Reverse Mentorship: How to Pair Your Executives With the Right Employees was originally published on Ivy Exec.
When you think of mentorship, the first thing that likely comes to mind is experienced and skilled professionals guiding younger colleagues. But when it comes to reverse mentorship, things change, and now, people who are typically mentees are mentoring their seniors.
While senior leaders have the knowledge and expertise needed for their job, their skills may not be up to date. After all, technologies are evolving fast, and it might be hard to keep up with when one has demanding duties. Reverse mentorship allows executives to learn from their juniors and keep up with trends.
If you are considering using this method to upskill your leaders, you must be strategic. You need to pair each executive with an employee that will complement them. The mentorship also needs to benefit both parties.
Here is a guide on pairing your executive with the right employee.
☑ Choose the Executive to Include in the Program
Ideally, you’d like every executive to learn something from their juniors. However, this is not always possible since not every leader will be open to the experience. Find the right executives for reverse mentorship by looking for certain qualities.
First, you must figure out who is naturally curious and often embraces new ideas. Someone like that will not look down upon their juniors and will be receptive even when corrected. They will also be willing to put their rank aside and engage whoever is mentoring them.
Another factor to look at is the desire for personal growth. An ideal executive should be hungry for new learning opportunities. They should show a desire to stay relevant in their field. Besides, the executive should be able to step out of their comfort zone even if they have notable career achievements.
If you want reverse mentorship to be part of your company’s culture, it’s best to choose influential executives. Once they embrace this idea, it will be easy for others to follow suit. Prioritize leaders who will encourage and inspire others to participate.
☑ Select Your Employees
Reverse mentorship goes beyond improving your executive’s tech skills. They could also lack some soft skills which the younger generation or junior staff embraces. Choosing the right employees will help you fill gaps in your leadership and make everyone get along better.
Once you know your leaders’ shortcomings, look for employees to help them overcome them. For example, if you want them to keep up with social media, identify workers who are pretty active on the platforms. On the other hand, if you want them to embrace digital marketing, find someone who understands concepts like SEO.
Your employees may have the knowledge you want to share with your leaders. But do they know how to deliver it effectively? Can they explain complex ideas in a simple and understandable way? Consider communication as you choose employees to mentor your leaders. The right junior worker should be able to teach without being condescending.
Reverse mentorship can be quite intimidating. Imagine teaching your boss, who has far more experience and education. For your program to be successful, you should pick employees that have a high level of confidence. They should be able to engage senior leaders fearlessly while maintaining professionalism.
☑ Find the Right Pairs
You already have potential mentors and mentees, so it’s time to create effective pairs. Sit down with every executive to find out what they are looking forward to learning. You’ll be surprised they are more interested in things you didn’t consider. Some may even be aware of skills gaps you didn’t identify during the first step.
Once you determine your leader’s objectives, list employees who could help them. You can have at least three to five workers as potential candidates before using other factors to narrow it down to one.
Every employee has a unique personality, and this can sometimes cause conflict across ranks. You want to pair executives with people who match their personality or at least complement it. For example, if you have a reserved leader, you should pair them with an open-minded employee. On the other hand, a contentious one would work better with a patient mentor.
It’s easy for your executives to get along with employees if they share interests or goals. When pairing, try to match leaders with mentors who like similar things; these don’t need to be work-related. If both parties learn they have similar interests or hobbies, they will get along faster. This creates a good foundation and makes reverse mentorship more effective.
☑ Conduct Pilot Pairings
Pilot pairings are the perfect way to see how reverse mentorship will work in the long run. You can assess if the executives are learning from the employees you matched them with. Besides, you’ll be able to identify matches that will work long-term and those that might need changes.
During the pilot period, you should meet with each party to see what they think about the process. Are the executives getting along with the junior workers? Have they gained enough insights, and would you like to pair them with a worker with different skills?
Are your employees comfortable with their mentees? Do they feel valued and appreciated, or are they having difficulty educating the leader?
Investigating such issues can help you avoid conflict and make your program more successful. It allows you to break pairs that aren’t working and find them ideal matches. The trial period ensures you create flexible mentorship that doesn’t pressure either party.
☑ Tips for Sustaining Reverse Mentorship Pairs
Your reverse mentorship program needs the right resources to thrive. Create time for your executives to interact with their mentors, ideally during work hours. Doing this will ensure that they treat it as part of their schedule and not something that consumes their free time.
Other strategies for sustaining your pairings include:
- Accept discreet feedback from the mentor and mentee
- Encourage both parties to connect on other platforms like LinkedIn
- Give them access to the right communication software
- Encourage your executives to include employees when celebrating their success
- Review your mentorship program frequently
Reap the Benefits of Reverse Mentorship
Embracing reverse mentorship can improve your executive’s relationships with their juniors. It provides a safe space for both parties to learn and support each other.
When choosing which executives and employees to include in your program, do a detailed analysis. Moreover, check in with every party now and then and make changes when necessary.
