Firms spend considerable time and money recruiting talent. It’s important to remember to spend even more effort to retain them. The next generation wants to find work that provides purpose. They want opportunities to develop their careers, and access to information. Firms with a culture of lifelong learning are transparent, share information and create developmental opportunities.
In most discussions on developing future leaders, mentoring is recommended. The typical mentoring scenario is designed to help the mentee, usually the more junior associate, gain knowledge and skills to help them advance in their career. The mentor, typically a more experienced leader, takes part to help with development and succession, or to give back for help they have received in their career.
The pace of change in our professional is exceptional. For firms to remain best-in-class, they need to take advantage of all opportunities to get smarter. One easy, practically free, yet rich beyond measure method, is to implement a Reverse Mentoring program.
But what are the skills that the “reverse mentor” needs to bring to the relationship? After all, you are looking to mentor someone who may be older than you, who certainly has more experience than you. This is an opportunity to build on several skills that will also help you as a financial advisor. You will need to muster your confidence, patience and empathy.
It is rare that mentoring relationships are one-way. While the idea of reverse-mentoring is less experienced sharing with more experienced, there will certainly be opportunities to share and learn from each other—regardless of who is the “mentor.” So be open to learning as well as teaching.
For the relationship to work, you need to ensure:
- Trust – You will be sharing the experience and knowledge you have that is different from what your mentee already knows. You both must want to teach and learn. The best way to build that trust is to get to know each other. Your first meeting should be an opportunity for you to each learn about the other’s history, experiences and some personal goals. That helps you set the learning agenda for the relationship.
- Transparency – Once you have built trust, you want to be open to sharing what you know and how you can help the mentee gain more insights into your expertise.
- Thick skin – I don’t believe you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but the learning process isn’t always smooth. There may be times your mentor feels you have overstepped boundaries. That presents an opportunity to revisit the learning agenda you created for the relationship. An open discussion can help get your back on track or signal a relationship that isn’t working.
Learn by Leading
What if your firm does not have mentoring programs? Offer to start one—it can be your first example of reverse mentoring! Show how this program helps not just associates, but the whole firm. Advantages you can highlight to senior leadership include:
- Organizational Growth — Creating a culture of learning involves everyone in constant career development. Reverse mentoring provides senior leadership with insights into how the next generation think, what issues they find important, how they look at problem solving. More junior associates will build confidence and self-awareness as they learn how to deliver feedback and knowledge outside their peer group.
- Retention – Creating a smarter organization leads to not only more engaged employees, but improved retention. Associates in mentoring relationships feel more connected to the goals for the firm, creating an intrinsic value. Keeping employees is a challenge we all need to consider as we develop the next generation of leaders.
- Inclusion – Many underrepresented associates have spent the past couple of years informally reverse-mentoring firm leadership, by revealing their individual experiences that others may not have gone through. Sharing information between generations helps reduce biases that prevent associates from being their best selves at work. Mentoring programs provide more promotional opportunities, and are a leading indicator of success in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion programs.
- Teamwork – Reverse mentoring can be thought of as a sharing of information and learning different perspectives. Creating that understanding builds a strong team foundation.
If it turns out your firm is not able to provide this, or you are a solo practitioner, you can still create reverse mentoring opportunities:
- Talk to your study group about partnering with a more established study group to create a pipeline for learning
- Network within the associations to find someone with whom you can share insights.
Regardless of where you form this relationship, it’s important to find the right match. You want to work with someone who has a mind for lifelong learning, is open to learning from diverse points of view and will be willing to share experiences with you.
Like in life, the most successful mentoring relationships are two-way. To create a smarter, more diverse, and inclusive workplace, it’s necessary to create that environment.
Kate Healy is a financial services industry executive and NextGen advocate, focused on building brands.