At a time when businesses are looking to do more with less, can companies still afford to encourage the time-laden tradition of mentoring?
Nobody knows for sure, because this type of partnership is rarely quantified and there are no industry standards or certification. What is known is that mentoring has garnered greater interest of late.
The reason is simple: Employees seek guidance, and mentors provide not just useful information but also leadership.
“They’re essential for people to go forward,” said Susan Bulkeley Butler, who was a managing partner at Accenture in Chicago for 37 years and now runs a women’s leadership training organization in Arizona.
But questions remain about the best way to initiate mentoring and what the roles of mentor and mentee should be.
Does mentoring work best when it develops casually between a leader and a protege, or is it better if the pairing is made by management? Or does it work best if it occurs outside the company altogether?
Also, does the one-on-one teacher-student relationship create the strongest bond, or is it smarter to have several mentors with different skill sets?
Cynthia Cohen of Strategic Mindshare, a consulting company, says it doesn’t matter whether mentor and mentee work in the same company, but the mentor should not be a boss.
“It sometimes works, but in those cases the mentor may find it hard to offer impartial advice, and the mentee may be reluctant to reveal everything to the person who conducts their salary and performance reviews,” Cohen said. “If you’re going to have your boss be a mentor, have others as well.”
Lane Vanderslice, a partner in charge of associate development and recruiting at Chicago-based Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, prefers a casual system. His law firm puts the onus of initiating the relationship on mentees through work assignments they select.
“We have a free-market system within each discipline,” he said. “Through the assignments they choose, they meet lawyers and build relationships.”
Other businesses find that mentoring works better if more formalized, in part so leadership can pair staff that might not gravitate to a certain mentor or mentee, says Joanne Sujansky of Key Group Inc., which helps businesses motivate and retain staff. She has found that a lack of mentoring is a prime reason people leave companies.
Tips to help the process
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Pick well: Whether mentor or mentee, be sure you work with someone you respect and who can teach you.
Block out time: Since mentoring involves commitment, both sides should decide on a schedule.
Listen carefully: Both sides need to hear what the other person says.
Watch: Smart mentees seek out more than work information.
Never assume: Don’t assume a mentor’s bad moods have to do with you.
Stay within boundaries: Don’t take advantage of contacts, unless offered.
Move on: If either person dreads their time together or has gotten what they can, shake hands and bid adieu.