Re-discovering the value of mentors
It wasn’t so long ago when companies would throw gobs of money into developing managers. Management training programs, job rotations, international assignments, institutional mentor programs, education assistance - all were once common. Over the years many companies have pared down such programs due to the inherent high costs and in part to keep other companies from poaching these expensively, well trained executives.
Why stress? We’ll find talent on the open market
It just seems easier to go on the open market and recruit people who already have the requisite experience and expertise. And that has worked reasonably well for decades - but as the demand for talent has risen and the number of talented executives has shrunk it’s become harder and more costly to recruit talent on the open market.
The pendulum is shifting and the importance of developing talent internally is growing. There are benefits to developing managers that goes beyond a well trained executive - development is becoming a recruiting tool. How? Great talent is looking to grow. They want to learn and develop new skills and gain necessary experiences.
Talent wants more than money and a title
In many cases, money and title alone are no longer enough to draw talent. Joining a company that offers great development opportunities is a huge draw for talented individuals. Creating a development minded environment will draw motivated and talented people to your organization, while repelling those that aren’t. For companies and driven professionals, it’s a win-win.
The real question is how do companies create development programs that are both effective yet cost efficient? Of course the simplest solution is to bite the bullet and throw money at the problem. However, the reality is that a good chunk of the work developing talent does not require expensive training programs, but rather “attention” and “time” from talented superiors.
The value of natural mentors
While costly training and education programs should continue to be performed selectively, many development needs can be met with a powerful yet cheap method, one that many companies seem oblivious to – that being naturally gifted mentors. No doubt every company should work tirelessly to encourage mentoring. Yet, most companies have few if any exceptional mentors and natural mentoring skills aren’t easy to learn.
Case in point. I know a truly exceptional senior executive working for an international corporation who really understands how to motivate, lead, and grow people. She has a knack for identifying talent and giving them challenges that allow them to grow. She informally advises and counsels many staff members on an ongoing basis. Much of what she does comes naturally to her. She treats people like she wants to be treated, she gives people opportunity to tackle challenges, similar to the way she was exposed to challenges along the way. Most of all she is willing to take risks and give her direct reports duties that her peers would never give up.
After being voted the company’s most admired manager several years in a row, the company was anxious to figure out how she did it. So in typical corporate fashion they had industrial engineers tagging her every step. Thinking all along that there was some magic bullet. Something they could institutionalize. She laughed as she told me…it’s really so simple, but for it to be credible with the company it has to be complex.
Don’t take their word for it
One surefire way to develop internal mentoring capabilities is is to diligently push for external hires to possess good mentoring skills. During interviews don’t just take the word of the candidates. Seek specific examples and then follow up with in depth references.
Obtain concrete information about how well an individual actually mentors people. How many direct reports have been promoted? How many have been recruited to bigger positions elsewhere? How long were those individuals under the sponsorship of your candidate? Have positive results within your candidate’s organization correlated with the development of key staff? How do the more talented staff members assess their boss’ mentoring skills? Can these staff members provide concrete examples that shed light on their boss’ mentoring skills?
Skills that keep on giving
Good, natural mentors possess valuable traits - they are good communicators, willing to share insights and give people chances, confident to hand over important work to direct reports and junior staff members, know how to provide constructive criticism and active support, and care deeply about the welfare of those who work for them. These people have qualities akin to teachers and coaches. And these are skills that companies would be wise to add to the requirements for most key vacancies.
When you have people like this in your organization it’s amazing how much developing is going on that doesn’t cost the company a dime. It’s just a natural part of the way such people work. From my experience, such people also rub off on the people they mentor. In other words, good mentors seem to create good mentors in the process.
Unfortunately, mentoring skills are usually the last thing companies look for when hiring key executives. Yet, there is never a better and faster way to develop important competencies as when a company is filling a vacancy. Ensuring that openings are filled, not only with talented professionals, but ones who have strong, natural, almost instinctive, mentoring skills is important and over time will reduce the need to go to the open market to bring in talent.
The writing is on the wall
Companies can no longer rely solely on the open market to supply all the talent necessary to propel a company forward. Companies must focus on developing more people internally. Bringing talented mentors into the organization will go a long way to ensure that existing employees with potential are properly developed and prepared to fill key vacancies. It’s time to create balance between external recruiting and internal promotions…and the key is to develop potential from within.
