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

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

GUEST BLOG

One of the many myths of coaching and mentoring is that personal growth is primarily a planned activity – so coaches and mentors should concentrate on helping people to set and pursue goals. The reality is somewhat different. Human beings are growing and changing constantly and most of this evolution is unplanned, uncontrolled, unaware and emergent.  Goals and plans lead us to focus on doing and to marginalise the equally important, if not far more important, process of becoming. There is a wide gulf between the questions What do you want to achieve? and Who do you want to become?

While goal management may be a key focus for beginner coaches, more mature coaches tend to attend to becomingness, although they may not use that term to describe what they do. Becomingness is about what is happening in the present on your journey to a different place or state. Becomingness is closely aligned with liminality — the state of being in between one definable state and another. The difference is that in becomingness you are aware — to a greater or lesser extent — of the transition and able to reflect upon it as it happens rather than in hindsight. The awareness in becomingness is typically emergent, increasing in intensity with the frequency and duration of the liminal experience.

Becomingness is also associated with wisdom, because wisdom involves an enhanced awareness of both the inner world of oneself and how we interface with the outer world of others. Wisdom, in turn, is associated with recognising and being able to work with increasing levels of complexity.

Among the many aspects of becomingness are:

Doubt: The sense that assumptions we hold may be only partially true or not true at all.

Self-doubt: A sense of instability or uncertainty in our identity, the value of our contribution or accomplishments.

Discomfort: The intuitive sense that all is not well or as it should be.

Dislocation: The sense that we have lost closeness to colleagues, loved ones, a previously passionate interest or things that gave us meaning in life.

Relocation: The sense that we are on a journey.

Emotional dissonance: The sense that values are conflicting in ways that have not happened for you before.

Anticipation: A sense of curiosity about the future and the direction of change.

Acceptance: Learning to let go of “old clothes” that no longer fit.

When coaches and mentors help clients become more aware of these changes, they help the client replace the anxiety of not knowing where they are headed with an appreciation of the scenery on the journey. The client can make small, purposeful adjustments as they go. Like a sailor, they see both the horizon and the patterns of the waves immediately surrounding them.

As always, we can support these reflections with well-timed, insight-provoking questions. For example:

• How might addressing a doubt liberate you from the constraints of current assumptions?
• How can you use self-doubt as a stimulus to learn and grow?
• Where is the discomfort? Can you describe the conflict (of values, emotions etc) that is giving rise to it?
• What’s the nature of the dislocation that is happening for you? What is changing in the winds around you?
• What metaphor works for you in describing the journey you are on?
• What values do you need to reconsider and re-evaluate? Where did those values come from? What’s the connection between them? What new values are emerging for you?
• Looking through the mist at your future journey, what excites you? What possibilities are opening up for you?
• When will you be ready to clear out your mental wardrobe of things you no longer need? How will you do that?
• How will you find the time, the space and the motivation to become more aware of how you are evolving as a person?
• How can you celebrate the person you are becoming?

And, of course, these are all questions coaches and mentors can ask themselves regularly. The more practised we are at self-aware becomingness, the more patient and present we can be with our coachees and mentees.

© David Clutterbuck 2021