flint+ mentoring
A modern partnership for growth
Welcome to the FLINT+ Mentoring Programme, a community-driven initiative designed to foster the next generation of digital and technology leaders in New Zealand.
In a rapidly shifting professional landscape, we believe that growth should never happen in a vacuum. Moving away from rigid, top-down models, our programme embraces a modern, inclusive approach where mentors act as “Networked Development Partners”. This means mentors are not just advisors, but “Signal Boosters” who amplify their mentee’s value, and “Connectors” who open doors to new professional circles. At its core, this programme is a mutually beneficial partnership where experience meets fresh perspective, providing a safe and confidential space for you to accelerate your career trajectory.
The value exchange: benefits for both mentees and mentors
Mentoring is never a one-way street; it is a robust exchange of energy, insight, and professional investment.
Benefits for Mentees:
- Boosted Confidence: Find your voice and navigate imposter syndrome through supportive dialogue.
- Strategic Visibility & Networking: Gain exposure to senior experts, build your professional network, and find advocates who can help “open doors”.
- New Perspectives: Break out of your day-to-day bubble and see industry norms through a different lens.
- Targeted Growth: Receive candid, objective advice on career paths, skill acquisition, and workplace challenges outside of your own organisation’s internal dynamics.
Benefits for Mentors:
- Sharpened Leadership: Hone your active listening, questioning, coaching, and feedback skills.
- Sense of Contribution: Experience the profound pride of making a tangible difference in an aspiring leader’s career.
- Self-Reflection & Fresh Perspectives: Gain new insights into your own leadership style and learn from the next generation of tech talent.
- Industry Legacy: Directly invest in the future strength and sustainability of New Zealand’s professional digital community.
Criteria for selection
To ensure highly impactful and relevant matches, participants must meet the following criteria:
For Mentees:
- Must be FLINT+ members fitting the FLINT development demographic (typically aspiring or early-career leaders aged 18-35).
- Must be willing to take ownership of their career development and drive the momentum of the relationship.
For Mentors:
- Must be employees of TUANZ member organisations or part of the wider TUANZ membership.
- Must possess adequate professional experience in the digital and tech ecosystem to safely guide others.
- Must be willing to commit to regular meetings, maintain strict confidentiality, and remain independent and impartial.
To maintain the high standard of the FLINT+ ecosystem, mentees are expected to demonstrate six core characteristics:
- Receptivity: An openness to coaching and a willingness to be vulnerable about what they do not know.
- Resilience: The ability to bounce back from setbacks and sustain difficult conversations for the sake of growth.
- Self-awareness: A clear understanding of personal strengths, weaknesses, and impact on others.
- Self-management: Owning the career path and driving the relationship rather than expecting the mentor to do the work.
- Learning Focus: Moving beyond simple problem-solving to examine the root causes of issues.
- Growth Orientation: An active commitment to applying feedback and improving performance.
The Mentoring Process
We have designed a structured, six-month framework to guide your partnership from introductions to celebrated outcomes.
- Application & Intake: Submit your details via our online forms. Tell us your background, goals, and preferred mentoring style (Informational, Skill, or Advocacy).
- Careful Matching: Our team manually pairs mentors and mentees to optimise psychological safety, strategic goal alignment, and diversity of thought. To ensure open dialogue, we actively avoid matching individuals from the same organisation (unless specifically requested).
- Group Kick-off Workshop: A mandatory launch session to help participants connect, establish rapport, and set expectations.
- Getting Organised (Scene Setting): Mentors and mentees meet to complete a Mentoring Agreement, define the logistics (virtual, in-person, or hybrid), and clarify goals.
- Ongoing Mentoring Sessions: One-on-one sessions driven by the mentee, held at least once a month. TUANZ will check in at the mid-point to ensure the relationship is valuable and functioning well.
- Concluding Event: Every mentoring relationship is time-bound. We wrap up the programme with a group event to celebrate shared wins and reflect on outcomes. (Note: We operate a “no-fault ending” policy—if a match isn’t working at any point, either party can initiate a graceful, blameless transition).
Summary of expectations
A successful partnership requires a shared commitment to psychological safety, accountability, and regular communication.
- Mentee Expectations: You are the driver of this relationship. You are expected to show initiative, schedule the monthly meetings, set the agendas, and own your career path. You must be receptive to feedback, resilient through setbacks, and willing to be vulnerable.
- Mentor Expectations: Your primary role is to listen, ask open questions, and guide discovery—not just solve problems for your mentee. You are expected to share candid developmental feedback, act as a sounding board, share your network when appropriate, and hold your mentee accountable to their commitments.
Ready to grow together?
Whether you are looking to take the next big step in your career or share your hard-earned industry wisdom, we want you on board.
