When a man named Jack Welch was GE’s Chairman, he became an expert on how digitization could contribute to GE’s success.[1] Back then he was already a seasoned retiree, so how could he have known so much about the new age of digitalism, and been the one to apply it at GE? He was able to because of mentoring he received from an Internet-savvy twenty-five-year-old who knew a lot about computers and social media. Although Jack already had years of professional experience under his belt, and although his mentor was only about half his age at the time, he was still able to learn many valuable things from him.
So what is mentoring? According to Webster’s New International Dictionary, “To mentor is to teach or give advice or guidance to someone, such as a less experienced person or a child.”[2] Mentoring typically focuses on the longer-term professional and personal growth of the individual. It is about joint exploration, and providing guidance regarding career and personal progression and preparation. If a person finds a mentor, the benefits could be enormous. For example, a mentee’s learning is accelerated through their mentor’s experiences, and they are able to tap into a constant source of encouragement. The mentorship guidance offered can impact an employee’s ability to immediately add value in a new role. Mentees are able to use a mentor as a sounding board for concerns and thoughts, and tap into a mentor as a networking source. On top this can help to create the feeling that the organization is taking a genuine interest in their people and role models the accountability for growing and sustaining a leadership pipe line. Lastly, mentees can gain fresh perspectives on an idea or project. Personally I am convinced that building great leaders is a priority focus and job for leaders themselves. Leaders at all levels in the organization should understand and commit to the important role they should play in readying their potential successors. Leaders understand that transitions / promotions up through the organization have become increasingly more challenging - new relationships, new challenges and new demands can be difficult if one is not adequately prepared to contribute at each respective level. And what better and more fulfilling way to do this than through a mentoring relationship?
Personally speaking, I’ve been lucky to having quite a few mentors throughout my career spanning geographies and different industries. Most notably is a mentoring relationship with one of the most senior managers from one of my previous employers. I’m talking about the person who was probably too senior and too busy to be a mentor to me personally when we used to work for the same company. Also bearing in mind that he had already committed to quite a number of mentoring relationships back then, it wouldn’t have been realistic to ask him to take up an additional mentorship relationship. However, things have changed since then. Both he and I have moved on and changed employers and geographies since we met initially. And I must say that I was a little bit daunted when I dropped him a note about a year ago asking whether he would be happy to enter into a formal mentoring relationship with me. And what shall I say? Sometimes courage is the best friend you can have. So he and I have been in a mentoring relationship since then and unsurprisingly, it is meanwhile much easier for us to have discussions around career since we’re not working for the same employer anymore. It has made things definitely easier und we can have much more open-minded conversations around topics which we may not have been able to discuss working for the same employer.
Mistakenly, some people assume that one has to be a full-time employee to benefit from a mentoring relationship. As a seasoned HR professional, I can tell you that is not true. You can find a credible mentor in a number of places, such as in professional organizations, at conferences or seminars, or through alumni or faculty from undergraduate or graduate college. You can also enter a mentoring relationship with a person in a job you aspire to get one day, a previous supervisor, or even a trusted friend.
If they have a certain set of skills or bank of knowledge, any person can be a mentor indeed. Therefore, don’t focus too much on age, titles, or labels when choosing a mentor. Rather, choose someone who inspires you, who can teach you, and who has the patience to help you. When choosing a mentor, try to see whether below criteria can help you to choose the best fit for you to help getting what you need out of the mentorship relationship.
Firstly, and before getting in touch with any potential Mentor you should be looking at the following:
1. Check their experience level. What is their core expertise, what credentials do they carry, what is their thought leadership and their view on what mentoring is all about?
2. Accreditation, Degree and professional certification. What does their learning journey look like, have they kept their knowledge up to date and are they continuously looking for development opportunities in order to best serve you as a client?
3. Business understanding and sector experience. What is their own background, do they have any relevant experience in your sector or in the sector that you’re trying to break into, are they equipped with industry experience that will prove useful to the mentorship?
Make sure that you ask all the relevant questions that are on your mind before making a decision. Once you have clarified the above, you should be meeting with 2, and no more than 3, Mentors for a so called 'Chemistry Session'. During these:
4. Check whether what you have found out about the Mentor comes to life during the chemistry session. Are they engaged, do they possess good listening skills, what is their style, do they offer rigour and flexibility at the same time, what is their style of mentoring? Could you imagine working with that individual very closely for an extended period of time?
5. Methodology: What does a “typical” mentoring process look like if you were to work with them? To what degree are they able to provide you with clarity as to what working with them may look and feel like?
6. Outcomes: Will there be clear, measurable and agreed learning outcomes? How will the outcomes of the mentoring engagement be measured and evaluated against?
7. What is their understanding of the ethics around mentoring, are they in regular supervision themselves, what about confidentiality, how will this be ensured, also contractually?
8. Are they able to provide you or HR with credible references and client testimonials at your level of seniority? What concrete results have been achieved by their previous clients? What would be the cost involved for a mentoring engagement and what is included and what would be charged as an extra service?
9. Contracting How do they manage expectations in an organisation? Will they involve HR and your line manager and if so, how will that exactly take place and what boundaries are to be expected, and will those be put in writing?
10. What diagnostic tools will they use (if any) and what is the concrete value of using that tool to support the mentoring outcomes? Will there be a 180 or 360-degree tool involved and if so, how valid and reliable is it and who will have access to the results?