The evolution of mentorship

I have been lucky enough to see first hand the power of mentorship, both as a mentor and mentee, throughout my career.  I have been involved in mentoring both inside and out of work, most recently mentoring a young woman at high school, through The Girls Network.  These programmes do not just enable you to learn when you are being mentored, they also significantly develop your skills base when you are the mentor yourself.   

Mentoring programmes are well known and established in many workplaces, and their success can be seen through higher retention rates and more engaged employees.  A more fluid and open approach post pandemic is now needed, enabling leaders to develop their teams to enjoy personal growth both in and outside of the workplace.  

Here are three ways in which mentor programmes can evolve;

1. Restructure relationships - typically mentors are in place because they have more experience than those that they are working with.  The rise of reverse mentorships helps to change that dynamic and celebrate learning from a different angle. 
    
2. Reset transparency - ensure that a wide range of topics is covered, nothing is off the table!
    
3. Relocate learning - we no longer need to engage in mentoring in a formal work setting, this change can open up different ways and environments for our learnings.