Understanding The Power Of Peer To Peer Learning In Career Mentorship

Human beings are naturally impressionable people. For better or worse we tend to change to match our environment and we’re at our best when we allow ourselves to take inspiration from others. In this article, we’ll be talking about the benefits of peer to peer learning and how it can impact Career Mentorship. We’ll also be exploring how you can best take advantage of peer to peer learning within your workplace environment to the benefit of everyone.

The Importance of Peer-to-Peer Learning in Career Development

When we think about the benefits of peer to peer learning, it’s easy to picture a classic Mentor/Mentee situation. Of course, here at Career Navig8r we’re all about mentorship, but peer to peer learning is as much a skill as it is a professional relationship.

When working with a Mentor, learning predominantly takes place in one direction. While there’s a lot to learn from being a Mentor, a Mentor/Mentee relationship is about helping the Mentee develop the skills and knowledge that the Mentor already has. Peer to peer learning, on the other hand, is a process of mutual learning in which both share their knowledge with one another, building each other up.

Building a Supportive Network Through Peer Mentorship

By developing your peer to peer learning skills, you’ll slowly build up a network of like-minded people who understand the value of sharing their knowledge. This network will benefit you for years to come in several ways.

First of all, your network will be excellent for helping you solve problems and find new resources, but they’ll also be excellent for the same reason that any professional network is excellent: the wider your network, the broader your opportunities.

Furthermore, a network built through peer to peer mentoring can be more valuable than a traditional network because of the kind of people a network like that attracts. People who are willing to help others in order to help themselves and who are actively looking to improve their own skills are always best placed for career growth.

Enhancing Skills Through Collaborative Learning

While it might not always feel like it for those who are passionate about what they do, learning is work and the simple reality is that work takes time. Learning involves research, practice, and training, and there are very few ways to shortcut that process.

That being said, one of the most effective ways to shortcut this process is to split up the learning work. While you’ll still need to take in the information, and a new skill will still take training, it can be far easier to learn from someone who has just learned something themselves. One of the primary benefits of peer to peer learning, therefore, is that you can split up learning tasks between multiple people, regroup, and teach one another. This cuts down on a lot of research and allows you to discuss what you’ve learned, ultimately increasing retention.

Leveraging Diverse Perspectives for Personal Growth

No matter the subject, no matter the situation, we all have a unique point of view. Everything we learn is filtered through our life-experiences and through all our other skills meaning that we each bring a slightly different perspective to a topic. Learning about someone else’s perspective on a topic – even when it’s one you feel you have a strong grasp of – can be eye opening which is why you should never underestimate the value of a diverse network of peers.

How Does a Peer to Peer Network Fit Into a Traditional Mentoring Model?

So, with all this being said, you may be wondering how peer to peer mentoring can fit into a traditional mentoring model? After all, would a Mentor – with all their experience and their broad network of contacts – make a peer network redundant?

Absolutely not!

At Career Navig8r, we believe that the best way to learn is through listening and you can never have too many perspectives. An experienced Mentor provides a unique and useful perspective of their own, separate from your peer group. They’ve been in their job role for years and can offer the benefit of their wisdom. Your peer group meanwhile can offer a broader perspective on your own level. Between the two of them you’ll get a fuller, more complete picture.

Furthermore, the two can also feed into one another. Where your Mentor offers useful insights, you can share these with your peer network. Where your network shows you a new perspective, you can ask your Mentor about it and see what they have to add.

Lastly, with the knowledge gathered from a wide peer network, you’ll become an expert in your job role, making you the perfect candidate to teach others from a range of backgrounds. Why not share the uplifting power of your peer network by becoming a Mentor today with Career Navig8r?