I’ve written a lot about mentoring as a talent-development tool, the benefits for mentees as well as mentors, the effect of mentoring on small business survival rates and how mentoring impacts employee retention. But recently I read an article from Mentoring Complete about how reverse-mentoring can support diversity, equality and inclusivity (DEI) goals.
Rene Petrin, Mentoring Expert and founder of Management Mentors found that “While diversity initiatives often do a good job at educating people on the challenges and obstacles faced by women, minorities or seniors in the workplace, they stop there. The result is that behavior never changes, so the companies fail to realize the value they’re seeking by investing in these programs.” Petrin provides an example: “a white male attends a training class in diversity. He completes the course feeling more sensitive to the issues facing minorities in the workplace. But then he never interacts with employees who are different from him, so he loses the opportunity to change his behavior in a meaningful way.”
Mentoring, more specifically, Reverse-Mentoring, provides an opportunity, if designed right, for senior leaders to interact with employees who are different from them and part of a marginalized group.
The Mentoring Complete article suggests that “When you match a senior leader as a Mentee with a Mentor who is from a marginalized group in the business world (such as racial minorities, women, and younger people), the senior leaders can broaden their perspective by helping them better understand the experience of others. With greater context and sensitivity towards others, top leaders are better equipped to make decisions that support equity.”
Diversity, Equality and Inclusivity is a complex challenge for all organizations and there is no single, easy answer. I encourage you to consider leveraging the power of mentoring, specifically reverse-mentoring, as one of many tools you can use to drive yourself and your company towards a more diverse, more equal and more inclusive environment.
If you want to learn more about my mentoring programs, please reach out to me at Info@KJCompany.net.