To question is to think. To think is to introspect. To introspect is to seek. To seek is to be aware. To be aware is when the journey begins.
Reverse mentoring, a different form of workplace mentoring, has been making silent strides in bridging the generational gap of executives. By reversing the traditional mentoring relationship and hierarchy, senior leaders have the opportunity to take on the role of a student and gather new perspectives (assuming that they want to actually learn). It helps connect senior (and older) leaders with younger leaders and upcoming talent.
While many assume incorrectly that only large and old organisations need to adopt reverse mentoring as a tool -- successful tech founders and entrepreneurs have used it as a growth catalyst. They have brought in the concept of agility, disrupting old ways of doing things and to constantly unlearn and learn newer and emerging technologies from the youngsters.
Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric (GE), popularised the concept of reverse mentoring in the late 90s. He paired over 500 senior and junior employees with the aim to have the younger generation teach the older about technological advancements and potential business applications. In his words, “We now have the youngest and brightest teaching the oldest. It formalised the idea of coordinating shared learning between colleagues of diverse backgrounds to create symbiotic corporate learning.”
For startups, especially those which use disruptive technology and business ideas, the need to be agile and to have a learning organisation is a must. In an ecosystem as this using non-conventional tools like reverse mentoring could bring much benefits. It can facilitate entities achieving strategic goals such as increasing millennial and Gen-Z retention, fostering inclusivity, and maintaining competitive advantage through technological advancements. This also helps in real-time feedback mechanism that cuts across age and hierarchical barriers in the teams. Having millennials and Gen-Z act as mentors results in equally beneficial outcomes. The youngsters feel valued for their inputs, gain additional access to networking with senior leaders and benefit from exposure to alternative projects and career paths.
Where youngsters succeed
Target audience: for many brands, especially startups, the younger employees might have a lot more in common with the firm’s target audience. The youngsters could relate better and quicker to the product offering and hence have insights readily available, that the senior (and experienced) talent might have otherwise missed or taken time to internalise.
Technical skills: In many industries, technical skills become obsolete quickly. Younger employees are more adept and able to have up-to-date formal training than the older employees. As formal hierarchies bring in a sense of rigidity, the senior talent is better off with younger talent offering reverse mentoring in this aspect.
Technology: Youngsters easily are in tune with latest technological advancements. They can reverse mentor the senior talent about technology, associated skill sets, and potential new ideas to use such technologies for business outcomes.
Commitment & more
For successful outcome of reverse mentoring, absolute commitment from the mentees is needed. The senior leaders being mentored have to be committed to attending sessions and making the mentoring relationship a priority. It is often observed that they keep shifting their sessions under the pretext of being busy or urgent business needs that keep emerging. This not only sets back the entire process, but also shows the organisation and/or the specific senior leader in poor light.
With reverse mentoring, the organisation can build inclusive relationships that don't have age, gender, educational background or family background into consideration. If used well and across the teams, reverse mentoring can improve empathy and mitigates unconscious bias.
Questions:
Do you have a reverse mentor?
Do you have a formal coach?
Have you learnt something new skill or competency in the past six months?
Have you mentored a senior in your organisation? If so, what did that process teach you?
As a younger talent, what did you pick up from your (senior talent) mentee?Would that knowledge be useful for your career growth in the current firm?
If you are a founder, how have you used a reverse mentor in your own entrepreneurial journey? How would you scale this concept across your organisation? How would you eliminate mentor-selection bias?
– The author, Srinath Sridharan is a Corporate Adviser and Independent Markets Commentator. For other articles in the Coach Soch series, click here. 
