Skill Development for Mentors
Mentoring is such a valuable activity in organizations. Most employees, when asked, say they would welcome someone who would work with them to increase their skills and abilities. It’s an integral part of employee development.
Mentorship programs can be highly impactful but unfortunately, unless they are handled with care, many of them don’t succeed.
Here is a way that organizations can increase the effectiveness of their mentorship programs—provide coaching and development for mentors.
In previous blogs, we’ve talked about starting a mentorship program and discussed some of the things that need to be in place to ensure success. However, coaching and development for mentors is rarely discussed.
Think about it. You take the time to put the program in place. You match mentors and mentees. You schedule meetings and then what?
Why not build some development opportunities so that your highly valued mentors can expand their skill sets, and increase their value to your employees?
Here are some ideas to consider:
Resource center. Develop a resource center with books, articles, podcasts, webinars, and TED Talks that your mentors can access and use to develop their own skills. Of course, you can make these resources available to the mentees as well.
Brainstorming. Schedule occasional brainstorming sessions with mentors. One person may be struggling with an issue that someone else has already solved. Why not share this information to increase the mentor’s skills?
Peer learning. Peer learning is powerful and highly effective. Ask some of your more seasoned mentors to share their experiences. We know people learn best from hearing stories, so schedule some time for mentors to share their stories. You may be surprised at how much development can happen in those settings.
Lunch and learn. Build on peer learning by periodically asking mentors to share their expertise in a lunch and learn setting.
Formal curriculum. Put a curriculum together for your mentors because, as we know, teaching someone is a great way for mentors to learn themselves. Consider some of the topics that your mentees ask for and build your development program around those subjects.
Have fun. When time permits, schedule a social activity for mentors so that they can increase their network. Having some fun together can be highly impactful as you develop your organization’s mentoring program.
Mentors can and will have a significant impact on your organization, so craft a program that builds skills but also lets your mentors know that they are valued. Developing their skills will make them stronger mentors and will increase their commitment to your organization. This should result in increased employee engagement and increased retention.