In our MentorHER Spotlight series, we're catching up with previous mentors and mentees to hear about their experiences, the connections they've made and the difference mentoring has made to their professional journeys. This time, we're hearing from Katie Livingstone, now General Manager at CTI Digital.
As we prepare for MentorHER Cohort 4, delivered through Manchester Digital's DigitalHER programme in partnership with Autotrader, applications are now open for women at the beginning of their digital and technology careers, alongside experienced women who would like to support the next generation of talent.
Applications close Sunday 8 November. Find out more and apply for MentorHER Cohort 4.
Name: Katie Livingstone
Role: Mentor
Position at time of programme: Head of Delivery
Mentee's position: Digital Exclusion Officer
What were some of the highlights of the mentorship programme?
One of the most valuable parts of the experience was getting an inside view of how the public sector actually operates, the processes involved, the constraints teams have to work within, and the budgets they need to adhere to. That understanding has already started to shape how I think about our public sector clients; I can now see the pressures behind their decisions much more clearly, which makes it easier to work with them.
It was also genuinely rewarding to see the impact on my mentee directly. Over the course of our conversations, I watched them get more confident and deliberate about how they approach discussions with their manager, setting clearer expectations and boundaries rather than letting things drift. Knowing I played a small part in that shift was one of the most satisfying aspects of the whole experience.
On a more personal note, having an external, impartial sounding board to talk through my own upcoming promotion was unexpectedly useful. Being able to think out loud with someone outside my organisation, with no politics or agenda attached, gave me a different kind of clarity than I'd have got talking to colleagues.
What did you learn about yourself?
Mentoring has a way of surfacing knowledge you didn't realise you had. Talking my mentee through line management, how to work effectively with a manager, and how to set expectations and boundaries made me realise I know a lot more about this than I give myself credit for, it's easy to underestimate experience you've built up gradually until you have to articulate it to someone else.
It also gave me a sharper sense of where I'm falling short. The sessions only worked when I stepped back from the day-to-day detail and gave myself space to think, consider and strategise, and that made it obvious how rarely I build that time into the rest of my week. It's a habit I want to carry forward well beyond the mentoring itself.
Why would you recommend the programme?
Beyond the mentoring relationship itself, it's a genuinely good way to network. I met a number of people through the programme who I'm still in touch with, and I was even able to lean on that same network when I went looking for a mentor of my own. More broadly, it forces you out of your day-to-day routine. Carving out that time to learn from someone else's experience and hear a different perspective is something most of us don't do enough of, and the programme builds it in almost by default.
And there's a quieter reward to it too, watching what other people take away from the experience, whether that's mentees or fellow mentors, is genuinely satisfying in its own right. It's a reminder that the value of these programmes goes well beyond any one relationship.
_______________________________________
Applications are now open
Applications for MentorHER Cohort 4 are open to both mentors and mentees until Sunday 8 November 2026.
Whether you're at the beginning of your digital or technology career and looking for guidance, or you're an experienced professional who would like to support the next generation of women in tech, MentorHER offers an opportunity to get involved.
