Corporate Mentoring Programs: Growing Better Leaders From Within

Great companies have learned how to grow great leaders from within. One of the most effective ways to do this is through corporate mentoring programs. 

Successful mentoring programs typically address a specific stage or identity and have a corresponding goal (and these categories are not always mutually exclusive):

1. New hires.

2. Underrepresented employees.

3. High-potential employees.

4. Promotions (new managers working with more experienced managers, for example).  

The goals of such programs are similar, typically: integration, expanding networks, meeting people with shared experiences or who have “been there” before, accelerating career development, and improving retention. 

What Is Mentoring? 

Mentoring is the building of relationships to help facilitate the transfer of knowledge and skills. It is different from coaching in that the mentor is knowledgeable about what the mentee is seeking to learn, but similar to coaching in that the mentor needs to be a great listener and truly understand the mentee’s needs. 

Mentoring programs can be of any size, but in our experience, we recommend starting with identifying the mentees and their needs, and then seeking the mentors. For most corporations, it is probably worth seeking at least 30-plus mentees per year to make the work required to set up and formalize a program worthwhile. When selecting mentors, it’s critical to have them elect to join as a mentor, so that they are bought into the process and role. We recommend a 1:1 mentor to mentee relationship. Occasionally, it can be useful to set up small group meetings with a very senior executive to give more junior employees the chance to hear from them, but we don’t consider this to be mentoring in its truest form.  

The outcomes of mentoring programs can be extremely powerful. They are a great way for both mentors and mentees to practice their soft skills, through the practice of teaching and motivating one another as well as giving honest feedback and having difficult conversations. Mentoring conversations also strengthen skills such as emotional intelligence and communication. The mentors often deepen their reputation as an adviser who guides others throughout the company. They gain exposure to new perspectives from people at different levels of the organization. And frequently, a positive accidental outcome is that the mentors identify top talent who could potentially strengthen their team in the future.

The other benefit of mentoring programs is that they can be relatively low cost. I always hesitate to call these types of programs inexpensive because they are major time commitments by both the mentors and mentees, which is obviously an additional load for company productivity overall. That being said, they have low cash costs, which can be helpful in times of austerity.  

Mentoring Programs: From Theory to Action

When starting a mentoring program, both your mentees and mentors may be nervous. To make the most of their time and energy, it’s critical to set clear expectations from the beginning. In particular:

1. What is the goal of this program?

2. How do you match mentors and mentees?

3. How much time should the mentors and mentees expect to dedicate to the program? Where should they meet (online, in person), for how long, and how frequently? How long is the minimum commitment to the program?

4. What should mentors expect to give in addition to their time, such as introductions, resources, or access? What about the mentees?

5. How should the participants track their progress?

For the first mentoring meeting, we recommend keeping a very simple agenda, focused on the mentor and mentee telling their personal and professional stories and getting to know each other. For the second meeting, we like to train the mentors and mentees in some basic coaching techniques to facilitate their conversations. We teach the GROW model, a common coaching framework, as a fantastic tool for the initial mentoring conversations:

G: Goal. What do you want?

R: Reality. What’s happening right now?

O: Options. What could you do?

W: Will. What will you do?

We believe it’s critical to go deep into each of these questions. 

1. Goal

Before the mentoring program begins, it is imperative that the mentee figure out what she wants. Some examples of goals are:

• Skill development/knowledge enhancement.

• Career planning.

• Expanding her network.

• Finding their way around the organization at a higher level.

• Gain visibility for potential promotions.

• Improve problem solving skills.

*Note: It is also important for the mentee to consider what her manager expects her to achieve during the mentoring process.

2. Reality

Now that the mentee knows where she wants to go, it's time for her to do a reality check about her job and her position in the company. This includes answering questions such as:

• What do I know? 

• What do I need to know?

• Who do I know? 

• What’s holding me back?

3. Options

This is the moment when the mentor can share her knowledge by talking about how she’d solve the challenge that the mentee is facing, what opportunities she sees for the mentee, and what introductions or resources the mentor can offer.

4. Will

Finally, the mentor should ask the mentee to make a commitment. First, the mentee needs to figure out what the next step is to achieve her goal or solve a challenge she is facing. The mentor might also ask what the mentee can do between now and the next mentoring session to achieve that goal, as a measure of progress.

Remember that the goal must be SMART (Specific, Manageable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Based).

In all, great mentoring programs can change the trajectory of great talent, both among mentors and mentees. The success of the program depends on the commitment from each party to set clear goals and deepen the relationship to enable trust and vulnerability. The combination of expertise, trust, and clear objectives often leads to extremely successful outcomes.