Important as formal training programmes are for developing people, some of the most effective learning happens on the job. More experienced colleagues can be the best coaches.
While some educators draw sharp distinctions between coaching and mentoring, a lot of this informal support and advice is essentially mentoring. As well as benefiting the mentee, these one-to-one relationships can be a boon to organisations, not least by aiding succession planning or promoting diversity in senior roles. So, it’s no surprise that more employers are establishing formal mentoring programmes.
Mentees may be new managers just recruited or promoted, someone on a fast-track development programme, or an employee considered less likely to benefit from conventional training. Whatever the selection criteria, the potential benefits are significant for both mentee and mentor, justifying the investment in setting up and running mentoring programmes.
For mentees, the advantages are obvious. Having a sounding board can boost self-awareness, confidence and esteem. Feedback from a wise head accelerates applied learning. It can also encourage ambition and new ideas, so we push ourselves to take on new challenges.
Any good mentor will confirm that the gains tend to be mutual. Apart from the sense of fulfilment from helping others progress, the act of mentoring hones your interpersonal skills. Mentees from a different cultural background or generation often bring a fresh perspective on issues. A mentor with an open mind will welcome the opportunity to re-evaluate set opinions when challenged.
Not every mentoring relationship is productive. It’s essential to establish rapport early and to allow either party to opt for a better match. Both sides need to commit – not just diary time for meetings, but also to planning, preparation, agreed tasks, and reviewing progress regularly and honestly.
What makes a good mentor?
Effective mentors have the empathy needed to build mutual trust and empower mentees by supporting them and nurturing their confidence and competence, so they become independent. And they recognise when the mentee has outgrown the relationship.
At the outset, it’s important also to agree boundaries. Both need to feel comfortable at all times, whatever is being discussed. It’s not essential to draw up a written agreement, but do be clear on lines not to be crossed. Personal views on colleagues or company policies on pay or other issues may be best avoided.
A mentor will make best use of their sessions by employing questioning techniques and shaping conversions so that they get straight to the facts, challenge the mentee, encourage them to commit, and motivate them to push themselves.
The funnel method is one such technique. It starts with open questions to elicit a full explanation, before probing salient details more deeply. Closed questions then seek a quick clarification and firm commitment before the mentor paraphrases what’s been agreed, to confirm both are on the same page.
Active listening is arguably even more fundamental to a productive mentoring relationship. This means maintaining eye contact, being mindful of your body language, interrupting only to check understanding, and allowing silent time for considered responses to questions.
Mentoring is a potentially valuable extension of any in-house training and development programme. And so is tutoring the would-be mentors in the various skills they will need when: structuring mentoring sessions, asking questions, actively listening, setting SMART objectives, and closing a meeting.
Not only will their mentoring be more effective, their teams, careers, and the organisation as a whole will reap the benefits too.
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