3 Ways to Shake Up Your Mentoring Program for Better Results
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Remember that old song we learned as kids, "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other's gold?"



It's a good reminder for the workplace.



As individuals, we benefit from having a professional network comprised of both longtime connections and new workplace relationships. If you primarily hang out with the "old guard" in your organization or industry, you risk missing out on fresh perspectives. If you only spend your time with newbies, you miss out on the wisdom of more experienced connections.



To address this issue, many companies offer mentoring programs to help employees forge relationships that might not arise naturally. Historically, such relationships tended to consist of an older, experienced "gold" employee mentoring a younger, less experienced "silver" employee.



But, as with so many elements of the 21st century workplace, the concept of mentoring is in the midst of some serious - and smart - disruption. Today's most progressive companies are adopting the practice of "reverse mentoring" (sometimes called "co-mentoring" or "reciprocal mentoring"), in which a younger and older employee jointly mentor one another.



Here's why unconventional mentoring relationships are so valuable:



1. The multigenerational workplace requires a multigenerational perspective. With four different generations in the workplace (Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, and Millennials), your success depends on your ability to interact with people of different age groups and communication preferences. For example, if you're a Millennial who prefers to communicate via email or text, you might benefit from having a Baby Boomer mentor who can share some suggestions for making a great impression during in-person client pitch meetings or high-stakes, face-to-face negotiations.



2. Too many rules are unwritten. Even the kindest and gentlest workplaces have some element of office politics. So, it's important to have a trusted mentor to talk to when you're not quite sure how to approach a particular situation. A more experienced mentor might provide guidance on how people have successfully earned promotions from your position. A younger mentor can help you understand the reason why your younger colleagues don't necessarily want to be your friend on their personal social media accounts, even though they might really like you.



3. No one can do this alone. Unconventional mentoring relationships foster relationships and make the workplace less lonely and more fun. Whether you're in the first year of your career or the thirty-first, you're probably spending a large portion of your waking hours at work. Those hours will be a lot more pleasant--and, therefore, more productive for employees and employers--if you know there are people nearby who've got your back. By having mentors of different generations, you're essentially creating a workplace family. And, like healthy family relationships, strong mentor-protégé connections are good for your long-term career goals and your day-to-day well-being.



If you don't already have a cross-generation mentor--or any mentor, for that matter--where should you begin? If your organization does not yet offer a formal mentor-matching program, simply take the initiative to invite an older or younger colleague out for coffee and discuss ways you might be able to help each other. Then, repeat this strategy again and again with contacts both new and old--for the rest of your career.