In this article, we share first-hand feedback from ABM mentoring initiatives on how mentoring skills have improved leadership abilities and approaches. We’ll also highlight three essential mentorship skills to improve leadership and result in higher productivity, increased well-being and growth for organisations, based on ABM’s core competencies of professional mentoring.
One of the key pieces of feedback collated as part of ABM’s workplace mentoring initiatives is the insight into an array of leadership styles. Mentors reported that learning about how their mentees were managed had substantial beneficial effects on their own approaches. Some even collaborated outside of the mentoring programme to form a mentoring circle to engage in facilitated peer-to-peer mentoring specifically on leadership skills, strategies and active reflection.
Mentees reported that not only did the mentoring provide a space to air frustrations from current management, not an infrequent conversation, but they also gained insight as to how their mentors managed. Importantly, many learn from their mentors how to manage upwards.
Crafting a Mentoring Programme that Improves Leadership Skills
When designing your workplace mentoring programme, there are various elements to consider to support your mentors and mentees in their skill development. Here are three key elements to include in your programme:
Understanding the Purpose of Mentoring Relationships
It’s important to understand that mentoring relationships are a ‘learning alliance’. The belief that mentoring is all about mentee development has been shattered many a time when programme feedback provides detail on mentor learning and insight. Bearing in mind that your programme should benefit the mentee as well as the mentor is essential when designing programme resources and training sessions.
Hosting Knowledge Sessions
In the preparation for an organisational mentoring programme, we recommend hosting ‘knowledge sessions’ to gather interest from mentors and mentees and educate them on the purpose of mentoring in the workplace. Many employees remain a little blurry as to what mentoring entails and the possible journey for both. At the ABM, we recommend including committed skills training and support, which covers a minimum of three of the ABM core competencies (outlined below) to increase the impact of the mentoring programme.
Providing Support that Encourages Reflection
Ongoing support includes revisiting these competencies and conducting crucial group check-in sessions where mentors and mentees can share their experiences. In ABM-facilitated workplace mentoring programmes, these storytelling sessions have been invaluable. Mentees have often found the confidence to ask more curious questions from the encouragement of their peers. Mentors learn from each other by way of discussing alternative approaches to mentee challenges and reaching goals.
💡 By the way — if you’re looking for a step-by-step guide to building an effective mentoring programme, head to our blog article and free checklist.
3 Essential Mentoring Skills to Improve Leadership
Skill 1: Increased awareness and reflection
Most people believe that they are ‘aware’ in their leadership, however a study unearthed that in reality only 10-15% of people are truly self-aware. Practicing awareness as part of your mentoring reassures us that it is healthy to reflect on our actions, beliefs and conversations. It is an essential skill to accept that we can better ourselves no matter what we have achieved already. Part of this is understanding the environment we create to put our mentee at ease in order to be curious and listen to learn. We also learn the importance of the uniqueness each relationship will carry. An integral part of this core competency is recognition of the role of confidentiality and discretion.
Skill 2: Being curious. Crafting questions to gain insight
What is a curious question? These are thought provoking, often open-ended questions asked for the purpose of exploring. The mentoring skill takes this one step further and we learn what to do with the information we gather from our mentee. The point is to gain insight, encourage our mentee to open up in the safe space that we have created. The flip to this is sharing our own experiences. Creating a learning alliance. The start of a mentoring relationship covers boundaries and ground rules. Once these are established, for example limited personal background, it is more likely both mentor and mentee will climb out of their comfort zones.
Questions asked too rarely:
- What could happen if you took a different approach?
- Why do you think this situation has materialised? Or keeps reoccurring?
- Who could you approach to gain further insight and feedback?
💡 By the way — if you’re looking for expert support in establishing and running your mentoring programme, the ABM is here to help. Speak to Kerrie today to learn how we can partner with you to structure your mentorship programme effectively.
Skill 3: Listening to learn
What do we hear? It is a common theme that our default is to listen to speak again rather than to digest what we are hearing. The driver for this it transpires is to fill silence because we find that uncomfortable. Another driver linked to this is a feeling of insecurity which manifests itself in the need to appear knowledgeable and in control by speaking. This can be tackled head-on in creating that safe space by highlighting there may be moments of silence in a mentoring conversation. We should embrace it don’t fight it which is often difficult to accomplish.
One approach is to articulate what we hear. Repeat back the information learned and ask, ‘Is this what you meant?’
Unsurprisingly repetition is required to gain true understanding. This is simply down to the different ways we articulate and there is nothing wrong with not getting it the first time. Confusion and poor communication boils down mostly to misunderstanding.
When people feel listened to, they feel valued. Valued employees are more productive and loyal to their organisation.
💡 By the way — if you’re looking to further develop your mentoring skill, head to our entry-level online course ‘The Art of Business Mentoring’.
What difference can it make?
When these three core skills of coaching and mentoring are adopted into a leadership approach, we can strongly expect to see these trends:
- Increased Engagement and Motivation: Knowing their leader is genuinely invested in their growth encourages them to take ownership of their work and contribute more enthusiastically as they will feel safe to sometimes get it wrong.
- Skill Development: Employees feel encouraged to improve because they will feel supported.
- Career Growth and Advancement: A clearer sense of direction in their careers which can help them take on new challenges, move up the career ladder, or transition into new roles.
Mentoring skills and a coaching approach bring many benefits to a leader not just one who is actively participating in an initiative. In addition, mentees who are involved in this workplace environment will spread the healthy way of working as they progress and utilise these skills, paying it forward plus they are more likely to stay, the results being a far healthier culture which in turn will have a beneficial impact on the bottom line.
If your organisation would like to harness the power of mentoring, get in touch with us to discover our various workplace mentoring & coaching solutions.