Making Mentoring part of your company DNA

Mentoring is such a powerful tool for personal development.? I’ve been very fortunate to have had some brilliant mentors over my career, both formal and informal. I’ve learnt so much from all of them and still find mentoring to be one of the most impactful forms of development.

So, what do we mean by ‘mentoring’? ?

In its simplest form mentoring is a process in which an experienced individual provides guidance and support to someone who is less experienced. ?This can take many different forms, but often includes sharing knowledge, providing advice, and offering career development opportunities. For me, one of the most important parts of a mentoring relationship is having a safe, impartial sounding board who will strrtch you and challenge your thinking.

?“Regardless of our titles or years of experience, we can learn from each other. Through mentoring and by being open to learn where we can reach our ultimate potential.”?Lily Benjamin

Mentoring can also help to promote collaboration and teamwork. By working together towards common goals, mentors and mentees can help build a strong sense of community within an organisation. ?Mentoring relationships also provide opportunities for mentees to reflect on their own performance and to learn from their mistakes without feeling like they have failed.

There are many different forms of mentoring, here are just 3 i find really impactful: ?

Developmental mentoring: - Developmental mentoring can be used to support employees as they work to further their careers. The goal of developmental mentoring is to provide employees with the guidance and support they need to navigate their professional development. Developmental mentoring typically involves a relationship between a senior and more junior employee. The senior employee provides guidance and support to the mentee, helping them to develop the skills and knowledge they need to further their career. The mentee, in turn, gains valuable insights and experience that can help them in their own career development. Developmental mentoring can be an immensely beneficial tool for both individual employees and businesses as a whole. By supporting employees as they develop their careers, businesses can help to ensure that they have the skilled workforce they need to compete in today’s economy.

Mentoring for inclusion: - Employees in underrepresented groups within the organisation often face additional barriers when trying to advance their careers. ?Mentoring can help to level the playing field by targeting these groups and creating equitable opportunities for career development. By pairing mentees with mentors who share their background or identity, these programs can provide much-needed support and advice. And by giving mentees the chance to build their network and gain exposure to new opportunities, mentoring programs can help to create a more equitable workplace for everyone and a more inclusive culture, where all employees are encouraged to develop.

Reverse mentoring: - This can be a great way to create more transparency and collaboration within an organisation. ?By pairing more experienced executives (for example) with, (often) younger employees, everyone can benefit from sharing knowledge and ideas. The mentor can learn about new technologies and approaches (for example), while the mentee gains valuable insights into the company's history and culture and more. Reverse mentoring programs can also help to break down hierarchical barriers, fostering a more open and inclusive workplace.

Another great way to use reverse mentoring is for raising awareness of the importance of EDI. If a company has little diversity in the senior team (for example), pairing a member of the exec with a member of staff from a different background, ethnicity, gender or socioeconomic status is a good way for them to learn about the issues often faced by minority or underrepresented groups when trying to further their career. Once they understand more, they can help to remove barriers as well as become more of an ally in the workplace.

What makes a great mentor?

A mentor should be someone who can provide guidance, support, and advice when it's needed, but who also knows when to step back and let their mentee take the lead. They are patient and generous with their time, willing to share their knowledge and experience. A great mentor builds up their mentee, helping them to grow in confidence and reach their potential.

Self-awareness, accessibility, communication, ability to empower, desire to help others develop and empathy are important qualities of a mentor. A mentor should have a good understanding of her or his own strengths and development needs. They should be willing and able to commit sufficient time to their mentee to offer support and guidance as well as being an excellent listener and a great communicator. ?Mentoring is about helping people grow and achieve their full potential. ?

“I encourage all of you to seek out teachers and mentors that challenge you to think for yourself and guide you to find your own voice.” Renee Olstead

Integrating mentoring into your company DNA

A mentoring culture is about investing in people. When an organisation provides mentoring opportunities, it's demonstrating to its employees that it cares about their development and wants to help them reach their full potential. This type of culture can have a profound effect on morale and motivation, as employees feel valued and supported. ?In addition, a mentoring culture can lead to increased retention rates, as employees are less likely to leave an organisation that is committed to their development. ?

Mentoring can also help create an inclusive environment in the workplace. Employees who feel like they belong are more likely to be engaged and productive, and mentors can play an important role in promoting inclusivity.

Organisations that value diversity and inclusivity are more likely to be successful than those that don't. A company with a gender-diverse leadership team is 25% more likely to earn above-average profits, while an organisation with an ethnically diverse executive team is 36% more likely to see stronger than average revenue (data from McKinsey). Inclusion of employees from different backgrounds and walks of life can bring new perspectives and ideas to help your business grow.

Having mentors removes workplace barriers and builds the safe environment necessary for employees to feel a sense of belonging within an organisation.

A simple way to foster a mentoring culture is providing every new employee with a mentor when they join teh business. That way, from a person's first week within your company, they can see that personal development is a key value. Not only will they have somebody to show them the ropes, but they'll also have somebody to go to for advice and guidance. This relationship can be invaluable in helping new employees settle into their role and feel confident in their ability to contribute to the company.

Things to consider

It's not enough to just roll out a mentoring training course. Organisations need a culture where learning and knowledge sharing are foundational values that guide everything they do, at every level within the company.

Investing in a mentoring culture is more time-consuming than merely running a few training sessions but it’s essential if you want to ensure mentoring becomes part of your organisations DNA.

1. Make sure senior leadership is supportive of mentoring initiatives. Without buy-in from the top, it will be difficult to create a sustainable culture of mentorship.

“People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision.” John C Maxwell

Getting the c-suite on board with your mentoring programme can be a game changer for company culture. Behaviours filter down from the top. If the leaders in your organisation are advocating and role-modelling mentoring, it won't be long until people start to take notice. Identify the key stakeholders are in your company and come up with some strategic ways of appealing to them. Whether it's retention rates or employee happiness, make a business case for mentoring that will resonate best with your senior leaders.

2. Provide training for mentors….and mentees! ?Mentors play an important role in supporting and guiding mentees through their development journey. By providing training for mentors, you can help ensure that they have the tools and skills they need to be successful. It’s also worth providing some education for mentees so they know what to expect and how best to prepare.

3. Matching mentors with mentees. One of the most important aspects of creating a successful mentoring relationship is matching mentors with mentees. This means considering factors such as experience, personality, interests, and goals.

When choosing a mentor, it's often best to let employees pick someone who they're interested in learning from, rather than forcing a relationship. That way, there's more buy-in from both parties, and the mentee is more likely to seek out their mentor's advice.

4. Accessibility: Mentoring can be a great way to improve employee morale and build a strong team dynamic, but only if it's accessible to everyone. If the sign-up process is complicated or navigating the program is difficult, people will be less likely to participate.

Making mentoring easy to access and use will encourage more employees to get involved and make the most of the benefits. Having a central place for information and sign-ups will make the process simpler and more user-friendly. By making mentoring more accessible, you can create a thriving program that benefits your whole organisation.

I'd love to know how you're using mentoring in your organisation and what you've seen/experienced that works really well?