Dear OOO,
My firm began a mentorship program mid-pandemic, and I was assigned to mentor a younger and intensely gifted colleague. I’m thrilled about this! But I can’t fairly shake the sensation that I’m not doing sufficient for her. We verify in often and speak about a mixture of big-picture points and particular tasks she’s engaged on, however I don’t management her work assignments, and we will’t meet in individual, and I don’t know if I’m having the influence she was on the lookout for when she signed up. How can I be a higher mentor?
–New York
The excellent news, New York, is that just by having a mentor, your younger colleague is already forward of the sport. While 75 p.c {of professional} employees crave mentorship, in line with Harvard Business Review, simply 37 p.c of them say they have a mentor. So take coronary heart that you just’re making some type of distinction simply by being current.
I will confess, although, to some combined emotions about company-sponsored mentorship packages. It’s higher than nothing, after all: At many (most?) workplaces, you’re left to sink or swim by yourself, with some assist from a supportive boss for those who’re exceptionally fortunate. But in my expertise, official mentoring packages usually really feel like they’re extra about HR ticking a field than reflecting precise company values. Companies usually begin these efforts in response to worker complaints that they don’t see a path to development—and doubly so for girls and folks of shade.
But this method is a little bit of a sq. peg in a spherical gap. The largest drawback is that true mentorship will not be about serving to somebody get promoted (or at the very least not solely so). CEOs want mentorship simply as a lot as their assistants do. And firms are principally horrible at creating clear paths for development, particularly for these folks they’ve uncared for for years or many years. But fixing that requires placing within the exhausting, gradual work of fixing the corporate, not simply spending a few hours pairing folks up.
In truth, some analysis has discovered that ladies undergo from an excessive amount of mentorship, when what they really want is sponsorship—not somebody to offer them recommendation, however relatively somebody advocating for them to get a promotion or a increase. Personally, I’ve encountered many extra males keen to supply life classes, solicited or not, than ones all for ensuring I get credit score for my work or a seat on the desk for consequential conferences. The latter group, although, is the one who has made the a lot larger influence on my profession. Meanwhile, my greatest mentors have at all times been friends, not superiors—the sort of folks I can go to with a “Hey, how are you dealing with this?” or who will recommend my title for alternatives.
None of that is to say that mentorship doesn’t matter, although, or that there’s no level in aspiring to be a higher mentor to your younger colleague. But in an effort to do it, you’re going to should be very clear about her objectives. Your query specifies that that is a voluntary program, so understanding what was on her thoughts when she signed up might be core to a productive relationship. If you didn’t do that earlier, it’s not too late—the primary a part of your relationship might have been about attending to know one another; chapter two will be extra mission-focused.
A disproportionate quantity of the burden of creating a relationship really feel fruitful is essentially going to fall on the mentee, not the mentor. Only she is aware of how one can be most useful to her, and it’s best to ask her instantly. (People are sometimes afraid of awkwardness when asking “What do you want from me?” however OOO comes down firmly on the aspect of being direct.) Does she aspire to a profession like yours? Does she want a senior individual to whom she will be able to put questions too delicate to take to her boss? Or is she principally on the lookout for somebody to bounce concepts off?
