Most organisations ‘do mentoring’ back-to-front. They launch a program because people ask for it, or because they think it’s one of those things that an organisation should have for its employees. They start by focusing on who they want to influence and what they want them to learn, i.e. the mentees. But what if they had been doing it wrong all along?

What if you start with the why (purpose) for your organisation, find your greatest brand champions who live and breathe the DNA of the brand, then enable these people to build and nurture mentoring networks through formal and informal mentoring opportunities? Help them discover what they can contribute to others and enable them to do that well. What might happen?

A strategic, brand-centric approach. With these brand champions as mentors, they can drive organisational outcomes and culture in the direction you want to go. To take it a step further, these champions have the influence and ability to build engagement, commitment, and retention because they can support your people to achieve their individual goals, truly fulfilling their potential.

So, don’t start with who we think ought to be mentored (the mentees).  Instead, start with this question.  Who do we want to empower to influence the future trajectory of the organisation, how it behaves internally and externally, how it will evolve, and the outcomes it is capable of achieving?  The mentors.

Jim Collins talks about ‘getting the right people on the bus’ as a necessary component of building a great organisation. Get the right people on the bus, and they will attract others onto the bus. Ensure the bus continues in the right direction, and that what’s happening on the bus is consistent with getting to the chosen destination. These people will help ensure the bus ride is rewarding, so that the brightest and the most talented want to stay on the bus, not just for the destination, but the joy of the journey. Powerful leaders don’t have to be the most senior people in the organisation – they have influence because of who they are and how they inspire and mentor others. All you need to do is to give them the tools and processes to become powerful brand-centric mentors.

What makes a great brand-centric mentor?

Masterful brand-centric mentors help others understand where the bus is headed and why. They demonstrate and inspire others to behave in ways consistent with reaching the destination. They challenge and support others to be the best they can be, to achieve their own potential. They walk the talk.

This is one of the basic principles of Strategic Mentoring. Getting outcomes not just for the benefit of the individuals, but for the whole organisation and all of its stakeholders. It’s a purposeful approach to mentoring, grounded in an understanding of what mentoring is and what good quality mentoring can achieve and for whom. Organisations that follow this approach often have several mentoring programs on offer, with a blend of formal and informal offerings. We know that where formal mentoring programs have been implemented, informal mentoring flourishes, because there is a pool of trained mentors who reach out to others for potential mentorship. Formal, cohort-based programs play an important role in training and preparing people for effective mentoring relationships that can emerge organically without any administrative effort.

A strategic mentoring approach has multiple mentoring initiatives in co-existence:

• Cohort-based programs that meet a specific organisational need or purpose, for example effective induction of graduates, building greater diversity, mentoring emerging leaders. These programs run from time-to-time and may not be open to everyone. Sometimes an inside-out approach can work well here – for example, you can use reverse mentoring for diversity, empowering people from minority groups to mentor people who are usually more senior to help expose them to cultural, gender or other areas of difference. This approach creates a space for these leaders to develop a deeper understanding of key issues and prompt systemic change in the organisation for the benefit of diverse populations.
• An open, on-demand program, available to all or most people, whenever they want to start. The open approach depends on having a pool of effective mentors available for mentoring requests. This is where your brand-centric mentors can play a huge role. A mentoring-on-demand program provides a vehicle for these mentors to become part of many mentoring networks, influencing culture and organisational results, and at the same time helping individuals meet their own professional and career goals. A great example is ethical mentoring, which offers a pool of mentors specifically trained to assist people to grapple with ethical dilemmas. Used strategically to help build ‘ethical decision-making muscle’, this is an impactful way to shape more a positive, values-based organisational culture.

Why brand-centric and not customer or employee-centric?

Great question! As a brand strategy consultant 25 years ago, I learned that you can’t have your ‘inside clothes’ and your ‘outside clothes’ and expect to have a coherent brand. You can’t promise one thing to customers and then behave inconsistently with employees. The central glue is the brand, which is at the heart of and expresses the organisational purpose and promise.  It should drive everything you do with employees and customers. When people understand and believe in the brand and what it stands for, they will naturally do the right thing by employees and customers. Brand-centric mentors can help cascade this right through the organisation, in all directions – up, down, and networked across organisational structures. Powerful stuff, for the organisations that get this right.

 

Art of Mentoring have more than 20 years’ experience in delivering powerful, purpose-led mentoring programs across a range of industries. Explore our resource library to access webinars, blogs and current industry insights on mentoring trends. If you’d like to talk to our team about mentoring for your organisation contact us or learn more about our mentoring platform here.

©Melissa Richardson 2022.

Helpful resources:

7 Steps to Starting a Successful Mentoring Program

11 Reasons Why You Should Be A Mentor

Mentorship Definition

What is mentorship? The simplest way to define mentorship is to think about it in its most usual form – a helping relationship in which one person, usually more experienced or senior, takes time to assist the career, professional or personal development of someone else, who is known as a mentee, mentoree, or protégé. Mentorships are most often a one-to-one relationship but is sometimes conducted in groups.

A mentoring relationship is one that is built on trust, in which there is an exchange of knowledge, experience and goodwill. In developmental mentorships, the focus is on the development of the mentee’s capacity, rather than just the handing down of advice or solutions. It’s like the proverb, “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for an entire lifetime”. In developmental mentorships, the mentee builds their ability to navigate new waters, with the help of the mentor. And the mentor often learns a great deal from the mentee in return. So the relationship is very much two-way.

Peer Mentorships

Peer mentorships often consist of two people who are at the same career stage or of a similar age, in which one person has more experience than the other in a particular domain and can provide support, knowledge and skills transfer. Peer mentorships may be a one-to-one relationship or experienced in a group setting. The exchange is usually mutual, even if one member of the dyad begins in the traditional role of mentee, or learner, and the other in the role of mentor. For example, a newcomer to a company or industry may start off as the learner, but as the relationship develops, the person discovers that they too have something to offer in terms of other experience. The relationship then develops into an environment for co-learning.

Like any form of mentorship, there are advantages and disadvantages. In conventional mentorships, the mentor is more experienced, may be perceived as substantially more ‘senior’ in the profession or industry. This can create a power differential between mentor and mentee, which can inhibit development of rapport, especially in the early stages. Peer mentorships overcome the hierarchical gap. In conventional mentoring relationships, the exchange is more one-way (even though mentors benefit), in peer mentorships the balance is more even. Peer mentorships may be more accessible to potential mentees simply because there are more peers available than experienced mentors.

Sponsorship vs Mentorship

Various studies have demonstrated conclusively that sponsorship and mentorships are different, largely incompatible relationships [1]. Attempting to combine them leads to reduced impact in terms of both career and personal developmental outcomes for a number of reasons, including:

• Mentees are less open and authentic, because they want the sponsor-mentor to present them to others at their best
• There is increased expectation of reciprocal favours — for example, the sponsor-mentor may demand “political” information about the sponsee-mentee’s boss
• The sponsee-mentee may feel disempowered by handing over responsibility for their reputation and advancement.

These problems may be exacerbated in the context of gender, where the power dynamics of the relationship may reinforce stereotypes that undermine aspirations and expectations of self-efficacy [2]. The bottom line is that sponsorship can be a very useful tool in talent management, but it needs active oversight by HR and the leadership team. To explore this topic further, view our webinar on Sponsorship vs Mentorship.

Strategic Mentorships

Strategic mentoring, for us, takes a purpose-led approach to design and implementation of organizational mentorship initiatives. Companies that follow this approach often have several mentorship programs on offer, with a blend of formal and informal offerings. We know that where formal mentorship programs have been implemented, informal mentorships flourish, because there is a pool of trained mentors who reach out to others for potential mentorship. Many recipients of mentoring go on to become mentors in formal programs and mentor informally as well. Formal, cohort-based programs play an important role in training and preparing people for effective mentoring relationships that can emerge organically without any administrative effort.

There are 5 process steps involved in strategic mentorships:

1. Planning. Setting goals for the company’s mentorship strategy, in much the same way that planning would be done for any business strategy. For example, good marketing needs a well-planned marketing strategy before implementation of marketing plans and tactics.
2. Analysis. Gathering data on what employees might expect or want from a mentorship program. What do other similar companies or competitors offer? Sometimes a well-regarded mentorship program contributes strongly to the value of the employer brand. What form of mentoring would work best for this company?
3. Development. Design of one or more mentorship programs that, together, will deliver on the goals.
4. Implementation. Execution of pilot mentorship initiatives to test the design.
5. Evaluation. Measurement of outcomes and particularly return-on-investment. We have written extensively on this topic.

How to start a Mentorship Program

Starting a mentorship program isn’t rocket science but there’s certainly an art to it. Pre-Evaluation and research are paramount to the success of any business mentorship program. It’s a good idea for a Program Manager to ensure that their company understands what mentoring is and how it might solve a particular problem or contribute to a particular business goal. For companies, the purpose is often to support high performers, or to improve engagement. For membership organizations, mentoring may be used as a member retention strategy, or to develop emerging leaders in the profession or industry.

Once you have a good idea of why you want to introduce a business mentorship program, check that your company is ready and tighten up how you will talk about your program. We highly recommend you take a look at our white paper The Ripple Effect, which will help you dive into the world of evidence-based methodologies on how to implement programs.

Interested in understanding more about how to start a mentorship program? Download our 7 Steps to Starting a Successful Mentoring Program eBook. 

[1] Bhide, V and Tootell, B (2018) Perceptions of sponsoring as a career advancement tool for women: Are they different in Europe? International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring 2018, 16 (1), DOI: 10.24384/000467
[2] David Clutterbuck, David Clutterbuck Partnerships 2018

©Art of Mentoring 2022

It may sound trite to say times are tough right now. But wherever you live, the stresses on daily life have been relentless. With a global pandemic, conflict in Ukraine, and in many parts of the world, the impacts of climate change in the form of fires, massive storms and floods, it would be hard not to be feeling anxious. Where I live in Australia, we were affected by unprecedented bushfires in 2019/ 2020, followed by Covid, and now severe weather causing massive flooding, as I write this.

After the fires, we released this blog Responding with Intention: Leadership After a Crisis. We also sought to help mentoring pairs stay connected when Covid forced many of us to work from home. But this year feels different. It’s not just one crisis, it’s one after another with no recovery time in between.

Whether you are coaching and mentoring people in your own work team, across your organisation, or outside of work, it requires a level of self-awareness to know when you are suffering too much from worry and fear yourself. We talk about how the reptilian brain hijacks the executive brain without us even realising it here. You can’t be helpful to others when you are feeling this way and so it’s important to find strategies to calm yourself and return to a more resourceful, grounded state. Tune back in to what’s important to you and stay true to your values. Give yourself a break. No one is expected to be a superhero, especially not at the moment.

How do you mentor others when they are worried and anxious?

1. Ask your mentee how they are feeling and what would be most helpful to them in your conversation. They may just need you to do MORE LISTENING. When people are anxious, sometimes they just want to unload and process their feelings.
2. Recognise when you cannot help. You probably can’t fix the underlying problems for them and they may need expert help. If you feel your mentee is suffering from extreme anxiety or depression, encourage them to seek professional help. They may need to suspend the mentoring for a while. Focusing on challenging goals may be inappropriate right now. If you are not sure how to recognise when to refer your mentee on, read this helpful resource from our good friend, Thea O’Connor.
3. Be vulnerable and share your own imperfections, including your own struggles with what is happening in your environment. This may help them to realise that it’s quite normal to feel anxious at times like these.
4. Make it OK for them to show emotions, and talk about them. The more you get comfortable with sitting quietly with someone who is suffering, the more useful you will be too them. Great mentors don’t fill awkward silences, they don’t necessarily try get mentees to see the positives in a terrible situation. They just listen and validate.

 The Wellbeing Lab 2020 Workplace Report found that that workers experience greater wellbeing and better performance when they feel psychologically safe to bring up problems and talk honestly about mistakes with each other. This finding is widely supported in various studies. Don’t underestimate what a lifeline you can be to your mentees when times get tough. You are needed!

© Melissa Richardson 2022

In 2022, one of the most pressing people issues is a shortage of talent. There is no question that retaining people – whether they are defined as high performing talent or not, is critical. Getting the employee value proposition right is the key. So where does mentoring fit in with what employees are looking for?

In Josh Bersin’s HR Predictions for 2022 report, he describes succinctly how the employee value proposition has changed. He says “Learning, skills, and career pathways will become business-critical”.

Mentoring has long been proven in practice and research to strongly influence engagement and retention of both mentors and mentees.  In a study conducted by Sun Microsystems, retention of mentors and mentees was compared with non-mentored people in a control group. They found that the difference in retention alone saved an incredible $6.7M.

But how does mentoring affect engagement and retention?  At Art of Mentoring, we make it our mission to deliver research and evidence-based mentoring, so we’ve spent some time looking at why mentoring programs positively influence employees’ attitudes to and satisfaction with, their work and their employers. We believe that mentoring contributes to each of the six pillars in the model above.

Let’s start with the obvious. Developmental mentoring is more than transactional. It’s a journey of learning. Good developmental mentoring builds capability in both the mentee and mentor. Mentees can focus on skills gaps, and mentors can enhance their own skills in offering developmental dialogue which is so crucial for a successful mentoring relationship. As shown in the chart above, providing Growth Opportunity through capability-building enhances job performance, satisfaction and builds a strong bench for future roles.

Mentoring also contributes to Health & Wellbeing, another of the key pillars. Mentoring increases affective wellbeing for both mentors and mentees and is widely acknowledged to have a psychosocial aspect. Mentors provide emotional support and help to normalize workplace struggles and concerns.

Cohort-based mentoring programs (where participants are exposed to more than just their own partner) help break down silos within organizations and enhance understanding and trust, which contributes to a more Positive Workplace.

Mentoring can connect or re-connect mentors and mentees with the Meaning in their Work. In our 2020 research project, we pulled aggregate data from 13,000 participants in our programs to find that that 46% of the mentee respondents said that the Art of Mentoring programs were one of the best things they had done in their career. The biggest program impacts on mentees were on personal learning and growth, self-awareness and confidence, more meaning and purpose and increased likelihood of staying in their organization, profession, or industry. Mentors in our programs often report that the reflective dialogue with their mentees reminds the mentors of why they embarked on their careers or chosen professions in the first place.

There are brand-enhancing benefits of running formal mentoring programs. Mentees are grateful to their organization for the mentoring opportunity, and mentors see the benefits too. In our research, 85% of mentees and almost 80% of mentors said that the mentoring experience had a positive impact on their impression of the organization that offered it to them. This investment in people builds Trust in the Organization.

Mentoring is a common intervention to build Strong Management and leadership strength. A mentor can help a manager develop an authentic leadership style and presence and help equip them for future challenges.

 

Can you afford NOT to have mentoring in your organization?

Not if you want to compete for and retain the best talent. Today, remote work and virtual connections are the norm, and mentoring is an important tool to maintain human connection. People are longing for meaningful connections that are removed from specific outcomes in the day-to-day activity of their role. Combined with the power of being able to focus on oneself and externalize inner dialogue, mentoring is a powerful tool for improving wellbeing and self-confidence.

Mentoring is not just a feel-good exercise but rather it can be a powerful tool in reframing engagement and retention activities within the workplace. It creates a competitive edge against other employers trying to attract the same candidates and it improves staying power for those involved as they create more meaning in their role now, and into the future.

 

A Strategic Mentoring approach guarantees successful ROI

Strategic Mentoring takes a purpose-led approach to design and implementation of organizational mentoring initiatives, linking mentoring back to business goals. Program objectives are established and measured during and after the program to prove return-on-investment. Organizations that follow this approach often have several mentoring programs on offer, with a blend of formal and informal offerings. For example, they may offer mentoring to increase diversity, increase engagement in middle management, or develop a stronger leadership bench.

For targeted mentoring programs, a cohort learning approach makes sense. Whilst criticized for being administratively onerous, some of the benefits of cohort-based learning far outweigh the disadvantages, especially if the organization uses mentoring software to automate as much as possible. Cohort programs enhance the learning experience through collaboration, provide structure for the mentoring pairs in the form of milestone dates and group events, and both mentors and mentees benefit from different perspectives and networking opportunities with their peers.

But not everyone may be able to join a cohort program, because they may not be eligible. A less formal organization-wide program that caters for people who are not covered in the cohort programs can fill this gap, operating on a ‘mentoring-on-demand’ model, where mentees seek their own mentors.

We know that where formal cohort mentoring programs have been implemented, informal and on-demand mentoring flourishes, because there is a ready pool of mentors trained in the cohort programs. Formal, cohort-based programs play an important role in training and preparing people for effective mentoring relationships that can emerge organically without any administrative effort.

If you’re not taking a strategic approach to mentoring, we can assure you, the organizations that have, are already attracting, developing and retaining the talent you want for your future success. Is it time to catch up? Absolutely, or you will be left way behind.

Read more about the process steps involved in strategic mentoring or contact us to learn more about how we can help you with your mentoring strategy and implement cohort or on-demand programs that deliver a positive ROI.

 

© Melissa Richardson 2022