Creating a Mentoring Culture

Why Mentoring Is Important

In the forward to Lois J. Zachary’s new book Creating a Mentoring Culture (Jossey-Bass, 2005), philosopher/business consultant Peter Koestenbaum explains the importance of mentoring: “Mentoring makes the full human available to the most basic strategic needs of an organization. But mentoring is more. It requires that we be sensitive to the highest ethical considerations of which human beings are capable—something desperately needed in today’s organizations.”

Zachary, a leadership development expert, believes that mentoring is a bottom-line issue that needs to become an integral part of every organization. “Mentoring is a smart way to do business,” says the author. “It can lead to increased retention rates, improved morale, increased job satisfaction, accelerated leadership development, stronger teams and heightened individual and organizational learning.”

What exactly is mentoring? Zachary defines it as “a reciprocal and collaborative learning relationship between two (or more) individuals who share mutual responsibility and accountability for helping a mentee work toward achievement of clear and mutually defined learning goals. Learning is the fundamental process, purpose and product of mentoring. Building, maintaining and growing a relationship of mutual responsibility and accountability is vital to keeping the learning focused and on track.”

Hallmarks of a Mentoring Culture

In Creating a Mentoring Culture, Zachary identifies eight key hallmarks of a successful mentoring culture:

• Alignment — Mentoring cannot be regarded as merely an “add-on” to existing programs. It must be in line with other aspects of the organization so that the business reasons for engaging in mentoring are evident and tied directly to results.
• Accountability — Roles and responsibilities for all the key players must be clarified up front, both to manage expectations and to encourage individual and organizational accountability.
• Communication — Mentoring efforts are more successful when executives, managers and employees all understand what mentoring is about and how they can become involved in the process.
• Value and visibility — When the right people within an organization talk about mentoring, the value is reinforced and momentum increases.
• Demand — As mentoring programs become more successful, the demand for them grows. People voluntarily seek out mentoring relationships. Mentors become mentees and vice versa.
• Multiple mentoring opportunities — In a mentoring culture, both informal and formal approaches to mentoring are available. Mentoring can take many forms—including one-on-one, group and distance.
• Education and training — These contribute significantly to building a more confident, competent and creative workforce. Networking and support groups may meet regularly to exchange best practices and promote peer learning and opportunities for renewal education and advance training may be made available for veteran mentors.
• Safety nets — Stumbling blocks are inevitable, but with appropriate safety nets in place, roadblocks can be overcome or avoided.

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• Coaching and Counseling for Outstanding Job Performance
• Preparing for Leadership: What It Takes to Take the Lead
• Women in Business: Strategies for Success

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