Boss as Mentor in Software?

Mentoring as it exists today

In software industry, the number of companies that have a well-defined process for assigning a mentor to an employee is very small. And wherever it exists, the process is effective particularly at a junior level when an engineer joins a company.

For example, immediately after joining a company, a software engineer (with less than 5 years experience) is assigned a Tech Lead or Senior Software Engineer as a mentor. For the next few months, the mentor imparts the best practices of technology, domain, process, etc and the process works well.

However, for employees working at the managerial level (engineering manager, product manager, program manager), either the mentorship process does not exist or is not very effective.

I believe that the unwritten rule has been that the managers (EM, PM, PgM) would receive mentoring from their supervisor or boss. Let’s call it the Boss-Mentor model.

In my view, this model is not very effective and is fundamentally flawed for to following reasons:

• The Boss-Mentor is also the Appraiser of Performance: Any effective mentoring or coaching requires the mentee to have a detailed discussion of the problem, which may include revealing their flaws and shortcomings and acknowledging their inability to complete the task at hand. However, if the mentor is also responsible for appraising the performance (as the mentor is also the boss), and the appraisal rating determines the percentage of salary increase or variable pay, then the mentee would be very hesitant to discuss their shortcomings and flaws with the Boss-Mentor.
• Hierarchical Authority of Boss-Mentor:? A boss, being higher up in the organisational hierarchy, often feels obliged to address all the issues faced by their mentee and sometimes ends up providing a half-baked or incorrect solution.
• Boss-Mentor is not a Trained Coach: Coaching is an art where the style of delivery and customisation of content based on the mentee plays a crucial role in the overall effectiveness of the process. However, very few Boss-Mentors are trained coaches, which limits the benefits the mentee can gain.
• Boss-Mentor is part of the Problem:? Sometimes, the relationship with the boss itself can be a part of the problem that the mentee faces, and the mentee may not feel comfortable discussing it with their boss. After all, as the saying goes, "People leave bad bosses, not bad companies.

So, what is the solution then?

I believe that we need to separate both roles.

A boss, who assesses and rates someone's performance, and a mentor, who helps someone grow in their professional life, cannot be the same person.

I admit that a few of us are fortunate and have someone in our network, such as friends, relatives, or former bosses turned friends, with whom we are comfortable discussing our problems and solutions.

However, a vast majority of us are not fortunate enough, and we navigate most of our professional lives without the guidance of a proper mentor, often leading to a fair share of poor decisions.

How significant is the problem?

I am not sure. Would like to hear from my connection via poll.

Here is link to poll