The meaning of mentoring, its importance and its direct connection to the development of horizontal skills (soft skills), was the main point of discussion at our recent Youtube Live event between 100mentors, Mindspace and all the attendees.
Yiorgos Nikoletakis, the face behind the idea and CEO of 100mentors, told us about his personal professional journey and career, and how he came to realise the importance of mentoring through his own experiences. He says: "In my case, I was lucky enough to meet my mentors, people that were role models for me, but that is not something that happens to everyone. At 100mentors, we try to broaden the circle of people who can act as mentors at any given time and make it less of a luck factor." Whilst talking about his idea for creating 100mentors, he also explained how his company evolved with time. Today, the platform, supports people who seek advice and knowledge, and uses mentoring as an educational tool aiming to help in the development of horizontal skills: the ability to solve problems, critical thinking and creativity.
But how does this happen? By evaluating the question and not the answer. The 100mentors platform supports asynchronous bite sized conversations of 20 to 100 seconds questions and answers. More specifically, it works as an evaluation system where the student poses their question and the mentor evaluates it in 3 levels whilst answering it. Then, there is an option of a follow up question the student can ask and continue the conversation this way. The student (learner) by practicing the art of asking and by gaining high level evaluation through the answers, receives a certificate which certifies their ability to solve problems, their critical thinking and creativity.
100mentors offered Mindspace's members and attendees the opportunity to connect to the platform. We created an account and posed our questions to Yiorgos Nikoletopoulos and other successful business mentors. Through our experience we realised that:
Using video asynchronically, makes a conversation feel more direct and alive. It gives you the "illusion" of a real-life dialogue.
Every time one of us wonders about a more exploratory question, a google search is never enough, human intellect is needed in order to find effectively a reliable answer.
Mentoring can be short, targeted and to the point.
Asking important questions is challenging and needs practice.
In their platform, there are really insightful blog articles about many work or hobby-related topics.
This platform can be characterised also as a "networking space". A lot of companies and organisations with different backgrounds participate in this initiative. You can also get access to their employees contacts if you want to.
A lot of our Q&As were broadcasted during our Youtube Live event, in which Yiorgos Nikoletakis had up to 100-seconds every time to answer our questions and talk to us about the culture inside 100mentors, its competitive advantage, the social impact, just like he would on the platform.
During our talk, we also discussed whether or not companies focus on horizontal skills (soft skills), and more specifically, which of those skills are the most "important" for them. Then, we talked about the challenges and changes that keep happening in the job market as well as the post-COVID mentoring reality. At the end, we exchanged opinions on the current educational system, entrepreneurship and the need for companies to be adaptable.
We are really happy to tell you that if you are interested in trying out 100mentors, you can do so by connecting through the Mindspace account. Send your questions, receive your answers and develop your soft skills! See how⬇️
by: Despoina Markoulaki
edit: Dimitris Rigas
Find Mindspace on Linkedin here