In a complex, service-based economy, it’s hard for employees to learn all the things large and small that they need to know to be able to do their work effectively. One of the most powerful tools organizations have to facilitate the transfer of knowledge is through a formalized mentoring program. Mentoring is a powerful and cost-effective tool to assist employees in working smarter and more effectively.
Mentoring is a process based on a one-to-one relationship focusing on the needs of the person being mentored (the protégé). Generally speaking, a mentor is described as a teacher, guide, counselor, sponsor, and/or facilitator. Many people have informal mentor relationships with older, more experienced practitioners who they have lunch with once a month and bounce ideas off of. Organizations can also create formal mentor programs. Typically, companies design structured mentor programs for new hires and for employees with upper management potential.
The dictionary definition of the word mentor is “a trusted guide, a provider of wise counsel and advice, a confidant.” For much of human history, mentors were the primary, and often the only, source of knowledge because formal schooling or workplace training as we know it today did not exist. So, it was left to mentors to equip their protégés with the necessary expertise and practical know-how to succeed.
The mentor can expect to wear many hats in the relationship, and most likely the roles of both parties will evolve over time. At the start of the mentoring relationship, the mentor is likely to be a role model, tell stories, lead by example, suggest options, and give feedback. Later on in the process, the role will shift to more of an advisor and counselor (i.e., the protégé needs to ask before the mentor will advise). Sometimes a mentor will act as a sponsor. Finally, the role might include that of being an encourager and friend.
In essence, the mentor provides resources the protégé needs to develop professionally, emotionally, and intellectually. The role of the mentor may include any or all of the following:
Mentors are sometimes also referred to as coaches or consultants. In fact, while there may be some overlap of roles, the three are not interchangeable.
A coach is mostly a motivator and a listener. This is the person who wants to help you realize a specific goal by asking you what you want to achieve and then coaching you to persevere, even when you are low on motivation.
A consultant is someone you ask to assist you on a specific project or goal. That person may get involved with you in order to take you step by step, advising and consulting on what to do next or how to solve a particular problem, without actually participating. Sometimes, the consultant provides a remedy or suggests a way to meet your needs or functions as “a pair of hands” to actually help you achieve your goal.
A mentor is someone with whom you create a caring but objective relationship. This is the wise “guru” who has “been there, done that.” He/she gives you the benefit of his/her experience, sharing with you the “unspoken rules” that you won’t learn from others. Who are the people to trust? What are the actions you might take? A mentor is more likely to recommend you find a coach than to be one. The mentor tells you stories of people who succeeded and those who didn’t and why and might warn you of the pitfalls of certain actions.
Where in the Organization Should Mentors Come From?
A mentor is normally outside the usual chain of command and is someone who can objectively observe the person from the outside without the need to be counseling the protégé from a performance improvement standpoint. A protégé is likely to be reluctant to confide his/her insecurities with the very same person who is going to write the employee’s performance evaluation. So the mentor should be someone who is removed from the protégé’s immediate work environment.
If mentors are located within the same organization, they are generally high-middle to top-level managers. Mentors located outside of the organization are either those people who have been identified as successful in their profession or are known through professional association with the protégé.
Like all programs impacting employees, a mentoring program is only as effective as the planning and preparation that goes into it and the careful implementation that maintains it. The elements of an effective mentoring program are summarized in the following list:
Mentoring has the potential to play a key role in supporting and enhancing individual and organizational leadership development, providing the “know why” with the “know how,” and allowing for the successful transfer of knowledge in an organization. This provides skills for the short term and higher success in the long term.
Reprinted from Council’s HR Today newsletter. Click here to order a free trial or subscribe.
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