Three Mentoring Strategies for a Sustainable Culture of Leadership

I would not be the leader I am today without the mentors I looked up to when I was still starting. While it is true that success and growth are often in the hands of an individual, having people to support and guide us can help us reach our milestones with greater possibility, if not 100% certainty.

Why is mentorship important in leadership development?

In the teams I lead, I always remind the members in a leadership position to employ effective mentoring strategies. In my opinion, gearing up team members to become future leaders is an untold business continuity hack. When we can leave our team members without us supervising them because they are equipped to act and decide with a leadership mindset, we can be assured that the company or organization is in good hands even in our absence.

In a Forbes article I recently read and enjoyed, research on mentorship affirmed my long-time theory on the matter: organizations and companies that invest in mentoring employees can enjoy higher productivity and breed a culture of greater loyalty.?

Three Mentoring Strategies for a Sustainable Leadership Culture

First Strategy: Establish a structured mentorship program

Setting up structured programs for company initiatives can help team members implement, iterate, and create a culture around enriching activities like mentorship programs.?

In establishing a mentorship program, it may help to include an effective matching of mentors and mentees who share similar traits and values. Another layer of structure is setting clear goals between mentors and mentees. This can empower them to work together towards aligned expectations and milestones.

There is also a process called “cross-pollinating,” where mentors from another organization may be invited to coach some of the rising leaders within your own organization. This was also mentioned in the Forbes article I found, and I agree that it can offer diverse ideas and fresh perspectives.

Second Strategy: Foster informal mentorship opportunities

Informal mentorship opportunities may include networking events such as team-building, coffee catch-ups, team lunches, or regular online catch-ups, for those working in a remote-only environment. Spaces like this can be breeding grounds to nurture valuable mentor-mentee relationships that can empower trust and loyalty within the company’s teams.

Cross-functional projects where mentors and mentees from different departments can also provide opportunities for natural coaching or mentorship to occur. These projects may include collaboration in organizing town hall meetings, year-end gatherings, or company-wide holiday events.

Another informal mentorship opportunity to consider is having an open-door policy. This empowers team members to be able to approach the managers and leaders within the organization. In my opinion, true leaders are accessible and generous with their wisdom and in giving advice because they believe this is crucial to the growth of the company.

Third Strategy: Encourage Constructive Feedback and Continuous Development

Mentors exist exactly for this reason. And it’s not to willy-nilly hand out feedback, point out mistakes, or cite rooms for improvement. Providing constructive feedback offers mentees the chance to gain fresh perspectives, stay creative, and be enthusiastic about growth.

Apart from inspiring continuous development, mentors should also collaborate on setting realistic goals. They must be on the same page in terms of expectations, key performance indicators, and the vision of a desired outcome. Doing so can help them work together on refining the process in case the results are different from the preliminary vision.

An effective mentor also knows that it is important to advise mentees to be proactive participants in their growth and learning. This is why part of their strategy is to suggest additional learning experiences or references. This can be in the form of recommended readings, seminars, or workshops.

Each mentor may have their own approaches and methods of knowledge sharing. These three strategies are just some of what I commonly employ in my teams, and they're what I have observed among other leaders, as well.

If you have something you can add to this list, feel free to share it in the comments. I would appreciate learning more strategies, too.