How can experienced leaders benefit from a mentorship program?

One thing I found helpful is fresh perspectives. Over period Senior leaders tend to be working with standard methods, mentorship helps to understand the new management technics that are really helpful to understand the new generation and give better ways to handle the relationships with your team.

Mentoring matters at all leadership levels as it’s a way of gaining insights from someone who has walked the walk, and has the knowledge and experience to offer a different perspective on situations that you may not have considered. The higher a leader gets, the less people there are to open up to or bounce ideas off, making mentorship even more important to senior leaders. A good mentor will give you the bigger picture and solid examples of how to succeed, highlighting how your current thinking may be preventing you from seeing solutions and opportunities.

Experienced leaders benefit immensely from mentoring. Imagine feeling stuck in routine, then a mentor brings new perspectives, lighting up your world with fresh ideas. They update you with the latest trends, expanding your skills in our dynamic business environment. Mentors also widen your network, opening unexpected doors. Beyond business, these interactions enhance your emotional intelligence, helping you better understand and manage feelings. Plus, being a mentor yourself is rewarding as you share your wisdom and watch others grow. Mentorship is a two-way street of growth and discovery.

Experienced leaders can gain valuable insights, fresh perspectives, and continued professional growth through a mentorship program, benefiting from the guidance and wisdom of seasoned mentors to navigate new challenges and refine leadership skills.

An additional huge benefit of mentoring that is often missed is how it can improve diversity at management level. A study by Harvard in 2016 highlighted that you can get an uplift of around 20% of minority groups into management positions after 5 years through implementing mentoring programs. It was one of the best ways to improve diversity at that level of all methods tried, because it creates bonds between mentor and mentee that overrides the biases that prevent progress. That of course is of benefit to all including the leaders.

Find a mentor is one of the most difficult tasks to execute, mainly because you need someone who can be on the same wavelength as you are. Must have patients and can understand how to resolve challenges. It took me years to find a mentor that is relatable and have the right leadership attitude. When trying to find a leader look at their soft skills. At the end you are looking for a leader and not a manager.

Mentors are typically chosen based having on a skill, perspective, or set of experiences from which you want to learn. You first need to get clear on what it is you want from the mentoring relationship so that you can target mentors who can meet that need. Equally important is having a mentor who is genuinely interested in AND has capacity to invest time in mentoring. It's not unusual to find someone who has time, but no inclination to mentor. Similarly, you can find someone with the interest who has no capacity to actually do the mentoring. In either scenario, you're likely to be left with a mentoring relationship that fails to truly meet your objectives.

One can find a mentor in their organisation or outside their organisation. Chartered Management Institute runs a mentoring programme and it has been in place for a number of years. One can have different mentor for different area.

To find a mentor, you need to follow some steps that can help you identify your needs, narrow down your options, and establish a successful relationship. First, reflect on why you want a mentor. Second, consider the people you admire or respect and reach out to them.

In my experience, finding a mentor starts with firstly understanding ourselves well enough to know what we value, what we really need and what gets us inspired to take action. Self-awareness and clarity of our future goals and desires sets a strong foundation for a successful mentoring relationship. Once we know that, then finding a mentor who is aligned with our values and understands our needs becomes less challenging. Meeting other leaders who inspire us and talking to leaders who have inspiring mentors also gives us a feel of what we are missing in our careers. Once we desire for a mentor, we would do more to step out of our comfort zone and reach out for a mentor.

To prepare for a relationship with a mentor, you need to share your goals. Prepare for the meeting or the conversation, and have some questions or topics ready to discuss. You should also research the person's background, achievements, and interests. You should stay curious, attentive, and respectful during the meeting. After every conversation, you need to follow up, keeping in touch with the mentor regularly and measuring the benefits and outcome of the relationship.

The most important step once matched in a mentorship relationship is to set up your mentorship alliance. Most set ups I see are task driven, but what is most important is to understand who you both want to 'be' in the relationship together. Aligning on your outcomes and goals for sure, but what aligning around when things feel challenging or when meetings are missed and how to communicate is paramount to start off!

Firstly, you must be ready for a change. This is a process that will change you, and how you perceive your current situation. Being open to feedback and respective to your mentor's guidance is a must, but it does not exclude discussion. Mentoring is not a monologue, but an open dialogue of two individuals who decided to work together. Prepare for the meetings, and be ready to challenge yourself. Change your modus operandi, and see what comes out of it. It is the best way to learn, when you have an experienced sparing partner.

To be a mentor, you must have some qualities and skills to help you support and guide your mentee. First and foremost, you need relevant expertise or knowledge in the field or domain you are mentoring. You should be able to share your insights, experiences, and best practices with your mentee and help them achieve their goals. Also, be respectful of your mentee and their aspirations. Treat them as equals and value their opinions, ideas, and feedback. Honesty, confidentiality, and trustworthiness are necessary, along with active listening and communication skills.

To be a quality mentor, you must be teachable and vulnerable. The entire mentorship journey is a two-sided learning experience, driven by the mentee and supported by the more experienced mentor. You must first learn the needs of the mentee, why they are seeking guidance and support, why they feel you can help, and then understand how your experiences can help them. Being open and vulnerable with your experiences and emotions throughout your journey will help create a connection, and by being teachable you can learn the approaches, perspectives, and individualized experiences of the mentee.

In my experience of running seven editions of the mentoring programme for the members of Polish Copper Employers Association (#ZPPM), I can say that it is important to prepare mentors for their role. I think it is vital to give mentors guidelines and the state-of-art knowledge about how mentoring works to help mentees achieve their goals. Mentoring programmes should be structured, all parties should be aware of their roles, and decide on their goals. Mentors should be open to discussion about how the programme works, as well as supervision of the process. Exchange of ideas and coaching techniques are invaluable to ensure that mentors are well-prepared and confident to perform their role.

Being a mentor is a two-way journey of growth. Beyond refining leadership skills, mentoring offers a fresh lens through your mentee's perspectives. Witnessing their development enhances your confidence and satisfaction. It's not just about expanding your network; it's about the profound impact you make. Success as a mentor requires commitment, creating a supportive environment, and adapting to diverse learning styles. Embrace curiosity and humility—be open to learning from your mentee as much as you teach. In this reciprocal relationship, both mentor and mentee become catalysts for each other's continuous evolution.

When it comes to just getting started with a mentorship program, it is vital to align on one key aspect; the long term goal. It is quite common to come across situations where mentees’ primary goal is land a certain job within a certain timeline and they seek mentorship for the purpose of this guidance only. However, one of the first things that I like to align with my mentees is the bigger picture that they are seeking, if not clear, I work with them in defining this first. Without the bigger picture defined, it’s easy to mindlessly do things without a strategic approach leading to a siloed efforts.

Learn to ask great questions to mentors. Great questions are: - open - "what was important to you at 20?" - exploratory - "tell me more about that role?", "where were you at 25?" - seek specifics - "what triggered that change?" ...and share a) thank yous and b) the actions you will take and c) the impact of those actions with those who have been mentors for you!

Consider exploring reverse mentoring—encourage your mentee to share their insights and knowledge with you. This reciprocal exchange not only enriches your understanding but also empowers your mentee. Embrace diversity by seeking mentors or mentees with distinct perspectives. Regularly acknowledge and celebrate achievements. This approach transforms the mentorship program into a dynamic and mutually beneficial journey of continuous learning and growth for both parties.

Don't limit yourself to formal programs! If anything, leverage the mentorship program activities, connections, and experiences provided to build your network, identify additional mentorship needs, and examine next steps. Also, as you experience more mentorship programs, you may identify what activities/approaches are most important to your growth, as well as the tools and controls most relevant to you. From that, you may be able to develop a program for yourself from your own networks!

To make the most out of a mentorship program would mean to have a 3rd party, team or relationship systems coach support the relationship to enable the participants to connect well, get clear and create outcomes efficiently. Mentorship relationships can have many hidden expectations, assumptions and biases that need to be unfolded carefully in order to have them be successful. In my role, I support the relationship to get started, do a mid-term check in and work to up level the relationship further and am called in to support the relationship when needed Then I complete with the mentorship relationship with a completion call to establish if the relationship will continue, assess learnings, next steps & align with HR on program performance.

One of my favorite things to consider about mentorship is the distinction between "mentorship" and "sponsorship" - sponsorship is ACTIVE mentorship. It's speaking someone's names in rooms they aren't in, it's advocating and evangelizing for mentees, inviting them to participate in meetings, projects and calls they wouldn't otherwise have an opportunity to participate in (etc). Being someone's sponsor takes mentorship to a whole other level.

I like to consider mentorship as accelerated knowledge and experience acquisition. Mentorship is more effective than other approaches such as reading or attending leadership classes because it is the deeper trust and bond (if built) allows for more personal questions to be asked (by the mentee) and experience to be shared (by the mentor). The experience is catered towards a specific and local response instead of a general global response.

Sometimes, experienced leaders may shift to overconfident zone. Juniors may not have the courage to convey. It’s a mentor who can do so easily and help in course correction.

Don’t forget about creating opportunities outside of a formal mentorship program. As a leader you can create mentorship opportunities outside of a formal program, by fostering a culture of collaboration and knowledge-sharing. Encourage team members to pair up based on interests or skills, and allocate time for regular informal discussions. Provide platforms for sharing experiences, like team meetings or a designated communication channel. Lead by example and showcase the benefits of mentorship through your own interactions, reinforcing the idea that learning from peers is valuable. Mentorship can be a part of your organizational culture without the need of a formal program.

Mentorship matters and is important at all levels of leadership. As I’ve grown in my own leadership, I’ve come to learn that there are other areas of mentorship besides the guidance one receives from his/her mentor. My career is where it is now because someone else mentioned my name for a stretch project opportunity as she was leaving the company. One of the keys of mentoring is support by way of mentioning someone else’s name for opportunities and stretch projects. This is also a great way for allies to BIPOC support their careers.