Our final CWL Mentor Breakfast of the year found mentors and junior colleagues alike reflecting on the year of mentoring activities, identifying all the ways and means by which we connected with each other, and the impact of these relationships on our personal and professional lives. A particularly inspiring message that individuals shared was that both “forward” and “reverse” mentoring occurred. Mentors and junior colleagues learned from each other. The variety of experiences that emerged painted a broad and diverse canvas of how mentoring can come alive, and be meaningful in our careers. Having had many mentors in my life, and now mentoring others, I have become a student of this most important, yet sometimes elusive, intangible and organic experience.

Mentoring has created quite a buzz as evidenced by frequent offerings in conference venues, and in the no less than 21,500 Google listings on the topic. Few would debate the value of mentoring; individuals who partner with mentors have more career success than those without. Even so, the consistent attention to the structure, process and outcome of mentoring initiatives can fall short in even the best intentioned people and organizations. (White 2008-www.lighthousePSI.com) Mentoring in our modern times has become more haphazard, and sometimes lost altogether in the “hyper-competitive” world in which we we find ourselves. The focus on revenue generation has led to talent development shortfalls which ultimately leads to lack of long term sustainability. (DeLong et. Al, Harvard Business Review, 9/4/08) For individuals and organizations to thrive, a more intentional and explicit system for mentoring is desirable. Including mentoring as a mission critical value for professionals as they navigate their careers, and for organizations as they strategically plan for succession, is a pivotal beginning step. (www.lighthousePSI.com) Then in order for mentoring to be a process of value, both mentor and protégé need to establish expectations for their partnership.

The following questions may serve partners well as they embark on this journey together. What are the parties’ expectations of mentoring? What does the protégé need or want from the mentor? What types of activities will help the protégé most to advance their agenda? How can the mentor and protégé best communicate with each other? How will the pair know that expectations are being met, or not? How will these be communicated? The elusive, intangible and sometimes organic nature of mentoring presents a challenge to provide enough structure to maximize the benefits, but not too much to constrict the creative evolution of a mentor-protégé relationship. There is a business case for mentoring with women. Refer to Why Mentoring Matters to Women at www.leadingwomen.com. Whether one’s organization provides a quality mentoring program or not, the wise professional will actively and consistently seek and develop their own mentoring relationships. Mentors and protégés alike will do well to become skilled at giving and receiving help; possibly learning coaching skills to advance their ability to be great partners in developing talent.

The roots of mentoring date back to the Odyssey. Our current task is to prioritize this most time tested process in the face of our “hypercompetitive” world. The “riches” in our human capital treasures are found there.

Submitted by:

Katharine White, President and Founder, Lighthouse Performance Strategies, Inc.