is to work in collaboration with them. Ask them to think about what they want to achieve from the mentoring, get to know them – build up rapport and trust, and work together to set boundaries and expectations. Empower them by allowing them the freedom to set the agendas for meetings and provide each other with feedback and suggestions throughout the process. Assist them in monitoring and reflecting on their progress throughout their journey.

Mentees should be encouraged to reflect on the steps they have taken in life so far to progress to where they are today, and to set goals for where they aspire to be. There are many activities in this chapter’s toolkit that can help your mentee to realise their progression to date and to be proud of how far they have come. Mentees’ realistic aspirations should be heard and discussed, and these then become their life goals. It is the steps in between that you can help them to take that forms the next part of their journey.

To help your mentee better envision their own journey, ask them to create a ‘vision map’ (toolkit activity 6). This will help them to realise how far they have come, envision what their future could look like, and determine the steps needed to get there. This vision map will outline their journey, and determine how you can work together with your mentee to achieve their goals.

Reflective questions for the reader:

1. Reflect on your life experiences that have led you to where you are. How have these impacted on your own journey?
2. Think of your goals. Can you identify the steps you will need to take to achieve them?
3. To truly understand the journey of others, we must first understand our own. Having an idea of your personal journey, do you now feel better equipped to help your mentees understand and determine their individual journeys?