While reverse mentoring turns the traditional model of mentoring on its head, in truth, there are still many benefits that accrue to the mentor by virtue of spending time and building a relationship with a more senior or experienced mentee that are no different than if they were following a more traditional model.
For example, even if the younger employee is doing most of the mentoring, he or she still gets the benefit of developing a closer relationship with a more senior employee. This allows her internal networking as well as the ability to learn aspects of the company culture, values, and norms first-hand from a leader.
Beyond these traditional benefits to pairing a newer with a more experienced employee, there are many positive aspects that accrue by virtue of the role reversal. For example, Puja Gubbi, Sarah Hubbard, and Ross Smith in an article for SHRM, note that reverse mentoring relationships allow the mentor to have a bigger impact within the organization. Reverse mentoring allows the mentor access to the strategic thinking of senior leaders, helps remind the mentee—the more experienced employee—to listen and allow input from all levels of the organization, and develop strengthened interpersonal relationship skills.
What are the Benefits for the Mentee?
Getting buy-in from senior leaders to act as a mentee to a new employee can be challenging at times. Senior leaders have limited time, so even getting support from such employees for traditional, top-down mentor-mentee relationships can be difficult. When the relationship is flipped, this can be even harder. As Gubbi, Hubbard, and Smith write, “it’s important to explain how and why meeting with a new hire can change the culture of the organization, improve productivity, and deliver bottom-line results. Namely, a better understanding of what it’s like to be a new hire helps uncover an unconsidered perspective. Senior leaders will also come to find that the younger mentor can be an incredible confidant and test bed for organizational policy and health.”
The authors go on to discuss additional benefits: learning from the experience of younger workers in areas like tech and social trends; developing a better understanding of gender and generational differences in technology like culture, processes, values, and motivations.
Part 3 of this article covers implementation of reverse mentoring programs.