How To Mentor Our Next Generation Of Leaders

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How To Mentor Our Next Generation Of Leaders

Contributor is John Baldoni | Forbes Magazine | June 4, 2024

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The research on mentoring is clear. Those who are mentored out-earn and outperform those who are not. They make higher salaries, get promoted more often, have greater job and career satisfaction and lower rates of burnout. For organizations that invest in mentoring their employees, they benefit from higher productivity and greater loyalty – as stipulated by Ruth Gotian and Andy Lopata in The Financial Times Guide to Mentoring: A Complete Guide to Effective Mentoring. The challenge is implementing programs where mentoring can be accessible, equitable and measurable.

Running A Mentoring Program.  The initiation and maintenance of mentoring typically belong to three functions: human resources, leadership and development, and volunteer efforts. In all three, it is important to select the right mentors and match them with candidates seeking mentoring. It will not always work, but if the program is rigorous, good matches will follow.  Additionally, mentoring programs can embrace “the outside world” by finding mentors and mentees from outside the organization – referred as “cross-pollinating.” Bringing together mentors and mentees from different worlds can increase the range of ideas brought to challenges.

The Relationship.  Mentoring is a relationship founded upon trust. As such, trust is earned.   If mentors “are distracted, impatient, frustrated, bored or judgmental” they “will silence the other person and so creating an open environment is less about trying to fix the person who is remaining silent, telling them to be braver, and more about creating an environment where they don’t have to be so brave in the first place.  In other words, if you are mentoring—or being mentored—you need to be attentive, focused and engaged.

The Mentoring Check.  The book’s conclusion adds insight into checking yourself as a mentor. The first step in becoming a more effective mentor is self-reflection.  Review your existing mentoring relationships, whether formal or informal. What kind of difference—or benefit—are you delivering to your mentee? Remember mentorship knows no boundaries, it’s about sharing and uplifting others.  Mentees also need to evaluate their learnings. “The mentor-mentee relationship is a two-way street.  And it’s crucial that you receive the support you require to continue your growth and development.  Mentoring can also be a community effort, where mentees receive support from more than one mentor.

Mentoring is an investment in the future that benefits both those who give it and those who receive it and in return organizations benefit.

3 key takeaways from the article

1. The research on mentoring is clear. Those who are mentored out-earn and outperform those who are not. They make higher salaries, get promoted more often, have greater job and career satisfaction and lower rates of burnout. For organizations that invest in mentoring their employees, they benefit from higher productivity and greater loyalty. The challenge is implementing programs where mentoring can be accessible, equitable and measurable.
2. The initiation and maintenance of mentoring typically belong to three functions: human resources, leadership and development, and volunteer efforts. In all three, it is important to select the right mentors and match them with candidates seeking mentoring.
3. A good mentorship program brings mentor-mentees internally but also embrace “the outside world” by finding mentors and mentees from outside the organization.  Mentoring is a relationship founded upon trust and that is earned.  Review your existing mentoring relationships, whether formal or informal. What kind of difference—or benefit—are you delivering to your mentee?

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Topics:  Leadership, Mentorship, Succession, Training, Development