The path to meaningful career progression shouldn’t be a solo journey, yet too many women in tech find themselves navigating complex challenges without the guidance and advocacy they need. At our second UNBOUND event at The Loading Bay, we gathered industry leaders to explore how effective mentorship can transform careers and create lasting change.
The evening brought together mentors, mentees, and aspiring participants to share real experiences, practical insights, and actionable strategies for building mentorship relationships that genuinely work.
Why mentorship matters now more than ever
Lucy Kemp, La Fosse’s Director of Brand, opened the evening by highlighting a critical insight from our ongoing research: “Mentoring came up time and again when we asked what would drive change forward. It’s really hard to find a mentor, especially as a woman. You look up and that mentoring layer, that leadership layer, it’s smaller, and it’s getting smaller.”
The challenges are multifaceted. Beyond the scarcity of senior women in leadership positions, there’s confusion about what type of support people actually need. Is it a mentor who shares experience and wisdom? A coach who helps you reach your own conclusions? Or a sponsor who advocates for you in rooms where decisions are made?
Most importantly, there’s the fundamental difficulty of asking someone to be your mentor – a conversation that can feel daunting but, as Lucy reminded the audience, “Anyone who has ever been asked to be your mentor will be really flattered.”
Meet the panel: diverse paths, shared wisdom
The evening featured three panellists whose varied journeys into tech demonstrate that there’s no single path to success, but mentorship can be transformative regardless of your starting point.
Patricia Manley, Head of Agile Delivery at Seven.One Entertainment, brought the perspective of an immigrant woman who has navigated significant hurdles throughout her 12-year UK career. “Being a woman immigrant who doesn’t look the stereotype of a woman in tech – having accents and appearances that were always issues – I went through a lot of hurdles,” she shared. Now, Patricia coordinates mentorship programmes for non-profits and works as both a mentor and mentee, believing that continuous learning is essential at every career stage.
Leah Thomas, a Data Business Analyst at News UK and La Fosse Academy Associate, represents the growing number of career changers entering tech. Her path from law graduate to tech professional during the pandemic illustrates the “wobbly” journey many take. “I started as a law graduate, wanted to be a lawyer since I was about 15, and completely had a change of mind,” she explained. After googling “innovation, creativity and tech” and finding coding, she discovered La Fosse Academy, demonstrating how the right guidance can accelerate career transitions.
Kirstie Smith brought 15+ years of marketing experience, alongside her work teaching at Birmingham City University and running networking groups. Her perspective highlighted how experienced professionals can give back while continuing to grow, emphasising that the next generation needs more than Google searches and YouTube videos – they need human connection and face-to-face relationships.
The difference between coaching, mentoring, and sponsorship
One of the evening’s most valuable discussions clarified the distinctions between different types of support – understanding often missing in workplace development conversations.
Coaching, as Patricia explained, involves “going with you on that journey of discovering what you want to do and asking the right questions for you to discover the answers you already have inside yourself.” A coach helps you unlock your own insights through guided reflection.
Mentoring comes from a place of shared experience. “Mentors are coming from the point of view of ‘this is my experience, this is what I’ve learned,'” Patricia noted. They offer wisdom gained from walking similar paths and can provide specific guidance based on their journey.
Sponsorship involves active advocacy – someone who talks about you in the right meetings, puts your name forward for opportunities, and uses their influence to advance your career.
Understanding these differences helps professionals seek the right type of support for their specific needs and career stage.
What mentees really need: beyond job searching
While career transitions often trigger the search for mentorship, the panel revealed that women seek guidance across a much broader spectrum of challenges.
Confidence building emerged as a primary need. “For me, with females, a lot of the time it’s confidence in different areas,” Kirstie observed. “Confidence at networking events, confidence in general, not knowing where to start with something, or dealing with that overwhelm of information.”
Power skills development represents another critical gap. Patricia identified the transition point where technical expertise alone isn’t enough: “Up to a certain point, we rely a lot on what we know as technical skills – certifications, coding knowledge. But there’s a point where you want to jump to the next level that’s not just about how many certifications you have. It’s the power skills that you lack.”
Effective communication and leadership capabilities become essential as careers progress, yet these skills are rarely explicitly taught in technical roles.
Career direction guidance helps when professionals know where they want to go but need help mapping the path to get there.
Actionable change: Organisations should recognise that mentorship needs evolve throughout careers. Create programmes that address confidence building, power skills development, and communication training – not just technical skills advancement.
When mentorship relationships don’t work
Honest discussion about relationship challenges provided practical guidance for navigating difficult situations. The panel emphasised that not every mentor-mentee pairing will be successful, and that’s normal.
Communication is key. Patricia stressed the importance of having “that feedback conversation” when relationships aren’t working. “Doing it from a place of love, saying ‘I don’t think this is working because of this’ and being honest about needs and expectations.”
Structured frameworks help. Kirstie noted how having committed timeframes can actually help relationships succeed: “Even if there’s a personality clash, you’re committed to four meetings. Sometimes that structure provides the safety to work through initial challenges.”
Choose authentically. Leah’s advice was refreshingly direct: “Choose for you, which sounds selfish, but you’re trying to get something from the relationship. Be honest about what you need and whether this person can provide it.”
Kirstie also introduced a powerful framework for building authentic mentorship relationships, describing how effective mentors can adopt three distinct approaches: acting as gatekeepers who hold information and open doors to opportunities, midwives who help mentees work through challenges using a coaching approach, or fellow travellers who honestly admit when they don’t know something and explore solutions together. “I think the best productive relationship is when you can just totally be honest with your mentee or your mentor in both ways. And you’re both learning, you’re both like, going through that journey together,” she explained, emphasising how vulnerability and mutual learning create stronger, more sustainable mentorship bonds.
Actionable change: Implement regular check-ins during mentorship programmes and provide clear frameworks for addressing relationship challenges. Create safe processes for changing mentorship pairings when needed, without stigma or blame.
The power of informal mentorship
Some of the evening’s most compelling stories came from informal mentorship relationships that developed organically. Patricia shared how she approached someone she admired: “I saw him behaving amazingly well, and one day I decided to say, ‘Hey, could we meet for half an hour every other week?’ That was amazing because we didn’t set up any agenda, but every time I met with him, I had my questions prepared.”
This informal approach yielded more learning than her formal company mentorship programme, highlighting how authentic relationships often develop when there’s genuine curiosity and mutual respect.
Actionable change: Encourage employees to identify and approach informal mentors within and outside their organisation. Provide guidance on how to structure these conversations and maintain ongoing relationships.
Measuring mentorship impact
The discussion of programme evaluation revealed sophisticated approaches to understanding mentorship effectiveness beyond basic completion rates.
Relationship continuation serves as a key indicator. As Leah noted: “A really good measure of whether you had a good mentor is if your mentee wants to keep in contact with you afterwards.”
Goal achievement tracking requires establishing clear objectives at the beginning and checking progress throughout the relationship.
Structured feedback collection works best when integrated into the mentorship process rather than lengthy surveys at the end.
Qualitative insights often provide more valuable data than quantitative metrics, revealing the real impact on confidence, career clarity, and skill development.
Actionable change: Design mentorship programmes with built-in measurement from the start. Focus on relationship quality indicators and goal achievement rather than just participation rates.
The UNBOUND mentorship programme launch
The evening concluded with the launch of UNBOUND’s own mentorship programme, designed to address the insights gathered throughout the research and discussion process.
The programme structure reflects best practices identified:
- Four-month commitment with one hour per month
- Careful matching process over six weeks to ensure compatibility
- Built-in evaluation through retrospectives to assess impact and improve the programme
- Open access beyond event attendees to create broader community impact
Participants left with QR codes providing immediate access to applications, emphasising that the programme is designed for anyone committed to meaningful mentorship relationships.
Key takeaways for building effective mentorship
The evening’s discussions crystallised into several crucial insights:
Mentorship is not one-size-fits-all: Different career stages and challenges require different types of support. Understanding whether someone needs mentoring, coaching, or sponsorship is the first step to providing effective guidance.
Informal relationships often work best: While structured programmes provide valuable frameworks, some of the most impactful mentorship happens through organic relationships built on genuine curiosity and mutual respect.
Both sides benefit: Effective mentorship provides value to mentors through fresh perspectives, leadership development, and the satisfaction of contributing to someone else’s growth.
Diversity matters: Mentors don’t need to look exactly like their mentees, but representation and shared experiences can provide unique value and inspiration.
Communication creates success: Clear expectations, regular check-ins, and honest feedback transform mentorship from a casual relationship into a powerful development tool.
Looking forward: building a mentorship culture
The technology industry stands at a critical juncture. As Patricia observed, the leadership layer that should provide mentorship guidance is actually shrinking, making structured programmes and intentional relationship building more important than ever.
However, the appetite for meaningful mentorship clearly exists. The enthusiasm in the room at The Loading Bay, the quality of questions from attendees, and the immediate interest in joining the UNBOUND programme all demonstrate that people are ready to invest in relationships that create real change.
The path forward requires both individual commitment and organisational support. Companies must recognise mentorship as a strategic capability rather than a nice-to-have add-on. Individuals must approach mentorship with authenticity, clear goals, and genuine commitment to both giving and receiving value.
Join the mentorship movement
UNBOUND’s mentorship programme represents just the beginning of building the support networks women in tech deserve. By creating structured opportunities for meaningful relationships, providing frameworks for success, and measuring real impact, we’re working to ensure that career progression doesn’t depend on chance encounters or personal networks.
The programme is open to anyone ready to commit to genuine mentorship relationships – whether as a mentor sharing their experience, a mentee seeking guidance, or someone who sees value in both roles.
Ready to be part of building the support networks women in tech need?
Apply for the UNBOUND mentorship programme
Join the UNBOUND community for updates on future events and mentorship opportunities
Download our Women at Work Blueprint for research-backed insights on what women really need to thrive in technology careers
This isn’t just about individual career development – it’s about creating an industry where talent thrives through connection, guidance, and authentic support. The conversation has started. Now it’s time to build the relationships that will drive real change.