How to make mentoring a powerful force for good
One of the issues which emerges when mentoring schemes are being considered, is what qualities make a good mentor. I remember for one early scheme, we were very keen to recruit ‘superstar’ managers who had enjoyed stellar career trajectories with early promotion and experience in senior roles. They were not the kind of people who would actually volunteer to be mentors without some encouragement because their agendas were always so full and squeezing in another obligation was always going to be a challenge. We pushed on regardless and, of course, realized as the scheme progressed that sessions with mentees rarely took priority. The promising young mentees we had assigned to them benefited less from the experience than those assigned to passionate and patient mentors willing to dedicate time to their mentoring relationship beyond the one hour monthly sessions we were suggesting for that particular scheme.
Often the best relationships were forged between wise young professionals who approached their mentors with openness and mentors who had perhaps reached a career plateau and for whom traditional career progression was no longer likely. Both seemed to benefit immensely. The career paths of the mentees often involved promotion and new opportunities and the mentors themselves often took on new challenges hitherto not considered. It was as if supporting the career development of another gave them the confidence and energy to try something new themselves. It was so satisfying to see these developments.
People rise to different developmental challenges in different ways and with different results.
Erickson’s life stage theory of human development proposes that the success with which people negotiate and manage life’s challenges at each stage of life, determines their subjective feelings of well being and how well they meet the next set of challenges. He describes the outcome of ‘generativity’ resulting from finding ways to contribute to the development of others and particularly those who are younger and at earlier life stages. The satisfaction found in these activities can be immense and can make the difference between a melancholy advance into later life or an optimistic transition filled with meaning. Well run mentoring schemes offer the perfect context for this kind of ‘generativity’ for the benefit of individuals, mentoring pairs and entire organizations.
What helps
Recognizing that the best mentors are not necessarily the high flying, high performing people in the organization in senior roles.
The motivation to dedicate time to a mentee consistently and generously is often a better indicator of a successful mentoring relationship than the personal career success as measured with traditional criteria.
Provide sufficient support to mentors so that the aspects of generativity which are the potential outcome of good mentoring relationships are maximized.
Resources
Erikson, E.H., ‘Identity and the Life Cycle’ New York: Norton, 1980.
