Padlock Skill Gaps on Both Sides... Exercise The art of “REVERSE MENTORING”

Outlandishly folks of this VUCA epoch often believe and surmise, the more adroit grey-haired adept we?are, the less we need to learn and exercise humility in being teachable. Nonetheless, the ‘tender foot’ ‘green horns and novice team members often have valuable skills, a fresh and newfangled and unsmoked harvested perspective and dexterity that can unwieldly benefit their more established colleagues including some veteran?leaders of the day.?

In this succinct write up, we'll mull over at how ‘Reverse Mentoring’ can aid you and I to bridge organizational hierarchies and mutually grow our skillset.?

What Is Reverse Mentoring??

‘Reverse Mentoring’ heartens and stimulates employees to shape and structure “Professional Amigo”,?regardless of seniority?to exchange skills, knowledge, and understanding.?

The former CEO of General Electric, Jack Welch, is credited with inventing the concept of ‘reverse mentoring’. No sooner as he recognized his lack and dearth of technology skills in the late 1990s and believed that the youngest people joining the company were far more knowledgeable about new technologies than their managers. So, he asked 500 of his top executives to seek out mentors from among these new joiners.?

Traditionally, a mentor is expected to be more senior and more skillfully accomplished than their mentee, notwithstanding ‘reverse mentoring’ recognizes and concedes there are deft gaps on both sides equally and that each person can address their weaknesses with the help of the other's honed strengths and brawniness.?

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Why Form a Reverse Mentoring Relationship??

‘Reverse Mentoring’ can play an important role in crossing generational divides. Not only does it encourage communication across multi-generational workforces?but can also aid to break down harmful stereotypes about different ages groups.?

Please bear in mind ‘Reverse Mentoring’ isn’t just about age. New starters can provide fresh perspectives and ways of working/operating, while long-serving team members likely possess a wealth of organizational know-how.?

‘Reverse Mentoring’ ethereally fabricates and molds us for?opportunities to diversify our skillsets and unveil to exercise exposition encircling our own knowledge at the same time.?

It is supremely foremost to evacuate our strongholds of prejudices at the door. We may believe that millennials?are entitled or inherently deserving while the older generations are?resistant to change but these assumptions and suppositions are likely way too far from the truth. Treat, serve and intertwine one with another in our team as an individual, astutely leveraging?our best judgment when setting up a 'Reverse Mentoring Relationship’ is critically credulous

Drawbacks of Reverse Mentoring Alike All Proven Models?(Caveat with workaround)

There are several potential drawbacks when we engage in a "Reverse Mentoring Partnership".?

Rudimentary, senior team members may be incredulous to believe that their younger mentors have valuable and inestimable knowledge to share, and that they may not be open but with feathers clipped to receiving feedback from people with less experience. Conversely, newer team members need to feel at aplomb and staunch enough to share their ‘line of sight’, and they may be less willing to participate if they are afraid of offering feedback to more established colleagues.?

We may also find that folks are unwilling to dedicate time in their already busy schedules to mentor a person they don't like or respect.?

Finally, role and responsibility for you & I to exercise and run may not need much know-how of new technology, in such situations, ‘Reverse Mentoring Partnerships’ may only be "nice to have," rather than "highly desirable."?

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How Do?We Create Successful Reverse Mentoring Partnership??

The undermentioned inscribed five step quick strategic trudge path to abide by can aid, set up an effective ‘Reverse Mentoring Relationship’ with a more junior team member.?

1. Identify Good Potential Partners?

An effective, powerful and potent ‘Mentoring Relationship’ needs good chemistry between both participants. Our ideal partner should have skills or knowledge that we need and be willing to build an alliance with strong allegiance with us. We?may want to conduct a?personal SWOT evaluation?to identify, meter and gauge strengths and weaknesses that we conspicuously can address.?

We may also want to prosper and evolve a relationship with someone externally who has different life and work experience and conversance. We certainly want to be cognizant to not?share sensitive or sensitized information about our organization, if you do this and get apposite green permission first.?

2. Set Clear Goals and Expectations?

We’d want to only chew over and talk through our expectations for the relationship with our mentoring partner upfront, making sure that both parties are equally committed, and that our goals are lucidly and nearly interwoven and aligned. What do we?want to get out of the relationship? What specific skills do we?want to learn? What knowledge, skills and experience can we offer or provide and needless to mention How and where will the interpolation be exercised??

3. Work on Your Communication Skills?

It can be challenging to communicate with someone with vastly disparate experience or skills. Illustratively, some people may feel more comfortable engaging with others by email or a quick messenger, while others may prefer to speak over a call or exchange in person. Make certain we are sensitized to the other person's communication preferences and needs, immutably stands cardinal and will be an absolute ‘Cut & Dried’.?

4. Be Tactful, Patient and Open-Minded?

Both, we and our ‘Reverse Mentoring Partner’ must be open and exercise humility being teachable and learning from one another. So, abide and endure respectful, and active listening with a parachute mind set without any preconceived notions is the key to the padlock. Taming our infuriation and uncalled for frustrations if our partner doesn't understand the skills, we are trying to share is an inevitable part of this model. Instead, communicate and exchange with tact, delicacy and prudence alluding encouraging feedback that doesn’t belittle their knowledge. Use and exercise constructive feedback to help them understand your perspective aiming at ‘Building’ and ‘Mutual Edifice’.?

5. Measure Your Progress?

Check in regularly to ensure that both parties are ungutted and at glory with the relationship, and that we're getting the information sought, notwithstanding if we are not making desired progress, feel free to schedule a brainstorming?session and discuss new ways to achieve individual aspired goals.?

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Noteworthy Cardinal Takeaways?

In a ‘Reverse Mentoring Partnership’ colleagues “pair up” – regardless of seniority to learn from one another. This can benefit both parties' careers in several ways:??

1.Sharing specific expertise such as technology or leadership skills

2.Bridging generational and hierarchical gaps to improve communication

3.Encouraging collaborations across teams

The classic and exemplary ‘Reverse Mentoring Relationship’ will have:??

1.A mutually beneficial exchange or skills and/ or knowledge?

2.Clear goals and expectations to measure the success of the partnership?

3.Honest, respectful communication and regular meetings?

4.Open-minded approaches to teaching and learning?