Professional mentoring programs are an excellent way for associations to provide their members with valuable opportunities for professional development and growth. Unfortunately, the cost of implementing such a program can sometimes seem prohibitive, particularly for smaller organizations with limited budgets. However, there are several ways that associations can afford a professional mentoring program, and this article will explore some of the most effective funding options that we’ve seen to date. 

Apply for grants:
Many associations can qualify for grants to fund their mentoring programs. There are numerous grant programs available from government agencies, private foundations, and corporate sponsors. Associations can start by researching grants that are specific to their industry, demographic, or geographical region. They can also consult with grant writers or seek advice from their member base to identify potential funding sources. 

Seek sponsorship:
Another option for funding a professional mentoring program is through corporate sponsorship. Associations can approach companies in their industry or community to request financial support for the program. In exchange, the sponsoring companies may receive recognition, publicity, or other benefits, such as access to the association’s membership base. Associations can also consider offering tiered sponsorship packages, with different levels of benefits depending on the level of financial support provided. 

Charge program fees to mentees:
Mentees derive significant benefits from mentoring, so why  not charge for it? We have seen fees ranging from a few dollars to cover administration, to over $1000. Paying a fee can increase mentee engagement and participation over the full duration of the program. We suggest that the sweet spot for most association-led programs would be $150-300 per mentee. 

We do not recommend a fee for mentors, as they generously give their time. 

Utilise a portion of member fees:
Associations can also allocate a portion of their membership fees to fund the mentoring program. By communicating the value of the program to their members, associations can encourage members to support the program financially. They can also consider offering discounted membership fees to mentors or mentees who participate in the program as a way to incentivize involvement. 

Crowdfunding:
Crowdfunding has become an increasingly popular option for associations looking to fund new initiatives. Crowdfunding allows associations to raise money from a large pool of donors through online platforms. Associations can create campaigns that highlight the value of their mentoring program and solicit donations from members and the broader community. Crowdfunding can also serve as a way to test the level of interest in a mentoring program before investing significant resources in its implementation. 

In-kind donations:
In-kind donations can also help associations offset the costs of a mentoring program. Associations can solicit donations of resources, such as office space, equipment, or software, that are needed to run the program. They can also request donations of services, such as legal or accounting advice, that are necessary for the program’s success. Associations can leverage their member base to identify potential donors and ensure that the program’s needs are met. 

How to ask for sponsorship
Sponsorship is one of our favourite options for funding and we have seen it used very effectively.  

The first step is to have a mentoring plan in place, so the potential sponsor is clear about your offer. The plan should include: 

• an overview of the program 
• how it will run 
• what it will cost  
• what you expect it to achieve.  

If you engage the services of a professional mentoring consultant, they should provide a preliminary mentoring plan as part of the initial discovery process.

Consider which organizations will benefit most from brand exposure to your membership and/or those that share the same objectives. Most associations already have relationships with industry organizations that help to fund conferences or events.  In our experience the most obvious candidates tend to be insurance companies, banks, recruiters or suppliers to the industry or profession. 

Sponsorship Proposal:
Once you have a mentoring plan and have identified the target sponsors, the next step is to put together a sponsorship proposal. You will need to consider exactly what benefits you are able to offer to potential sponsors. The most common would be branding on all mentoring program materials, brand mention at events or even an opportunity to speak at a training session. Sponsors are looking for ways to connect with your members, and build relationships with them. You can personalize the benefits even more by suggesting that their financial support will allow “x number” of mentees to participate. 

Be careful not to compromise your program simply to gain sponsorship. Your mentoring program must be structured to achieve the stated goals, and should never be altered to suit the sponsor’s agenda. 

In Summary:
A professional mentoring program can create meaningful impact within an association, offering benefits to both mentors, and mentees. While the cost of implementing such a program can seem daunting, there are several funding options available that can make it more affordable. By leveraging grants, sponsorship, participant fees, member fees, crowdfunding, and in-kind donations, or a combination of these, associations can make their mentoring programs a reality and provide their members with invaluable opportunities for professional development and growth.

©Art of Mentoring 2024

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When it comes to discrimination, there is one “-ism” that most of us are likely to encounter in our lifetime – ageism. And yet, it’s also one of the least discussed. Unfortunately, it also has a disproportionate impact on women. 

Ageism in the workplace (and against women) may not be a high-profile part of the national conversation on diversity and inclusion, however that doesn’t mean there’s no impact. 

In Australia alone, it is estimated that if 5% more people aged 55 or older were employed, the national economy would benefit by as much as AU$48 billion annually (source: World Health Organization). It’s a sobering statistic at a time when productivity and economic disruption is at the top of the national agenda.

Women over 55 are particularly vulnerable. They are the fastest growing group of people experiencing homelessness, according to data from the most recent Census. They are also underrepresented in terms of workforce participation, with AtWork Australia finding just one in seven women over 55 who are jobseekers are likely to find employment. Workforce participation also drops off rapidly for women over the age of 50 (for men there is a similar trend over age 60).

There are numerous reasons for these figures, including the gender pay gap, reduced opportunity for career progression due to taking time out to raise children and workplace bias, and the fact women frequently take on caring responsibilities (including elderly parents and grandchildren). 

Younger women are not immune from this either. Many take some time away from their careers to raise a family, with the associated impact on their superannuation. On their return to the workforce, many find themselves facing an uphill battle as they move into the later years of their career. It’s a constant battle that sees women stepping back or out of the workforce completely, before they even have the chance to move into an executive role. 

As Australia’s population continues to age, it’s a challenge that is only going to deepen in the decades to come. Yet most Australian organisations are not doing enough to encourage the participation of older women in the workforce. In fact, 18% of leaders admit they would be open to recruiting people aged over 50 only to a small extent, or not at all. 

Concerningly, a further 18% say they simply wouldn’t hire a person aged 65 or above (source: Australian Human Resources Institute).

The benefits of diversity in the workplace

Those employers who are opposed to bringing older workers into the workforce – and older women in particular – are missing a significant opportunity. 

Firstly, there are the headline benefits that come alongside greater diversity in the workplace in general. These include better business performance, enhanced innovation and creativity, and access to a broader skills pool during a time of shortages across most industries. 

However, there are also benefits specific to older workers. OECD research concludes that organisations with 10% more older workers than the average have 1.1% greater productivity. This could represent the equivalent of several billion dollars’ worth of benefits to the Australian economy on an annual basis. They also bring levels of experience and knowledge that younger workers simply haven’t had the time to develop. 

Finally, anecdotal evidence from our network also suggests that older women in particular tend to bring numerous interpersonal qualities that are beneficial for those around them; including the fact they tend to be more loyal to their employer and less likely to “job hop” – if you’ve created the right environment in which they can flourish (more on that below).

“Many mature female employees are vital, vibrant, interesting and interested women who have a lot of wisdom and experience to share,” according to Melissa Richardson, founder of Art of Mentoring. “And yet, the evidence suggests they are being completely under-utilised.”

What employers can do about it

Employers should consider taking action on this important issue, but that doesn’t mean starting from scratch. According to Jenny Fagg, an experienced senior executive who currently sits on the board of Bank of Queensland and the National Breast Council Foundation, the interventions should not be fundamentally different from what you may already be doing in other areas of gender diversity. 

“A key recommendation is to revisit the tried and tested routes and precedents to address other forms of discrimination in the workplace, and then apply them to the older women cohort,” said Jenny. 

Consider applying the following strategies to your workplace: 

1. Review your diversity and inclusion agenda. Most organisations have a diversity and inclusion agenda in some form – but how broad is yours? Are you focused on one or two groups and neglecting others? A truly robust diversity and inclusion agenda will aim to encourage participation across multiple groups, by gender, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, education, national origin and yes – age.
2. Align your agenda with your policies. Once you have an agreed diversity and inclusion agenda at the leadership level, ownership  accountability is the next critical step. This means drafting or updating policies and guidelines, ensuring there is specific mention of each group, and publishing them on your website and social media channels.
3. Review your recruitment experience. The next consideration is whether your recruitment experience is designed to attract interest from a range of candidates – including older workers. Nikki Beaumont, CEO of Beaumont People recommends that  recruitment specialists, hiring managers and leadership teams should consider the following:
   – How are you representing your employee experience to candidates on your website and other external channels?
   – Are you using inclusive language in your recruitment communications?
   – Do you have diverse representation, including older workers, on each recruitment panel to ensure considered hiring decisions?
4. Offer employees flexible working practices and open communication. Flexible working practices appeal to most people – and that includes older people. Ensure you have a clear position on flexible working and that your people managers are empowered to act on it. Likewise, encourage your people managers to have open and honest conversations with older workers about the journey to retirement and whether or not a staged or flexible retirement might be possible.
5. Invest in training and mentoring. Many people assume that older workers will not be successful in a particular role because of a perceived skills gap, often technological. This is a dangerous assumption. Technological proficiency very much depends on the individual and we see a wide range of abilities across all age groups. In any case, if a skills gap does exist, it can usually be bridged with a reasonable amount of training.
   
   Another option to consider is the implementation of a formal or informal mentoring program to encourage knowledge transfer between team members, or even the broader workforce. Technical skills acquired via training courses can be amplified through lived-experience shared in mentoring conversations.

Mentoring programs can be undertaken in a range of formats, including peer-to-peer, reverse, reciprocal and group. The observable benefits of a formalised program include tapping into deep knowledge and experience within your workforce; as well as breaking down intergenerational barriers.

A call to action

Art of Mentoring supports Chief Executive Women‘s call for all Australian companies to build more inclusive, flexible and respectful workplaces, with gender-balanced workforces and leadership teams.

We also call on employers to pay particular attention to their policies and practices when it comes to including older Australians in the workforce, especially women, who face a unique set of challenges due to the intersection of gender and age bias.

An investment in age and gender equality will prove beneficial for employers looking to hire and retain the best talent, as well as boosting productivity and innovation across the broader economy.

©Laura Butler
Chief Growth Officer, Art of Mentoring 2023

View our webinar: The Age Divide in Employment

Learn about our Women’s Mentoring Programs

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Mentoring programs are an excellent way to support personal and professional development in organizations. They have been shown to enhance employee engagement, improve retention rates, and develop leadership skills. However, setting up and managing a mentoring program can be a time-consuming and challenging process. Fortunately, mentoring software can make the process easier and more efficient. In this article, we will explore how much time it takes to set up and manage a mentoring program using mentoring software, as well as the difference between a light touch and a heavier touch approach.

Setting Up a Mentoring Program

Setting up a mentoring program can take anywhere from a few days to several months, depending on the complexity and size of the program and the resources available. It involves defining the objectives of the program, frameworks for selecting mentors and mentees, developing training materials, and setting up the infrastructure for communication and tracking progress.

Using mentoring software can significantly reduce the time required to set up a mentoring program. With the right software, program administrators can quickly create and customize mentoring programs, or use provided training materials and communication templates. In addition, software can automate the process of matching mentors and mentees, saving time and ensuring that the matching process is fair and equitable.

The first months of a mentoring program are the most time-consuming. We like to allow at least 6-8 weeks to get to the point of opening applications.

Managing a Mentoring Program

Managing a mentoring program can be a challenging and time-consuming task. The success of the program depends on effective communication, ongoing support, and tracking progress. Without the proper tools, managing a mentoring program can quickly become overwhelming.

Mentoring software can make managing a mentoring program more efficient and effective. The software can automate many tasks, such as sending reminders, scheduling meetings, and tracking progress. This frees up time for program administrators to focus on building relationships and providing support to mentors and mentees.

The first months of a mentoring program are the most time-consuming. We like to allow at least 6-8 weeks to get to the point of opening applications, which are usually left open for a few weeks. The program administrator may be called on to answer questions and provide advice on eligibility and suitability before pairs are matched and the program gets started. Once underway, the time commitment is lower.

Light Touch vs. Heavier Touch Approach

When managing a mentoring program, there are two approaches: light touch and heavier touch. A light touch approach is a more hands-off approach, where program administrators provide minimal guidance and support. A heavier touch approach involves more direct involvement from program administrators, including regular check-ins and ongoing support.

The approach taken depends on the objectives of the program and the resources available. A lighter-touch approach may be appropriate for programs with experienced mentors and mentees who require less guidance. A heavier touch approach may be necessary for programs that involve a large number of participants or require additional support for mentorship matches.

From a practical perspective, a lot will depend on how responsive and engaged the participants are. Sometimes, senior people will not comply with requests to complete surveys, for example. So, finding the right balance between helpful guidance and harassment can be tough.

Consequences of Each Approach

A lighter touch approach can result in a more flexible and adaptable program that costs less, but it may also lead to lower engagement and fewer positive outcomes. A heavier touch approach can provide more structure and support and usually gets better outcomes but requires more time.

With a light touch 6-month program with, say 25-50 pairs, program administrators may spend 50-75 hours on program management over the life of the program. A heavier touch approach will double or triple that. It should not be a full-time role even if the program becomes extremely large.

Conclusion

Setting up and managing a mentoring program can be a time-consuming and challenging process. However, using mentoring software can significantly reduce the time required and make the process more efficient and effective. A lighter touch approach can provide more flexibility and adaptability, while a heavier touch approach can provide more structure and support. Choosing the right approach depends on the program’s design, and a hybrid approach may be the best option in some cases.

© Melissa Richardson 2023

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Findings from study after study show that more people want mentoring than can access it. In healthcare, it’s no different. In a study amongst 900 mental health professionals, 76% agreed mentorship programs are critical to career success, but only 26% of practitioners said they currently have a mentor. All professionals deserve good quality mentoring, but a tsunami of problems in healthcare in recent times means health professionals need it more than most.

Despite well-researched data linking mentoring with positive mental health outcomes, not enough healthcare providers and peak bodies are taking the time to put mentoring programs in place.

Everyone in healthcare understands the problems, and they are all related:

1. Chronic staff shortages – these already existed before COVID-19 across many healthcare sectors. It’s not just doctors and nurses; it is predicted that there will be a shortfall in the future of home health aides, nursing assistants, and medical and clinical laboratory technologists and technicians.

This is a global problem. Deloitte predicts that by 2030, the global healthcare sector will need an estimated 80 million more workers to meet demand, and about 18 million of those will be needed for low-income countries. Yet even as the demand for clinicians mounts, doctors and nurses increasingly say they plan to reduce their work hours.

Cathy Cribben, who founded Oaktree Mentoring to provide a global mentoring program for nurses and midwives, says that when one country cannot attract enough nurses locally, they recruit overseas, causing shortages in other countries. It’s a global merry-go-round for talent. Whatever you do, don’t get off when the music stops.

2. Fatigue, overwhelm and burnout. Healthcare professionals work hard in difficult circumstances at the best of times. A 2021 study found that almost half of family physicians had experienced burnout, and 1 in 10 said it was serious enough to make them consider leaving medicine.
3. Mental health issues. Physicians have a suicide rate 1.4 – 2.3 times higher than the general population. Although medical students enter their studies with similar rates of depression as their peers, their mental health deteriorates throughout the course of their careers. The same picture can be found across many health and allied health professionals. Like their non-healthcare peers, healthcare workers may be reluctant to seek help due to the stigma surrounding mental health issues.
4. Many healthcare workers are underpaid and undervalued. According to the World Health Organization, the high degree of feminization in the health and care sector is a key factor behind the lower earnings for both women and men within the sector.  Low pay contributes to high levels of turnover.

Mentoring cannot solve the problem, but it sure can help

These healthcare issues are systemic, and no one can promise an easy solution. As world populations age, we will need more workers in health and allied health, but they are not being trained fast enough, they are not paid enough, and compounding issues such as pandemics just make things far worse. The least we can do is to ease the burden and support them better with good quality mentoring. There are benefits for the organization providing the mentoring program, so it makes good sense.

Mentoring has been found to:

1. Improve affective wellbeing. When workers feel overwhelmed and isolated, having a mentor to talk to reduces feelings of being alone and gives the mentees a safe space in which to explore their feelings and potential solutions. In a study examining the relationship between mentoring and doctors’ health, it was found that mentoring influenced collegiate relationships, networking and aspects of personal wellbeing, such as confidence and stress management, and was valued by doctors as a specialist support mechanism. It is known within positive psychology that contributing to others increases feelings of wellbeing, so mentors benefit too.
2. Increase retention. It is commonly found across all professions that people who are mentored are more likely to stay in their organization or profession. In this study, nurses with a mentor were retained at a 25% higher rate than those not mentored.
3. Increase promotability. In a study by Sun Microsystems, it was found that 25% of participants in a mentoring program had a salary grade change and mentees were promoted 5 times more often than their unmentored peers.
4. Improve skills and confidence. As mentors transfer knowledge and experience, mentees develop new skills, improve the skills they already have and gain in confidence. In our own benchmarking study of 2020, we found that increased confidence is almost universal amongst mentees and high amongst mentors too. 83% of mentees and 65% of mentors said that participating in a mentoring program had a positive impact on their self-confidence; 75% of mentees and 74% of mentors said mentoring had enhanced their leadership capacity. Mentors also more readily identify as, and are more confident as leaders, as found in this study.

Where to start with mentoring

Whether you are a healthcare membership body or a healthcare provider, supporting your people with a well-designed mentoring program is critical for the reasons just outlined. Many people simply don’t know where to start, so they don’t ever get around to implementing a program.

There are 7 natural steps to good mentoring program design. Don’t skip any!

1. Pre-Evaluation & Research
2. Getting Ready
3. Design
4. Recruiting
5. Matching
6. Training & Support
7. Evaluation

To find out more about these steps, we have prepared a 7 step guide to help you implement an impactful mentoring program that is unique to your organization’s needs. In it, we explore insights that we’ve gained over the past 25 years designing hundreds of programs, incorporating methodologies that align with International Standards for Mentoring and Coaching Programs (ISMCP).

When you implement your mentoring program, make sure you provide good quality training to your mentors and mentees. With the high incidence of mental health issues in healthcare, program participants need adequate support from program organizers. This should be supplemented by some easily accessible resources on how to support a mentoring partner who is suffering from anxiety, depression or burnout.

There you have it. If you want to support your healthcare professionals, give them access to a well-designed mentoring program. And make sure you give them the time to participate fully.

©Melissa Richardson 2023

View our webinar: Supporting Healthcare Workers Through Post Pandemic Change

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PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS SUPPORT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

As more and more white-collar workers operate in the ‘gig economy’ and as people change jobs more frequently, external relationships to support personal and professional development are becoming much more important. It is now generally accepted that, rather than have one mentor who can provide everything, it is better to have a network of helping relationships that include mentors from a variety of sources.

One organisation cannot deliver everything individuals need in career and professional development anymore.

Researchers contend that it is difficult for an occupation to even be considered professional, without an association to link experts together. Associations have a special obligation to help members develop their “professional identity”.  And, having a well-designed mentoring program is an increasingly important piece of the puzzle.

ASSOCIATION MENTORING HAS ADVANTAGES FOR MEMBERS AND THE ASSOCIATION

It has been demonstrated that mentoring is essential for establishing a sense of professional identity across a variety of occupations, as mentees learn the profession’s norms, expectations and standards, and mentors re-connect with what they know and can pass on. (Bellis, 2000; Bettin, 2021; Nganga, Browne, & Stremmel; Mantzourani et al; 2022; Matsuyama et al, 2020).

Identification as a professional fosters self-confidence and a sense of belonging, both essential for psychosocial well-being and success.

Association mentoring programs provide an opportunity for young, less seasoned professionals to establish a professional identity that will assist them throughout their careers. The option to mentor young professionals is an opportunity for more experienced professionals to “give back” to their industry, strengthening their sense of self-worth and professional identity.

Accreditation becomes a “must-have” qualification as associations professionalise and establish professional standards. Mentoring programs play an important role in continuing education and help people become more conscious of their own development needs, ideals and standards as professionals. This strengthens the relationship between the association and professional members and therefore membership retention potential (Peacock, 2010).

Associations can also use mentoring programs to develop members’ leadership abilities and thus keep the association leadership succession pipeline full.

WHAT MAKES PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION MENTORING PROGRAMS UNIQUE?

Professional association mentoring programs match entry-level and junior professionals with more experienced people in the same profession. These external programs offer greater potential for reciprocal learning as each party explores new territory with their partner.  Mentees in external relationships enjoy the relative objectivity offered by an outside mentor and do not feel the same pressure of having to impress an employer. They are more willing to admit their fears and weaknesses.

We observe that association mentors are more likely to volunteer year after year to “give back” to their profession. The experience gained by mentors through multiple mentorships improves the value of the program over time.

SOME POTENTIAL PITFALLS

Many associations have state or regional chapters connected to a national association. These connections are sometimes quite loose and can be fraught with politics. In our experience, failure to adequately engage regional councils or chapters in mentoring program design can result in a lack of support for the program. This is particularly important if program marketing is dependent on regional entities as communication channels.

Professional association programs generally rely on some form of outside funding, which generally comes from one or a blend of these:

1. Program fees paid by mentees (not mentors, who volunteer their time);
2. Sponsorship by corporations;
3. Government grants.

There is no guarantee that asking mentees to pay a highly expensive program fee results in higher motivation and commitment. High program fees may provide a barrier for some applicants, so tread carefully here.

Be careful also to consider the impact that different funding models may have on the focus and success of a mentoring program. Corporate sponsorships can put at risk the mentee-centricity required for mentoring programs if sponsors have too much say in program goals and design. Government grants for mentoring programs may require that a minimum number of participants participate, and this can put pressure on program managers to accept sub-optimal matches. Pairs that are not matched well may not last the distance.

Mentoring programs offered by professional associations are by nature inter-company, and so associations must pay particular attention to the design and governance of their program. One safeguard is a clear code of conduct that must be read and agreed to before participation.

What about Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points? Awarding points for participation in association mentoring programs can boost application rates. However, some people sign up only to collect points, and fail to fully participate in the program. Associations can pre-empt this by requiring participants to prove their involvement in the program.

DESIGN IMPLICATIONS FOR PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

Here we list a few design implications that need special consideration for professional association mentoring programs.

Get the right people on board
It’s ideal for all mentoring programs to have a steering committee or a body in charge of planning and administration. However, with professional association programs, the composition of the steering committee is crucial. Make sure key stakeholders are fairly represented.

Encode behaviour
A mentoring program code of conduct must be unambiguous, widely disseminated, made accessible to employers and emphasised during mentor and mentee training sessions. It should clearly address any potential employer conflicts in matching.

Use Purpose-Driven Marketing
Promoting mentoring as a way to bolster professional identity will help with recruitment, especially the recruitment of mentors. So too will emphasis on the chance to “give back” to the profession. Help applicants see the bigger picture – why will this program help the profession overall?

Choose an Appropriate Funding Model
Make sure to take into account potential effects on the program as a whole before determining program fees or seeking corporate sponsors or the government for support. A well-run formal mentorship program obviously needs financing; therefore investment trade-offs might need to be made. Understand the impact of the different funding options, so you can make an effort to design around them.

Match Pairs Carefully
There will be some geographic competition lines when matching in mentoring programs. Small-town employers can feel threatened when an employee is mentored by someone down the road. Managers of programs must collaborate closely with those who are knowledgeable about the local competitive environment. Matching pairs outside of one’s own region is one approach to lower competitive risk.

IN CONCLUSION

Workers are becoming more and more in need of expanding their “developmental networks,” looking for career and psychosocial support outside of their job, as economic demands and employment changes continue to erode the bond between employer and employee. Professional associations are in a perfect position to offer “outside” mentorship programs that not only broaden development networks but also create the “professional identity” that gives a sense of belonging to a workforce without corporate restrictions.

A thorough understanding of the association’s political structure and employers’ competitive sensitivities are required to design a professional association mentoring program. Association programs can be incredibly successful when designed with the above key points in mind.

©Melissa Richardson 2023

REFERENCES

Bellis, C. (2000). Professions in society. British Actuarial Journal, 6(2), 317-344.

Bettin, K. A (2021). The Role of Mentoring in the Professional Identity Formation of Medical Students. Orthopedic Clinics of North America.  Volume 52, Issue 1, Pages 61-68.

Mantzourani E., Chang, H., Desselle, S., Canedo,J. and Fleming,G. Reflections of mentors and mentees on a national mentoring program for pharmacists: An examination into relationships, personal and professional development, Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, Volume 18, Issue 3, 2022, Pages 2495-2504,

Matsuyama, Y., Okazaki, H., Kotani, K.,  Asada, Y., & Ishikawa, S.,  Lebowitz, A., Leppink, J. and Van der Vleuten, C. (2021). Professional identity formation-oriented mentoring technique as a method to improve self-regulated learning: A mixed-method study. The Asia Pacific Scholar. 6. 49-64.

Nganga , C., Bowne, M., and Stremmel, A. (2020) Mentoring as a developmental identity process, Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 28:3, 259-277, DOI: 10.1080/13611267.2020.1783498

Peacock, J. (2010) Becoming a ‘must-join’ association for professionals, Associations Forum, accessed 29 June 2022.

Zabel, D. (2008). The Mentoring Role of Professional Associations. Journal of Business & Finance Librarianship, Vol. 13 (3)

The post Why Mentoring is Important for All Professional Associations appeared first on ART OF MENTORING.

Getting a mentoring program approved can take some persuasion, especially if the decision-makers have not had the experience of being in a well-designed program.

Here are some useful statistics to help you build your business plan and develop a strong case.

Incidence of mentoring

A 2009 article that claimed 70% of Fortune 500 companies had mentoring programs. The figure would be far higher in the 2020s. But not every organisation belongs to the Fortune 500. Big companies are more likely to have formal mentoring programs, according to Art of Mentoring research with HR.com in 2022. So, how widespread is mentoring across workplaces, small and large? We found:

Almost two-thirds (64%) of survey respondents said they had a mentoring program. Large organizations were more likely to have a program (69%) compared to small (51%) and mid-size (41%) companies. These 2022 findings represented a large increase from when a similar survey was run in 2017 on the same topic. At that time, only one-third of surveyed organizations had a mentoring program in place.

In addition, 20% said that they only offered informal programs, whereas 18% said they only offer formal ones. The rest (26%) said they offer a combination of formal and informal programs.

• A third (33%) had just one mentoring program but almost half (47%) reported having two to three programs.
• Although almost half (47%) of all survey participants had general mentoring programs (open to all employees), two out of five also had mentoring for high-potential individuals (40%) and peer mentoring (39%).
• Mentoring relationships were said to be primarily one-on-one as opposed to a group-based structure.

Another study by Olivet-Nazarene University found that 76% of people think mentors are important, however, only 37% of people currently have one. Industries where employees were most likely to have had a mentor were Science (66%), Government (59%), and Education (57%) and least likely were Finance (45%), Skilled Labor/ Trades (44%) and Healthcare (43%).

The Art of Mentoring research also found that almost half (47%) of survey participants had general mentoring programs, which were open to all employees. About two-fifths engage in mentoring for high potential individuals (40%) and peer mentoring (39%). Incidence of diversity mentor programs was 23%, group mentoring 18%, graduate mentor programs 17%, reciprocal mentoring 14% and reverse mentor programs 9%.

Mentoring Effectiveness

Some time ago, my esteemed colleague Professor David Clutterbuck, a leading researcher and writer on coaching and mentoring, told a group of our clients that “highly effective mentoring programs deliver substantial learning for over 95% of mentees and 80% of mentors”.

But is there real evidence to support this and other outcomes for mentees, mentors and their organisations, as a result of mentoring?

The answer is a qualified “yes”. One of the biggest problems with mentoring research is one of definition and research design. There are many definitions of mentoring and a great deal of confusion over where mentoring stops and starts and how it is similar to and different from coaching, counselling, training, managing and consulting.

A review of published studies easily reveals the many benefits of mentoring – but are they all measuring the same thing in the same way? Possibly not, exactly, but there is still much to be learned from these studies, which support, in general, our own research findings and the kinds of outcomes that our mentoring programs achieve.

Here is a collection of stats:

Mentee Outcomes

In a meta-analysis of 43 mentoring research studies, Allen et al (2004) found compensation and promotion to be higher in mentored individuals (than their unmentored peers); higher career satisfaction and greater belief that their career would advance; higher job satisfaction as well as greater intention to stay.

Looking at this and individual studies (Catalyst, 1996; Dreher & Ash, 1990; Fagenson, 1989; Johnson & Scandura, 1994; Lankau & Scandura, 2002; Jones 2012; Chun et al, 2012), reported outcomes for mentees include:

• Job security
• Higher salaries
• Higher-level positions in organisations
• Enhanced political skills
• More work satisfaction and lower job turnover than those who do not have mentors
• Better understanding of roles & responsibilities & job satisfaction
• Confidence & happiness, improved perspective
• Better affective well-being

In an often cited long-term study, Sun Microsystems found 25% of participants in a mentoring program had a salary grade change and mentees were promoted 5 times more often than their unmentored peers.

Another study found 87% of mentors and mentees feel empowered by their mentoring relationships and have developed greater confidence

1. 82% believe that mentoring relationships help foster meaningful connections between mentors and mentees, across departments and the organisation
2. 84% reported that mentoring relationships provide two-way inspiration for mentor and mentee

Individual benefits for mentors

Mentoring consultants often receive feedback that the mentors gained as much as the mentees in a program. Studies (Hunt and Michael, 1983; Kram, 1985; Jones 2012; Chun et al, 2012) have shown these benefits for mentors:

• Increase in professional identity, visibility and career rejuvenation
• Self-satisfaction and improved perspective
• Greater confidence & happiness
• Improved psychological health

In the Sun study mentioned earlier, mentors were promoted 6 times more often (than non-mentors).

Benefits to the organisation

Research has reported benefits at the organisational level, including employee commitment, motivation and retention, higher morale, better work relationships and better leadership (Fagenson-Eland et al., 1997; Wilson and Elman, 1996).

In a study by Hegstad & Wentling (2004), the five most frequently cited impacts of the formal mentoring programs included:

1. retention, (59 percent);
2. promotion and advancement, (35 percent);
3. satisfaction, (35 percent);
4. morale, (29 percent); and
5. productivity and performance, (29 percent).

In the aforementioned Sun study, retention rates amongst mentees (72%) and mentors (69%) was favourably compared to the general retention rate across the organisation of 49%. Sun claim to have made $6.7 million in savings in avoided turnover and replacement costs. They also estimate an ROI of more than 1000% on their investment in mentoring.

There is little published data on the impact of mentoring on productivity. Some time ago, one of our clients, TNT, asked mentees to estimate the productivity improvement they had achieved as a result of mentoring. 48% of survey respondents said they believed they had gained more than a 50% improvement in productivity.

Another organisational benefit that is often overlooked is the leadership capacity development of mentors who participate in a mentoring program that offers them both training to enhance their developmental conversation skills and an opportunity to practice those skills with someone who is not a direct report.

In spite of the difficulties in comparing results across different types of studies, the trend is clear – the studies conclude that mentoring does have significant benefits not just for the individuals being mentored but also for the individuals providing the mentorship, as well as their supporting organisations.

When one considers that mentoring can contribute to the engagement, motivation, morale, affective well-being, career mobility, and leadership capacity of both mentees and mentors, it is likely that the impacts are grossly underestimated.

Cross-Gender Mentoring

Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations found that mentoring programs boosted minority representation at the management level by 9% to 24% (compared to -2% to 18% with other diversity initiatives). The same study found that mentoring programs also dramatically improved promotion and retention rates for minorities and women—15% to 38% as compared to non-mentored employees.

Gender

There are two schools of thought about mentoring for women. Research evidence supports the benefits of mentoring, yet some people argue that women do not need mentoring, they need sponsorship. The truth is they need both, according to these US stats:

• Women only lead 8.8% of Fortune 500 companies.
• Of the few women who have made it to corner offices, most are white.
• In 2022, among top executives at S&P 500 companies, women account for only a quarter of the total number, while controlling just 1% of the value of shares held among fellow corporate leaders.

This graphic says all that needs to be said about how slow the progress is:

This is the situation in Australia:

The gender pay gap is still wide in many countries:

The Global Gender Gap Index has benchmarked the current state and evolution of gender parity across four key dimensions (Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment) since 2006. In 2022, the global gender gap was closed by 68%. At the current rate of progress, it will still take 132 years to reach full parity.

Leading the field in closing the gender equity gap were Iceland (90%), Finland (86%) and Norway (85%).

The US was ranked 27th (77%) and Australia 43rd (74%) of 156 countries in 2022.

So, what about mentoring for women? Researchers suggest that women need mentoring for career support more than men do. Linehan and Walsh (1999) argued that mentoring is particularly important for women:  “Mentoring relationships, whilst important for men, may be essential for women’s career development, as female managers face greater organisational, interpersonal and individual barriers to advancement” (p.348).

Indeed, there is evidence that mentoring actually benefits female mentees more than it does male mentees (Tharenou, 2005). It has also been suggested that e-mentoring is beneficial to mixed gender mentoring relationships, as the reduced level of social cues in electronic communication may enable a more power-free dialogue (Hamilton and Scandura, 2002).

In a review of Sheryl Sandberg’s book, Lean In, researchers provide evidence that mentoring focused on career achievement from role models that women can identify with is key to leadership success (Chrobot-Mason, Hoobler, Burno, 2019).

A study by Development Dimensions International (DDI) found that while nearly 80% of women in senior roles had served as formal mentors, only 63 % of women had ever had one. This is despite the fact that a majority of women view mentoring as valuable. Formal mentoring for women supports women who may not be confident to seek mentorship on their own.

In this study into a specific program for women in health and medical research, almost half of mentees cited that participation played a role in a promotion and also attributed program participation to other traditional metrics of academic research career success—including grants, awards and other leadership opportunities. Participants noted that essential for achieving those outcomes was an increase in confidence, as well as support from their mentors and network built through the program. Other benefits reported by mentees increased resilience and confidence.

While peer mentoring has already been found to have positives for students, a new study in Nature Communications looks at the longer-term impact of such schemes. It finds that the positive influence of peer monitoring for female students can last beyond the end of a degree.

©Melissa Richardson 2023

Read our case studies and learn how Art of Mentoring has helped organisations design and implement mentoring programs.

Download a Business Plan template.

REFERENCES

Allen, T. D., Eby, L. T., Poteet, M. L., Lentz, E., & Lima, L. (2004). Career benefits associated with mentoring for proteges: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89, 127–136.

Catalyst. (1993). Mentoring: A guide to corporate programs and practices. New York: Author.

Chrobot-Mason, D., Hoobler, J., Burno, J. (2019). Lean In Versus The Literature: An Evidence-Based Examination. Academy of Management Perspectives, Vol. 33, No. 1, 110–130.

Chun, J K, Sosik, J J, Yun, N. (2012) A longitudinal study of mentor and protégé outcomes in formal mentoring relationships, Journal of Organizational Behavior, J. Organiz. Behav. 33, 1071–1094 (2012)

Dreher, G. P., & Ash, R. A. (1990). A comparative study of mentoring among men and women in managerial, professional, and technical positions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 75, 539-546.

Fagenson, E. A. (1989). The mentor advantage: Perceived career/job experiences of protégés versus non-protégés. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 10, 309–320.

Fagenson-Eland, E.A. , Marks, M.K. , & Amendola, K.L. (1997).Perceptions of mentoring relationships . Journal of Vocational Behavior, 51(1), 29-42

Hamilton, B and Scandura, T. (2002) “Implications for Organisational Learning and Development in a Wired World” In: Organisational Dynamics, volume 31, No 4, pp388-402, Elsevier Science, Inc.

Hegstad, C D & Wentling, R M. (2004) Human resource Development Quarterly, vol. 15, No. 4.

Hunt, D.M. , & Michael, C. (1983). Mentorship—A career training and development tool.  Academy of Management Review, 8(3), 475-485

Johnson, N. B. and T. A. Scandura. 1994. ‘The effects of mentoring and sex-role style on male-female earnings’, Industrial Relations, 33, 263-274.

Jones, J. (2012) An Analysis of Learning Outcomes within Formal Mentoring Relationships, International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring Vol. 10, No. 1, Page 57

Kram, K.E. (1985). Mentoring at work: Developmental relationships in organizational life. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman .

Lankau, M J and Scandura, T A. (2002). An Investigation of Personal Learning in Mentoring Relationships: Content, Antecedents, and Consequences; The Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 45, No. pp. 779-790

Linehan, M. & Walsh, J.S. (1999) Mentoring Relationships and the Female Managerial Career, Career Development International, 4/7 pp348-352. MCB University Press.

Sun Microsystems Study (2009), downloaded from http://www.mentoringstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/2009-Sun-Mentoring-1996-2000-Dickinson.p

Tharenou, P. (2005) Does Mentor Support Increase Women’s Career Advancement More than Men’s? The Differential Effects of Career and Psychosocial Support. Australian Journal of Management, Vol. 30, No. 1

Wilson, J.  & Elman, N. (1990). Organizational benefits of mentoring. Academy of Management Executive, 4, 88-94 .

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Making Reverse Mentoring Work: Practical Guidelines for Programmes

Reverse mentoring (or mentoring up) is a practical way to enable senior people in organizations to learn from more junior colleagues. There are two main contexts for this: technical and diversity-focused.

Technical reverse mentoring emerged in the 1990s as a means of helping executives keep up with technological change, particularly in terms of IT literacy. It was sometimes confused with technical support (one-way tuition), but when properly applied is a co-learning partnership, in which the senior person acquires both technical skills and a level of conceptual understanding of the technology, while the junior mentor gains insights into thinking at a more strategic level and into career possibilities.

Diversity-focused reverse mentoring supports co-learning between cultures and generations. Early applications centred around gender – male executives being mentored by more junior females to understand the corporate world through female eyes. The relationship caused the executives to question their assumptions about female aspirations and to recognise the subtle barriers that prevented women advancing in their careers. How much of an influence it had on gender equality in the workplace is hard to measure, but it appears to have had a substantial impact on changing mindsets.

In the past two decades, diversity-focused reverse mentoring has contributed to diversity management in the contexts of race, culture, disability, sexual preference, amongst others. Generational-based reverse mentoring concentrates on building bridges of understanding between the baby boomers/Generation X and millennials.

Good practice guidelines for designing effective reverse mentoring programmes include:

• Be very clear about the learning agenda for the programme. What are the key understandings each party needs to take away?
• Clarify why it is important to the business to create these cross-sectional communications. This will contribute to participants’ confidence in playing their respective roles
• Start at the top. If the leaders show willingness to learn in this way, other managers will follow suit
• Educate both mentors and mentees in how to manage the power distance issues. If the executive slips into their managerial persona, then this can intimidate the less senior mentor and inhibit the learning between them. Both need the skills to create a power-free learning environment
• Ensure that there is a significant hierarchical gap between mentor and mentee. The further away from the top the junior person is, the better able they are to manage the power distance – because people closer to the top are more likely to be concerned that giving robust feedback to someone more senior will be detrimental to their careers
• Monitor how each reverse mentoring relationship is progressing. Both mentor and mentee may benefit from having an additional, traditional coaching or mentoring relationship, in which they can explore issues that arise for them
• View the upward mentors as a resource for exploring wider issues, where accessing several different perspectives can help make better strategic or tactical choices
• Bring mentees together as a group to share their learning and the implications for the organization; similarly, encourage junior mentors to exchange insights they have acquired.

©Professor David Clutterbuck 2023

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The report also highlights that there is evidence of ageist employment practices in some Australian workplaces, with around one in six organisations actively excluding older workers from the recruitment process. Furthermore, while almost two-thirds (65%) of HR professionals surveyed say they are currently experiencing recruitment difficulties, only a quarter (25%) report that they are open to hiring people aged 65 and above “to a large extent.”

The report suggests that employers should consider older workers more carefully when developing diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies. Shockingly, only around half of the organisations surveyed offer continued access to training and development opportunities for older workers, which is the lowest mark since the survey began.

Employing and retaining older workers can contribute more to easing employment shortages worldwide. If employers and governments can maximise the potential of older workers as part of an age-diverse workforce, this could help drive more diverse workplaces, reduce employee shortages, and strengthen economic performance.

How mentoring can help

One of the key benefits of using mentoring to retain older workers is the opportunity to tap into their experience and expertise. Older workers have accumulated years of knowledge, skills and wisdom that can be invaluable to the organization. By asking them to mentor others, companies can ensure that this knowledge and experience is passed on to the next generation of workers.

Asking older workers to mentor others can also be an effective retention strategy. Older workers who feel valued and respected are more likely to stay with the organization. By offering them the opportunity to mentor others and providing them with relevant mentoring skills development, companies are showing that they recognize the value of their experience and expertise. This can be a powerful motivator for older workers to stay with the organization.

Moreover, mentoring can also provide older workers with a sense of purpose and fulfillment in their work. As they transition to retirement or a new role within the organization, mentoring can offer them a way to stay engaged and make a meaningful contribution to the organization.

To encourage older workers to become mentors, companies can offer incentives such as recognition programs or opportunities for advancement. They can also provide training and support to ensure that older workers have the skills and confidence they need to be effective mentors.

In conclusion, asking older workers to mentor others can be a powerful tool for retaining them in the organization. By tapping into their experience and expertise, companies can ensure that this knowledge is passed on to the next generation of workers. Mentoring can also provide older workers with a sense of purpose and fulfillment in their work, which can be a powerful motivator for them to stay with the organization.

© Melissa Richardson 2023

View our webinar: The Age Divide in Employment

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As we move into a tougher economic cycle, Josh Bersin says: 

“In 2023, we will need to learn to balance the new world of empathetic, flexible leadership with the need for ever-increasing levels of productivity.” [2]

Leaders will need to pivot once again and draw on different skills. How do we keep developing leaders so that they can adapt quickly and with resilience? Can mentoring play a part in helping managers develop strong leadership skills? The simple answer is: Yes, it can. The reason is, one of the most powerful ways to help a people manager develop leadership capability, is to have them develop and practise mentoring skills. These skills, such as active listening, discovering and amplifying people’s strengths, and supporting mentees to grow by challenging them, are the same skills that transformational leaders employ. By contributing as a mentor, new leaders can test and hone their skills with a mentee in a low-risk environment rather than with a direct report. At the same time, they are exposed to learning for themselves, about another part of their organization, another generation, a different culture, from someone who is not in their direct reporting line. 

From good to great leadership 

What makes a great leader stand out from a satisfactory one? According to Bass & Avolio [3], truly transformational leadership provides direct reports with the values, enhanced skills, and confidence to go above and beyond the basic performance standards of their roles. It’s also about having a strong understanding of human motivation to know how to light a fire within team members. And this process starts with communicating a vision that inspires team members to go the extra mile. [4] Great leaders also link their team member’s individual strengths and interests to organizational goals, creating a continuum of energy. [5]    

The list of traits of transformational leaders is, frankly, quite long:  

• They build trust by behaving as outstanding role models.  
• They develop their team by looking at each member as an individual.  
• They stimulate their team members’ critical thinking capacities to increase their independence.  
• And they draw on their own experience to share stories of how they overcame difficulties in similar situations. [6]

Transactional leaders, on the other hand, pursue a more elementary exchange with their direct reports. These leaders set goals mechanically and provide feedback and rewards to followers as a means of helping them achieve performance objectives. This approach doesn’t transform or challenge the follower, but simply assists them to complete their work. 

This comparison of transformational with transactional leadership correlates quite neatly with developmental vs transactional mentoring. When a mentor can lift the conversation above a simple transfer or exchange of information or advice, true mentee development and transformation can occur. 

Pursuing the mentee’s own form of greatness 

Ragins [7] says a successful mentoring relationship drives mutually dependent, growth-driven enrichment between both the mentor and the mentee. In fact, the greatest contribution a mentor can make is to ensure mentees identify and pursue their own form of greatness, not necessarily the mentor’s. 

Quality developmental relationships can ignite a passion for learning, excitement, and work engagement associated with creativity, innovation, and productivity. Individuals who display these mentoring and leadership behaviours harness the full potential of their mentees and direct it towards achieving their organization’s goals. 

Many studies have focused on enhanced organizational outcomes associated with strong leadership. From innovation to retention, to financial performance, market share and customer satisfaction and transformational leadership —it’s clear, mentoring can ignite organizational performance. [8]

The seven ages of the leader 

Warren Bennis wrote an engaging article on the subject of business and leadership. Drawing on more than 50 years of academic research and business expertise—and borrowing from Shakespeare’s seven ages of man—Bennis says the leader’s life unfolds in seven stages. [9]

1. “The infant executive” seeks to recruit a mentor for guidance.  
2. “The schoolboy” must learn how to do the job in public, subjected to unsettling scrutiny of every word and act.  
3. “The lover with a woeful ballad” struggles with the tsunami of problems every organization encounters.  
4. “The bearded soldier” must be willing — even eager — to hire people better than he is, because he knows that talented underlings can help him shine.  
5. “The general” must become adept at not simply allowing people to speak the truth but at actually being able to hear what they’re saying.  
6. “The statesman” is hard at work preparing to pass on wisdom in the interests of the organization.  
7. And, finally, “the sage” embraces the role of mentor to young executives. 

Navigating each of these stages is made easier with the guidance of a mentor. Each new stage brings challenges and opportunities for growth. These moments can be wrenching — and can knock anyone’s confidence — but they’re also predictable and common to all leaders. Having a mentor at these moments of crisis and transitions can help new leaders know what to expect. Emerging successfully from a tsunami such as a merger, a restructure, new promotion or even a global pandemic can help mentees surface with less angst and more confidence than they had before.  

Yet, even more powerful, is asking leaders or potential leaders to step up into the role of mentorship — level seven — thereby accelerating their progress through the levels, to become the “sage” helping others develop their own wisdom.  

Creating better leaders from the inside out 

So, how does one improve the leadership skills of organizational leaders? The answer is to make them better mentors. 

Business coaches suggest leadership is not a top-down relationship but one that’s drawn from the inside out. The leader as mentor draws on their entire memory of experiences to listen and understand their mentee and to inspire them in their discovery and expression of their own talents within the organization. [10]

This correlates with the metaphor of the martial arts master borrowed from the Asian Ancients: 

To start at the core of essence and dance with the learner as that learner works toward the periphery of discovery on a path of self-direction. [11]

Through the act of mentoring, mentors begin to understand themselves and their own strengths and preferences better. They can take this self-awareness back with them into their team leadership. Moreover, people who mentor identify themselves more readily as, and feel more confident as leaders. [12]  

There we have it in a nutshell. When you’re building your leadership bench strength, make your next generation of leaders, mentors. Provide them with good quality mentor training to equip them with skills such as active listening, seeing people as individuals and supporting their followers to grow by challenging them. The aim of the mentoring relationship for new leaders is to learn a more informal, subtle, and indirect influence process that enhances their self-awareness and communication skills. Becoming a truly transformational leader will, in turn, achieve great things for your organization. 

©Melissa Richardson 2023

 References

1. https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/how-to-build-leadership-bench-strength/ 2.
2. https://joshbersin.com/2023/01/predictions-for-2023-redefining-work-the-workforce-and-hr/ 3.
3. Bass, B. M., & Avolio, B. J. (1997). Full range leadership development: Manual for the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. Palo Alto, CA: Mind Garden. 4.
4. Bass, B. M. (1990). Bass and Stodgill’s handbook of leadership. New York: Free Press. 5
5. Hambrick, D. C. (1989). Putting top managers back in the strategy picture. Strategic Management Journal, 10, 5–15. 6
6. Sosik, J. J., & Godshalk, V. M. (2000). Leadership styles, mentoring functions received, and job-related stress: A conceptual model and preliminary study. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21, 365–390. 7
7. Ragins, B. R. (2005). Towards a theory of relational mentoring. Unpublished manuscript.  8
8. Cited in Ragins, B. R. and Kram, K. E. (2007). The Handbook of Mentoring at Work: Theory, Research and Practice. California: Sage. 9
9. Bennis, W. (2004) The Seven Ages of the Leader. Harvard Business Review, January 2004. 10
10. Cashman, K. (September 1999). Coaching from the inside out. Executive Excellence 16:9, 14. 11
11. Zukav, G. (1990). Seat of the soul: A remarkable treatment of thought, evolution, and reincarnation. New York: Simon & Schuster. 12
12. Ayoobzadeh, M. and Boies, K. (2020), “From mentors to leaders: leader development outcomes for mentors”, Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 35 No. 6, pp. 497-511. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-10-2019-0591 

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It was 1997. Back then, there were hardly any mentoring programs, especially for women. At the time, I was ensconced in a Marketing career, so I decided to set up a mentoring program for young women in the Marketing profession. I arranged a breakfast with a few colleagues and asked if anyone would join me. Boldly, we decided to establish a professional association and set about finding out how to start a mentoring program. After all, it couldn’t be that hard, right?

Being a group of high achievers with Type A personalities, we quickly realised that we had no idea where to start and we were likely to crash and burn unless we brought in a consultant to help us design and launch our program. Good move.

14 years and several hundred mentors and mentees later, we finally wound up the program in its home city and moved on, although the association still lives on in another city. Pretty soon, word got out that I knew something about this mentoring thing, and I found myself assisting various organisations with their mentoring programs. And so, Art of Mentoring came into being.

Looking back, we did a lot right. We got everyone together for a briefing at the beginning, checked in with them along the way and held an end-of-program event to celebrate success. But we didn’t really provide training to the mentors, many of whom felt out of their depth. We corrected this and made other tweaks until the program ran like a well-oiled machine every year.

So, what’s changed in my views about mentoring and how has mentoring itself changed in 25 years?

Preparing mentors and mentees for the role is critical – and continuous upskilling for mentors

We moved from a short briefing to a slightly longer training for mentors, but in hindsight, it was not nearly enough. Prof David Clutterbuck claims that mentoring pair success is greatly reduced if no one is trained for the role, and that training mentors can double the success rate. After overseeing hundreds of programs, I now know this to be true. Another key insight is that many mentors will eventually lose interest in the program if their skills are not being upgraded every year. Not everyone is keen to do more training, but our experience is that offering an advanced course is very much appreciated by most mentors.

Virtual works!

In 1997, the program we established ran in one city. We carefully matched people within 30 minutes of each other so they could meet in person. As a result, not everyone got a match or the best match for them. Quite early into the 2000s, we started making virtual matches in other programs and discovered that, in accordance with research evidence, many pairs were able to work very effectively using virtual means to communicate. So, when COVID-19 arrived, we were able to say, with confidence, that virtual programs would work just fine.

Mentoring women also works

Over the 14 years we saw many women gain promotions, new jobs and salary increases, all of which they reported would not have happened without the support of their mentors. We created an amazing community of women who collaborated and celebrated success together. We only wound up the program when it became clear that there were enough opportunities within companies to provide mentors – we became a bit redundant and we’d achieved our vision, so we shut up shop. Of course, these days, we see loads of programs for women and for other minority groups, a trend I’m very happy to see. Whilst I understand the value of sponsorship, and it’s great that sponsorship is included in DEI initiatives, it should supplement, not replace mentoring,

Software helps

We were very early adopters of mentoring program management software. As an association with no staff, everything was done by volunteers. We funded the platform by attracting a sponsor right from the start, along with modest mentee fees. We kept other costs low and spent money on the time-saving aspects of automating some of the administration tasks. We were very focused on the mentoring program as our core program, and we didn’t spend money on other initiatives that might not add value.

Reverse and reciprocal mentoring are now a “thing”

25 years ago, the vast majority of mentoring programs were traditional hierarchical programs, particularly targeting high potential talent or leaders and emerging leaders. Given that the so-called “Hi-Pos” are already beneficiaries of most of the training dollar, I am very glad to see that the net has widened considerably to include, not just minority groups, but mentees at different talent and seniority levels.

Reverse and reciprocal mentoring have grown in popularity in the last five years and are now quite common. They do need careful design though, so reach out if you need help with this.

Mentoring can be life changing

Over the 25 years, I’ve witnessed so many people who have reported, at the end of a mentoring program, that their life has been changed forever (in a good way!) by the experience they’d just had. Many mentees come into mentoring thinking they might enhance a skill or two, maybe get connected with some new contacts.  Most have no idea of the profound impact that mentoring can have, if only they would open up and embrace the opportunity.

This leads me to a 25-year anniversary request. I am very keen to hear from mentors and mentees who believe that some aspect of their lives was transformed by a mentoring experience. I will be conducting research this year into what creates the transformative magic that ignites this change. If this sounds like you, please contact me at melissa@artofmentoring.net to participate in the study.

©Melissa Richardson 2023

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