How Reverse Mentoring Can Support Digital Transformation & Cross-Generational Collaboration
What’s reverse mentoring, and what makes it different from “regular” mentoring?
Reverse mentoring is when a junior team member establishes a professional relationship with a senior team member, exchanging knowledge, skills, experiences and understanding.
On the other hand, the HE-Men Project HandBook defines reverse mentoring as “an experienced leader meeting with someone more junior to help him or her benefit from a greater experience in specific fields.”
Many HR leaders will tell you reverse mentoring can be especially helpful in driving organizational digital transformation.
That’s because digital transformation has sometimes less to do with the organization and the market than with the people who must adopt data and leverage technology for better business results.
With reverse mentoring, senior leaders can learn data analysis and technology practices from younger members, many of them digital natives, to enhance their own skills with benefits for the organization.
Why Reverse Mentoring works and How to do it right?
In the best mentoring relationships, both people learn.
Reverse mentoring is no different. When younger employees share their knowledge with more experienced workers, it boosts both groups’ level of understanding, communication, and collaboration.
Beyond flipping the traditional hierarchy, reverse mentoring can also facilitate other strategic organizational goals, fostering a more inclusive culture that values the contributions of all employees, and increase collaboration within generation.
A senior executive who isn’t especially tech-savvy but is eager to be mentored by a colleague who’s a digital native can learn new technical skills, bringing greater efficiencies to the work and leveraging data-driven insights in decision-making.
A younger mentor gains things from the reverse mentoring arrangement as well — namely, exposure to other areas and departments in the organization, access to the potentially larger leadership capacity of their more experienced mentee, and a chance to broaden their perspective and strategic thinking skills.
2 Keys for Successful Reverse Mentoring
Be willing to learn.
For reverse mentoring to be effective, senior leaders must be humble enough to set aside their perceptions of authority and privilege brought on by age and experience for the benefits, knowledge, and guidance of someone younger.
The senior leader needs to make a conscious and intentional effort to find and work with a younger mentor. The senior member needs to be ready to learn, prepared to make mistakes, and willing to try something new, and open to new ideas.
If a senior manager is ready to do these things, then they’re ready for reverse mentoring.
Follow traditional guidelines – with a twist.
In a “normal” or traditional mentoring relationship, the responsibility for beginning and sustaining the relationship falls more on the senior member. Why? Because the junior member may not have the confidence to repeatedly reach out and set up meetings to talk or hold the senior member accountable.
As the relationship deepens, the responsibility becomes more shared, but success depends heavily on the more experienced leader to begin the momentum. Reverse mentoring is similar, and generally follows clear guidelines described in our E-learning Content and discussed between peers in our He-Men Community.
Benefits of Reverse Mentoring for a Mentor, Mentee and Company
Reverse Mentoring brings a new perspective to the company, sharing experience between generations, allows for the creation of innovative strategies. Internal collaboration will be favoured and it will be easier for managers and newcomers to exchange ideas in order to move towards better solutions. This practice can lead to the implementation of a collective intelligence within the company.
Combining new tools and knowledge with the experience gained in the market allows to get the maximum potential of a strategy so that it is much more effective than it would have been.
It is the way the company operates that evolves, rather than being based on cooperation around a project, they move to a collaborative culture of the company where everyone helps each other and brings elements of answers to a problem.
Reverse mentoring is beneficial for all parties involved: experienced managers, young mentors and the company.
Main benefits:
- For young mentors:
- – Learn business terminology and industry practices from the older employees.
- – Enhance their value within the company by developing new qualities, deepening their initial knowledge, and increasing their involvement and sense of commitment.
- – The young mentors get visibility and recognition from experienced managers.
- The senior mentees:
- – Brought up to learn digital devices in a practical way and by receiving individual training, adapted to their situation.
- – Build a network that can help them in transforming their practices. This system creates a transgenerational link that can last over time.
- It is also extremely beneficial for the company:
- – Senior executives who are aware of the challenges and new digital practices.
- – Forging generational links, helping create a team spirit.
- – Encourage the development of digital skills in an innovative way.
The practice of Reverse Mentoring also allows the company to save money. There is no need to invest in expensive training programs.
Ready to Take the Next Step? Join the HE-Men Community
You have key questions to answer: Reverse mentoring can be a strategy that prepares senior leaders at your organization for Leading Digital Transformation.