Mentoring that produces outcomes, not good intentions
Programme design, mentor and mentee preparation, and measurement. Plus a private pathway for the next generation.
Why most schemes underdeliver
Organisations match people, send a welcome email and hope. Six months later attendance has drifted, the mentors are unsure what is expected of them, the mentees are unsure what to ask for, and nobody can say what changed.
Think DVC treats mentoring as infrastructure. Who it is for, what it is meant to shift, how the mentors are prepared, what the mentees bring, how it gets measured. All decided before anyone is matched.
The approach comes from David’s forthcoming book with Bristol University Press, and from years spent designing mentoring at scale.
For organisations
- Programme design: objectives, structure, matching, cadence and governance
- Mentor preparation: listening, challenging, sponsoring, and the limits of the role
- Mentee preparation: what to ask, what to bring, how to follow through
- Inclusive mentoring for people whose networks differ from the majority
- Measurement agreed at the outset and reported against
What long-term mentoring actually looks like
In 2009, Project Volunteer, the charity David founded, visited SOS Children’s Village in Serowe, Botswana. He met a boy there. What followed was A Levels at Maru-a-Pula, an undergraduate place at the University of Kent, a first-class degree, and a doctorate.
David’s mentorship has transformed the trajectory of my life. He turned me from rock into diamond. Beyond the opportunities he helped me pursue, he taught me the importance of believing in others, investing in their potential, and offering support when it matters most.
Dr Emmanuel Molefi. Mentored by David since 2009. PhD, University of Kent.
Seventeen years, one person. It is the clearest answer to what David means when he says opportunity should be designed rather than left to chance.
What mentees and partners say
David has been so much more than a mentor to me. His guidance, encouragement and unwavering belief have played a defining role in my achievements, particularly in building my career in financial services. He has consistently opened doors, challenged me to aim higher and championed my potential, often seeing strengths in me that I could not yet recognise in myself.
He shared his journey and highlighted that your background doesn’t define your future. The attendees found him very inspiring and relatable. He currently mentors five young students he met at our fair who needed help with CV and interview preparation.
Exceptional potential deserves exceptional guidance
For ambitious young adults navigating university, early careers and the transition into professional life.
This is not tutoring. It is the same quality of counsel senior executives pay for, made available early enough to shape the decade ahead. How to carry yourself in professional rooms, how to think about opportunity, and how to build the kind of authority people trust.
- Confidence and self-belief
- Communication and professional presence
- Judgement and decision-making
- Navigating opportunity, networks and sponsorship
- Ambition, direction and developing trusted authority
There are a small number of places each year. David handles family enquiries himself and in confidence, and they start with a conversation about the young person, not a package.
DVC has made a remarkable difference in my son’s life. Using NLP techniques, discipline and a strong focus on mindset and personal responsibility, he helped him turn academic failure into ambition and achievement. Today my son is at university, a transformation I genuinely believe DVC played a significant part in.
Start with a conversation
Thirty minutes, no preparation needed. The first thing we work out is whether this is a good fit.