The Power of Mentorship in Every Business

Change is hard, but it is necessary. Like the many seasons in life, organizational change can be even harder to accept, let alone adapt to. So, we must ask ourselves, how can we cultivate real change? How do we solicit buy-in when it’s so much easier to remain stagnant? How can we motivate employees and provide them with a purpose that is strong enough to foster change?

Well, just think about how you got to where you are today. Throughout each of our lives, we have experienced phases of wavering motivation, external stressors, or specific circumstances that have prompted us to grow and evolve as people. However, professional growth isn’t so easily attained; it is imperative for organizations to prioritize the development of their staff to achieve their long-term goals. But if it is seemingly that easy, why is change met with so much resistance?

Most of us have had someone in our life that has aided us in becoming who we are today. Whether that person was a supervisor, a peer, or even an instructor, it took that person’s mentorship to guide us toward impactful change. In an organization, there is no greater value than the power of mentorship. Not only can mentorship boost employee morale, but it proactively creates future leaders and a succession plan. When organizations comprise themselves of leaders that possess the ability to lead, they will be able to enact lasting change.

Why should organizations have a succession plan, and why is that plan so critical to success? Succession planning is a long-term business strategy that aims to identify employees that can assume leadership roles in the future. Typically, these employees are designated as key team members that have the potential to replace the current incumbents as the business grows or as time progresses. In the lay terms of employment, we more often refer to this as our internal “bench” or our “bench strength.” Succession planning involves building cross-functional teams by cross-training employees to help them develop skills, knowledge, and an understanding of the business. However, it is only through effective mentorship that those employees can eventually succeed their predecessors.

Our primary role as leaders is to ensure employees are set up for success, however success can only be accomplished through positive change. Therefore, if we are not aiming to develop our employees to eventually assume our positions, are we even leading them or are we simply managing?

Effective mentorship is often a partnership that grows slowly over time between a mentor and a mentee, with both parties nurturing it along the way. For it to be effective, both the mentor and the mentee must gain something from the partnership and commit to the process to achieve alignment with organizational and career goals. While it is typical for “good” mentees to commit themselves to the relationship, it is necessary for “good” mentors to commit their time to the process. As spoken by Daymond John, “Mentors, by far, are the most important aspects of business.”

Where do we start, and how do we determine who should be a mentor? A successful mentor-mentee pairing requires work, commitment, and follow-through from both sides if it’s going to succeed within an organization. These relationships can be sought out through an established program or independently, aiming to accomplish set goals at the end of a designated period. Effective mentors typically possess characteristics including an ability and willingness to educate, approachability, loyalty, objectivity, and preparedness. Organizations should encourage those who possess these characteristics to build and maintain long-term relationships if they aim to drive lasting change.

With the right mentorship program, organizations can foster collaborative environments that benefit them as well as their employees. In addition to the benefits of succession planning, mentorship can counter declines in morale, retention, and the quality of their employee performance. Mentorship is the single most important step in the process of executing a succession plan, for without it, the plan will only remain a strategy that can never be executed. Therefore, establishing formal mentorship programs can add the structure and consistency necessary for long-lasting and positive outcomes in an organization. ◆