Successful Workplace Mentorships Begin with Prepared Mentors

Workplace mentoring programs continue to grow in popularity and offer many promising rewards. But to realize these benefits, the programs must be flexible and prepare employees for their roles from the start.

According to mentorcliQ, 92% of Fortune 500 companies have mentoring programs, and for good reason. Countless sources tout their value, with participants experiencing career growth and favorable job attitudes, improved confidence, better mental health, and even higher engagement, productivity and retention rates. And, of course, there’s the succession planning factor – the ideal mentoring relationship helps insulate a company from knowledge loss caused by people leaving or retiring.

The need for mentor training

It’s easy to assume that someone who is an expert in a specific area will be an effective mentor. But mentoring often takes a completely different skillset.

This can cause some potential mentors to shy away from volunteering. They’re aware of their lack of mentoring expertise. And even if they reluctantly agree to become a mentor, being unprepared can lead to a frustrating experience for both mentors and mentees.

Training helps potential mentors learn how to share hard-earned knowledge in the best ways, making the experience better for both parties. “Mentorship is an intangible and abstract concept; therefore training can help provide success guidelines so mentors understand the objectives and the organization’s definition of success,” says the Women’s Global Leadership Initiative. Training participants can also help renew fading enthusiasm in an existing mentorship program that’s become stagnant.

Developing a Dynamic Mentoring Program is an interactive, online course that will guide you in planning and creating the best formal mentorship program for your organization. Register here.

Some skills to include in your mentor training:

1. Listening. According to a Frontiers in Science study, only 5% of conversations make people feel genuinely heard. Very few people listen well. Instead, we’re planning what we’ll say when the person stops talking or we’re simply distracted. A good listener doesn’t do this and also knows how to ask questions that help the other person elaborate and carefully consider their own answers. Examples of good questions a mentor could ask: “If you did this project again, what’s one thing you would do differently next time?” “What was your favorite part of this project and why?”
2. Observing. The goal of a mentorship is not to replicate yourself but rather to help someone build upon their strengths. A mentor must observe and assess a mentee’s strengths. Where do they need improvement? How do they handle pressure? How do they interact with others? Not only will your observations help you decide what to focus on, they’ll help you understand how to interact best with this person to help them grow professionally.
3. Giving feedback. Heartfelt compliments build confidence. Without overdoing it, a mentor should know how to point out achievements, strengths and even small improvements. Often more difficult, is delivering constructive feedback in a productive, respectful way. This is challenging for many people and when handled poorly can damage the relationship as well as the outcomes.
4. Identifying risks and providing appropriate challenges. It’s important for a mentor to know how to guide a mentee and gradually give them more responsibility. There’s a big difference between challenging someone who’s ready and abandoning them to make unnecessary mistakes. When a mentor is clear on the goals of their mentorship, they’ll be able to plan projects with appropriate incremental challenges.
5. Advocacy/professional socialization. In some mentoring relationships, mentors can help connect mentees to the right stakeholders. What are the goals of the mentee? Who in your network would it be helpful for them to know? How can the mentor support the mentee by speaking favorably about their work or introducing them when appropriate?

Mentorship programs offer many rewards and can be tailored to an organization’s needs. But creating a successful mentorship program requires laying the right groundwork up front. With planning, ongoing guidance and communication, regular tweaking and training of participants, these programs are worth the effort.