Mentoring

Mentoring as a way to transfer learning, and accelerate empowerment

1. Introduction

Numerous studies have concluded that mentoring relationships are a significant

factor in succession planning, career development, skill development, as well as
adding value to the implementation of equity plans.

South African companies are slowly, but surely becoming more committed to
people development. Mentoring relationships are increasingly seen as a practical
way to carry out this commitment.

Examining the definition of what is mentoring, best shows the strength of this
development process.
Mentoring is best described in the following way:

# Mentoring is a process of forming a relationship between a more experienced,

seasoned and wiser person (mentor) who helps a less experienced person (mentee
or protégé who is not the mentor’s direct report) develop in some specified
capacity.

# Mentoring is both value and career-oriented. Value-oriented in that a mentee’s

character and values are developed, and career-oriented because the mentee is
taught the skills and given information that is relevant to his/her career.

In the remainder of this article we clarify the notion of mentoring, and encourage
its use in organisations. We identify the barriers to mentoring, clarify the roles of
both mentors and mentees, and suggest an implementation process for a mentoring
programme.

2. Mentoring in the context of employment equity and skills development

Mentoring is particularly useful within the context of the Employment Equity and
Skills Development legislation. Due to the inequality of the South African
managerial profile, the reality is that the majority of managers are white and the
majority of employees are black. In order to change this profile, transfer of skills
are essential and this is exactly where mentoring can play an important role. In
fact, without effective mentoring most companies will struggle to achieve their
employment equity targets.
The value of mentoring lies in the fact that mentoring is the quickest way to
transfer skills and thereby accelerating empowerment in the workplace. No amount
of formal training and informal courses can achieve what mentoring can do. With
mentoring a member of a designated group targeted for a higher-level position can
work with a mentor to acquire the skills needed to function at a more senior level.
A mentor’s role is twofold: firstly, to provide career development opportunities
such as coaching, providing challenging assignments, sponsoring advancement,
and fostering the protégé’s visibility; secondly they provide psychosocial support
such as counselling, support and role modelling. Without a mentor, an individual
will learn less, more slowly or not at all.

Mentoring is, however, not an all-or-nothing relationship, and neither is it static in

nature. Some or all of the roles may be provided, and they change since the
purpose of the relationship is to enable the mentee to acquire new knowledge,
skills and standards of competence.
Mentoring also helps the organisation to achieve a broad spectrum of goals, from
sharing business information to developing a line of succession to replacing top
management. Such purpose should be aligned to the strategic equity and skill
development goals of the organisation. The purpose of the programme could be
aimed at removing barriers to development and advancement. This in turn will lead
to more equitable people development practices, assists with career progression,
leadership development, and fast tracking of high flyers (candidates who genuinely
have the psychological capacity to progress very fast given a guided challenge is
available to tackle).

3. Roles and functions of mentors

A mentor performs certain functions and roles as part of the mentoring process. A
professional approach to these roles are very important, as the success of a
mentoring programme often depends on whether the mentor applies these roles
correctly.

# Ally

Mentors should appraise behaviours of mentees and give the latter a chance to
review their strengths and weaknesses by providing feedback and personal
impressions that can be categorised as favourable or unfavourable behaviour. This
is especially important for employment equity because doors must be opened for
members of designated groups. Mentors should become sounding boards. They
should provide a risk-free environment for the mentee to let out frustrations, share
difficulties. They should be frank, honest and candid.

# Catalyst

They should inspire the mentee to take action by saying, doing, or demonstrating
something that can ignite the mentee’s initiative. They should motivate and
stimulate the mentee to discuss impressions, ideas, visions and creative concepts
that are inside or outside of their work context.
# Networker

Mentors should connect the mentee with people in the organisation who can
enhance learning and provide valuable information. Sometimes the mentor will
realise that the mentee needs support and guidance from someone else – it may be
a person in a different department or section or even another branch of the
company. By learning from other people, the mentee not only acquires the
knowledge and skills needed, he or she also gets the opportunity to learn about
other areas of the organisation that will benefit him or her in the future.

A network or support structure is thus created by making the mentee visible by

including him/her in important discussions and by introducing him/her to
important people in the organisation who can also contribute to the professional
development of the mentee.
# Advocate
Mentors should create opportunities for specific learning experiences by
championing the ideas and interests of the mentee so that the latter gains visibility
and exposure. It may happen that certain staff members give problems to the
mentee, or treat him or her badly. Remember, the old guard does not always
support candidates for fast tracking, so resistance may be encountered. It may then
be necessary for the mentor to act as an advocate to defend the mentee in certain
situations. A mentor should therefore act as a protector, shielding the mentee from
unwarranted criticism and protect him or her against hostile individuals within the
organisation.

# Advisor

As an advisor the mentor communicates the informal and formal realities of

progression in the organisation, recommends appropriate strategies for career
direction and advancement, reviews the mentee’s development plan on a regular
basis and helps the mentee to identify obstacles to career progression and to take
appropriate action

# Information source

A mentee often views the mentor as a source of information. This is an important

role of the mentor, although the mentor should not always give all the information
to mentees. Sometimes the learning experience will be more valuable when the
mentee learns to find information on his/her own.
# Listener

A good mentor is always a good listener. Sound listening skills are therefore
crucial for mentors. Mentors have to listen to the mentees to find out how the
mentee experiences the programme and to obtain feedback on the progress made.
The mentor must also listen to the problems and concerns of mentees.

# Emotional supporter
Any relationship involves emotions. The mentoring relationship is no different.
The role of the mentor is to maintain mutual feeling of respect, admiration, trust,
appreciation and gratitude, to share personal values and other aspects of the
relationship, and they should encourage and support mentees during difficult or
stressful times.
# Professional and personal developer
The aim of a mentoring programme is the personal and professional development
of a person to meet the needs of both the mentee and the mentor. As part of
professional development the mentor points out the mentee’s strengths, abilities,
talents, and promote his/her feeling of competence and self-esteem, encourages
and coaches the mentee and collaborate with mentees on workplace projects for
professional development.

# Role model

Mentors must realise the important role they have as role models for mentees. The
latter will be more observant of the mentor’s behaviour than other staff members.
There is therefore pressure on the mentor to act as a role model. The important
lesson is to model what you expect.
How can the mentor best serve as a positive role model? By starting from within,
and reflecting on one's own experience with employees and then demonstrating to
the mentees the cherished values and expected actions. Values such as respect are
demonstrated through respectful behaviour with others. Co-operation is shown
through acts of compromise and resolution. Responsibility is shown through timely
completion of personal and professional commitments.

# Coach
A mentor is also a coach. As a coach the mentor helps to clarify performance goals
and development needs, teaches managerial and technical skills, suggests specific
behaviour in which the mentee needs improvement. The mentor also clarifies and
communicates organisational goals and objectives

4. Roles of the mentee

Many employment equity programmes fail when there is undue emphasis on the
mentor, while the responsibilities and roles of the mentees are neglected.
Mentoring is not about entitlement; it is about real workplace empowerment and
skills development. The following roles of mentees are therefore of paramount
importance to the success of a mentoring programme:

# Learner

The mentee needs to be willing to learn from the mentor or role model. He or she
must be an active learner and believe in the concept of lifelong learning. Mentees
should realise that the success of the programme will to a large extent depend on
the quality of their learning.
# Self-developer
Mentees need to be creative in suggesting other development areas to the manager
or mentor. Here it is important to focus on the responsibility of the mentee for self-
development. Whilst the mentor plays a developmental role in his or her
relationship with the mentee, the latter is also responsible for his or own self-
development.

# Communicator

The mentee must be a proactive and competent communicator. Mentees must be

able to say what they think to communicate their ideas, problems and concerns
with the mentor. Well-developed communication skills are therefore of utmost
importance for mentees. In addition, mentees should use the knowledge and skills
of the mentor to improve their communication skills.
# Listener
Listening skills are very important for mentees. They must listen very well to the
mentors in order to implement the action plans decided upon with the mentor. It is
often a good idea to make notes of key issues mentioned by the mentor to enhance
the listening process.
# Implementer

Mentees are implementers. This means that the relationship between the mentor
and mentee is not merely based on interaction and communication. The real
yardstick for the success of the mentoring programme is whether the mentee is
implementing the action plans decided with the mentor. Implementation refers to
specific action plans and activities that have taken place.
5. Barriers to mentoring

In most organisations the implementation of mentoring is, much like employment

equity and skills development, not a natural process. Barriers within the business
such as the current systems, methods and processes may impede the
implementation of professional mentoring practices and principles.

Few mentors will deny the fact that they have to manage change in order to be an
effective mentor. However, very few managers in South Africa have the necessary
knowledge and skills to implement change effectively. It is, therefore, not
surprising that many employment equity programmes fail. It does not matter how
potentially successful a new product, process, system or procedure is, if the overall
management of the change intervention is not effectively managed, the desired
results of the mentoring programme will not be achieved.

From the above it is evident that managerial incompetence is often the main reason
why mentoring interventions fail. In fact, if one compiles a list of the reasons for
mentoring programme failures, it is abundantly clear that the majority of these
issues relate to ineffective management. The reasons why mentoring fails are as
follows.
# A lack of commitment towards mentoring

Mentoring fails when there is a lack of management vision and commitment

towards mentoring, which is usually characterised by ineffective leadership or lip
service to mentoring. These organisations claim that "our people are our greatest
asset" but they do not commit the necessary resources to make mentoring work.
Sometimes management expects mentors to implement mentoring practices, but
they do not provide the necessary resources for them to do so. How many
companies claim that they do not get enough qualified employees from designated
groups? Perhaps a more pertinent question is to ask them what they have done to
develop their own staff.
A second scenario is when management is committed to mentoring, but the
mentors themselves are not committed. This happens when the mentors do not
have the objectives of the mentoring programme at heart, or when they become
involved in the mentoring process for their own personal objectives, such as paying
lip service to diversity and transformation in order to protect their jobs.

A third problem presents itself when the mentees themselves do not show
commitment towards the mentoring programme. This happens when there is a lack
of employee buy-in the mentoring programme due to a low level of trust in
mentors and the management of the organisation.
Some mentees may view mentoring as a right, while they fail to see their
responsibility to make mentoring work. They typically expect it from the mentor to
do almost everything for them, and when they do not perform they will blame the
mentor or the organisation for their under-performance.

# A lack of planning of the mentoring process

An organisation often have very good intentions with their mentoring programmes,
but due to a lack of planning the process is not implemented very effectively.
Sometimes there is unclear responsibility when managers and employees are not
sure of their particular responsibilities in implementing mentoring. There is also a
lack of understanding of the scope, content, and process of the mentoring
intervention. This can result in implementing the mentoring system too slowly, or
too quickly while new systems are not yet in place. The result of this is an
ineffective system with many errors and shortcomings.

# A lack of employee involvement and consultation

When potential mentees are not actively involved in planning and implementing
mentoring, the programme will also fail, especially when management unilaterally
drives the programme. Yes, it may indeed by necessary for the employment equity
committee to drive the programme, but if the people who implement the mentoring
system are not involved in the refinement and improvement of the programme, it
will not work.
# Ineffective communication
Communication is the most important skill to establish and maintain a mentoring
relationship. Moreover, communication is essential in making a mentoring system
work. A well-developed mentoring strategy will require communication
throughout the whole organisation. A lack of communication, information sharing
and feedback about the mentoring strategy is the main reason why mentoring
programmes fail.
# Poor consultant relationships

The improper selection of consultants or an over-reliance on consultants makes it

difficult to implement mentoring programmes effectively. While consultants often
facilitate effective mentoring programmes, the real implementation will be done by
the members of the organisation themselves. Consultants often omit to customise
mentoring programmes to the needs of clients. In addition, they fail to appreciate
the organisation culture and unique environment of their clients. They tend to
present a standardised programme without providing any support or follow-up
interventions to assist the organisation with the implementation process
# Insufficient training

A lack of training, or insufficient training and other support structures retards the
implementation of mentoring interventions. To train mentors alone is not enough.
All people responsible for mentoring, e.g., mentoring co-ordinators, human
resource managers, the mentors themselves, and indeed the mentees must be
trained to make the mentoring process work effectively.

# Resistance to change

Some major companies in South Africa are implementing mentoring programmes

as part of their employment equity and affirmative action plans. For this reason,
people who feel threatened by employment equity tend to resist mentoring
programmes. Mentoring also requires a change in the style of management to a
more open, supportive, flexible and approachable leadership style.
Many managers are not used to an open style of management, and will therefore
resist an empowerment programme such as mentoring. These managers feel that
they are giving away too much power if they have to implement mentoring. They
tend to keep their knowledge to themselves. In addition, many white (male)
managers feel that if they act as mentors for black mentees, these mentees will
"take over their jobs".
# A lack of monitoring
Another problem is a lack of monitoring, evaluation and alignment of the
mentoring strategy during all phases of the change intervention. Continuous
evaluation is needed to see if the mentoring relationships are managed effectively.

Assessment should be continuous and must cover areas such as the quality of the
mentoring programme and the performance of the mentors as well as the mentees.
In both the Skills Development Act and Employment Equity Act the issue of
monitoring has been clearly identified.

# Diversity related problems

Women and black people normally find fewer individuals like themselves in the
upper ranks of the organisation. In intercultural and relationships there may also be
inadvertent stereotyping on the part of the mentee or mentor. There may be
assumptions that the one is "too different" from the other to develop a relationship.
In cross-gender relationships there are also stereotypical roles that are assumed and
may cause the parties to relate to each other from traditional and cultural
perspectives. For example, if a male mentee has a problem with the mentor simply
because the mentor is female.

These stereotypes greatly reduce the effectiveness of the mentoring relationship

and undermine the confidence of the mentee. In cross-gender relationships the
role-modelling function may prove unsatisfactory because men and women have
different professional styles. Men may find it difficult to empathise or identify with
the challenges that are unique to women or those experiences that men have never
faced.

Another important issue is cross-racial mentoring relationships. The alienation of

black people from participation in mainstream society and its institutions has
created certain stereotypes that present serious challenges for interracial mentoring
relationships. There may be assumptions that result from negative stereotyping
which causes beliefs such as that black people are not able to interact effectively
with people at the upper echelons of the organisation.

A white manager or mentor might assume therefore that the cultural gap is
insurmountable by citing certain difference with potential black mentees such as
speech, mannerism, and style of dress. Other obstacles will include the tendency of
both black and white people to rarely socialise outside the workplace.
These problems will make role modelling more difficult on the part of the mentor.
The black mentee might also be "accused" by his/her fellow black colleagues of
becoming "white" if they model the behaviour of their white mentor. Employment
equity and diversity is therefore an important reality to consider as part of
mentoring programmes.
# Poor selection of mentors

Many companies select the wrong mentors based on the misconception that the
most experienced staff member will be the best mentor. A technical expert in his
field may be the best specialist in the country in his area, but that does not mean
that he/she will be a good mentor.

A mentor is someone with exceptional people and relationship skills, as well as a

good insight into the organisation’s strategy, culture, products/services and
markets. They are typically strong supporters of employment equity and skills
development. Mentoring programmes also fail when certain people are selected as
mentors and "forced" to play their mentoring roles. Mentors who volunteer their
services are always better mentors because their commitment to the process is
much higher.

# Fragmented mentoring programmes

A fragmented mentoring programme is one that is not integrated with other human
resource development programmes in the organisation. The programme is a
separate programme that was initiated by a particular manager who could see the
benefits of mentoring. These managers struggle to get the programme implemented
at all levels, and the programme is seen as a "nice to have" programme. There is
very little record keeping about the programme. There is no integration of the
mentoring programme with career management, succession planning, training and
development, accelerated development and fast tracking, employment equity, skills
development, leadership development, etc.

6. Successful mentoring programmes

Reviewing the above problems relating to mentoring programmes, it is evident that
mentoring is not something that happens automatically. This is especially true in
organisations where the business culture does not support employment equity and
empowerment, as mentoring is in essence an empowerment intervention. The core
characteristics of successful mentoring programmes are as follows:
# Obtain commitment based on sound business principles
Clearly identify the need for the mentoring programme, in other words what need
is there for mentoring. Base the programme on solid business reasons, e.g. to speed
up development of future leaders, or to share organisational knowledge. The
benefits of the programme should therefore be highlighted. Part of this process is
to get buy-in from senior management. Their support is necessary, not only
because funding comes from there but also that you demonstrate to all employees
that management stands behind the programme and takes an interest in the career
development of its people. Obtain visible support and involvement from top
management.

Furthermore, it is imperative to keep line managers in the loop. It is advisable to

develop a triangular relationship if the mentor is not the immediate manager.
Managers should be confident that the programme would not undermine their
ability to oversee their staff. The key here is communicating, sharing responsibility
and recognising benefits for all three parties. Therefore it will be advisable to make
sure that the mentee shares his/her career development plans with his/her manager
before the initial meeting with the mentor. Sometimes you can let the mentee invite
the manager to some scheduled meetings with the mentor.

# Correct identification of mentors

Determine who will participate as mentors. Managers should be strongly

encouraged to participate as mentors and then be evaluated on their success in their
roles.
Commitment to growth of other persons, the ability to listen, trustworthiness and
objectivity are all good qualities to look for in mentors. Some companies advertise
their mentorship programmes in their newsletters and invite potential mentors to
volunteer their services.
It is essential to inform staff of the benefits for them if they become mentors.
These mentors should be screened for suitability. For example, a person who has a
track record for being a very autocratic manager will not be a good mentor, or if
this person is known for racist or sexist behaviour. Screen mentors regarding their
level of interest and commitment to invest the time and energy required for a
successful mentoring relationship.

# Correct identification of mentees

Sometimes companies set unrealistic goals for staff members. Not all employees
have the ability to become supervisors, and not all managers have the ability to
become directors of the company. As far as employment equity is concerned, it is
essential to ensure that the right mentees are identified for fast tracking. They must
not only be competent in their technical field of expertise (e.g. finance, operations
etc.), they must have potential in terms of communication, and management skills
to be promoted to higher levels in the organisation. They also need a very high
level of commitment and internal locus of control. Also screen mentees regarding
their level of interest, and commitment to invest the time and energy required for a
successful mentoring relationship.
# Correct matching of mentors and mentees

Appropriately matching participants is of the utmost importance. Sometimes it is

advisable that mentors should have experience in the speciality area of interest to
their mentees. Also be aware of potential personality clashes. A mentee who has a
very organised way of doing things will probably be frustrated if he or she has to
work with a mentor who is disorganised. There must be a high probability that the
mentor and mentee will work well together and that the relationship will be
productive to ensure the success of the programme. Encourage voluntary
participation and self-initiated pairing between employees.
# Train all role-players

All role-players must be trained to understand the dynamics of the relationship, and
the roles and responsibilities of all parties concerned. All people responsible for
mentoring, e.g., management, mentoring co-ordinators, human resource managers,
the mentors themselves, and indeed the mentees must be trained to make the
mentoring process work effectively.

# An integrated process

An integrated system of mentoring means that a mentoring programme does not

stand on its own, but is sufficiently integrated into other business functions and
systems such as human resource planning, career management, succession
planning, training and development, accelerated development, performance
management, employment equity, organisation development, transformation and
leadership development.
If mentoring is well integrated with other human resource and organisation systems
as indicated above, then the chances are greater that mentoring will be a success. It
could also include a recognition system for both parties. Effective support systems
such as manager/supervisor support and mentoring co-ordinators are also required.
Also ensure that the program supports any existing informal mentoring
relationships. Start the program gradually with a small number and in areas with
the highest level of anticipated participation and support.

# Openness to employment equity and diversity

Openness to diversity is an important characteristic of successful mentoring
programmes. This means that the mentor must know how his or her own
background impacts on the mentor-mentee relationship. In addition, he or she must
be sensitive towards the background of the mentee.

In cross racial, and gender mentoring relationships, mentors must be careful not to
suggest suppression of the mentees’ cultural heritages. The participants must
confront attitudes and behaviours that work to the disadvantage of either party. The
mentor and mentee must both adopt more self-awareness and pro-active behaviour.
Each party must make use of the opportunity to engage with those who are
different from them in order to fully discover themselves.

7. Implementing a mentorship process

Like al other organisation development interventions, mentoring must also be

implemented in a carefully planned and professional approach in terms of both the
process and content of the intervention.
The major steps in initiating and managing a mentoring programme are as follows:
1. Create mentoring implementation structures.
2. Train mentoring co-ordinators.

3. Identify mentors/mentees.

4. Train mentors/mentees.

5. Match mentors/mentees.
6. Set relationship goals and plan for learning.

7. Implement, and monitor the process.

8. Evaluate, and fine-tune the process.
8. Conclusion
The fact that mentoring is critical in the development and upward mobility of
employees from designated groups means that business must accord the
importance to the process of mentoring to achieve its transformation goals.

The mentoring relationship is clearly an interaction between mentor and mentee

while the mentoring process focuses on the steps that must be implemented to
make the overall mentoring process work.
The mentor and mentee bring specific strengths to the learning situation. The
approach of the mentee could be different from that of the mentor. What is
important to remember is that the outcome of the learning is the behaviour
demonstrated by the mentee.
Mentoring could also be part of a larger initiative to support employment equity
and skills development in an organisation. Both the mentoring relationship, and the
overall mentoring process must be managed well to ensure effective transfer of
knowledge, skills and experience mentoring in South African organisations and
thus make the country competitive. When mentoring is managed well and fully
integrated in a company’s people development processes, it becomes a powerful
tool to accelerate learning and workplace empowerment.

Organizations know they must have the best talent in order to be successful. A
shortage of qualified staff is one the greatest challenges facing all employers today.
Therefore, many organizations are focusing on talent management to improve their
overall performance. Talent management means that employers are strategic and
deliberate in sourcing, attracting, selecting, training and retaining talented
employees to meet current and future organizational priorities. It also plays a major
role in organizational succession planning.
It is important to hire the right people for the right positions. Identifying the
necessary skills is a first step. Developing appropriate and strategic job
descriptions is the next step. Lastly, a clear career path should be created which
offers talented new employees opportunities to grow and incentive to perform.
Hiring the right people for the right job requires skills. Any hiring supervisor can
benefit from the expertise of human resource professionals.
Developing Talent
It is not enough to hire the right talent; an organization must develop that talent.
That can be a costly endeavor. The Association for Talent Development (ATD)
reported that on average in 2011, organizations invested $1,034 per employee in
training and development and the BEST awardwinning organizations spent $1,272
per employee. According to the 2012 CIPS and NIGP Principles & Practices of
Public Procurement, organizations should include the amount of spending per FTE
for professional development and training in their performance metrics.
Talent development has been called training and development or professional
development. However, talent development is a targeted approach for narrowing
the skills gap for employees. It can take many forms. Organizations may provide
internal development opportunities for common skills and external opportunities
for more technical or profession-specific skills. Technology has provided more
options for professional development through online webinars and interactive
training. Face-to-face workshops and seminars are still valuable as they offer
expertise from the facilitator as well as the sharing of information and experience
of other participants. Face-to-face programs may provide the opportunity to delve
deeper into a subject matter creating more value. However, these talent
development methods come with a cost.
An Eye to the Environment
The challenge in higher education is developing talent with the competencies to
meet the constantly changing environment. The national discussion of the high cost
of higher education appears to overshadow the need to attract, develop and retain
the best talent. Developing employees with increasingly leaner budgets is a
challenge we all face in higher education. In most jobs, the tasks, responsibilities
and skills are dramatically different from ten years ago. In the procurement
profession, the skills needed to be successful and provide value to the organization
are changing constantly.
Mentoring is one component of talent development that can be an effective method
of transferring skills in a cost-effective manner. What does it mean to mentor? To
mentor is to teach or give advice or guidance to someone less experienced.
Mentoring can be highly effective in professions that require a considerable
amount of soft skills. Higher education procurement is an area that should rely
heavily on mentoring, as technical skill preparation cannot address all the needs of
procurement professionals.
The Role of Mentoring
Some skills necessary for success in procurement are not easily taught in a
classroom or from a book. The tasks and responsibilities of a procurement
professional include communicating effectively and appropriately, negotiating,
influencing decisions, achieving compliance and maintaining neutrality and
professionalism. Developing these skills is difficult without experience.
Experience is a great teacher, but the time for each employee to experience every
situation and learn from mistakes is not efficient. So, mentoring less-experienced
employees is the logical method to impart knowledge and develop certain skills.
Mentoring can be effectively provided in a number of ways. It is not exclusively
the responsibility of the senior leader to be the mentor. Peer mentoring is very
effective and often less intimidating for new employees. Peer mentoring also
enhances the leadership skills of the mentor that prepare individuals for the next
steps in their career path. Opportunities to mentor include the following:

 Share experiences. We all learn from making mistakes. Sharing our

experiences, including our missteps or failures, provides valuable insight and
knowledge so others can avoid making the same mistakes. Sharing experiences
is designed to help other learn. Mentoring is not suited for those who cannot
share their failures as well as their successes.
 Invite less-experienced staff members to meetings. Even if the meeting involves
issues above their responsibility level, the opportunity to observe how to handle
issues and witness how conflict is handled is invaluable. It is an opportunity to
learn how to influence decisions and gain consensus. Observation of behavior is
a powerful learning tool, and mentoring can provide the opportunity.
 Include a new staff member in a negotiation. The traditional form of negotiating
is not an effective strategy. Creating a “win-win” solution for both parties not
only ensures good performance, but also a trusting relationship. These types of
negotiations are difficult to teach without observing.
 Provide insight into the structure of the organization as a whole. Institutions of
higher education are complex organizations. It is difficult for new staff
members to grasp the entire picture, yet they need to know how the
organization works. Those with more experience can impart institutional
knowledge about the structure, hierarchy, and various operations.

University policies and procedures are documented and can be learned by reading
them. This helps new employees understand the “what to do.” Mentoring can help
employees understand the “how to do” and how to do it successfully. The most
successful mentoring program is informal and includes peer mentoring. Creating a
formal process distracts from the benefits of sharing experiences as it focuses more
on process than substance.

entoring programs are common among organizations across the globe. But the idea
of mentoring as a method to transfer knowledge to others is nothing new, says
Kathy Kram, R.C. Shipley Professor Emerita at Boston University’s Questrom
School of Business.

In the ’80s and ’90s, formal mentoring programs became very popular, says Kram,
who has been working with organizations in all industries for about 30 years on
formal and informal mentoring. She is the co-author with Wendy Murphy, Ph.D. of
2014 book, Strategic Relationships at Work: Creating Your Circle of Mentors,
Sponsors and Peers for Success in Business and Life, McGraw-Hill Education.

“When we started doing research on them, we saw how limited they are in their
effectiveness,” Kram says. “We’ve learned a lot about maximizes that heavy
investment in time and energy, and both setting up one-to-one mentoring
relationships and providing the education and support for them to be effective.”

There are two types of mentoring: informal and formal.

“Informal mentoring is what happens organically or naturally in an organization

where people find each other and enjoy each other and benefit from their
relationship,” Kram says. “Informal mentoring tends to work very well because it’s
voluntary and based on a mutual chemistry among two people. That’s been around
for centuries. I would say it goes back to Greek mythology.”

Formal mentoring, however, began in the late 1970s and early ’80s in response to
affirmative action as a way to make naturally-occurring mentoring more available
to women and members of minority groups, she says. “It was observed that
naturally-occurring mentoring tends to happen more often between people who are
like each other than people who are different from each other,” she says.

“The impetus was to give women a better playing field and then it was expanded to
minority group members,” she says. “And then there was the realization that it was
good for high potential employees of all kinds. Formal mentoring usually has a
target audience. There’s an effort to match experienced mentors with younger,
junior protégés and then to provide some kind of education to prepare individuals
to build effective relationships.”

Supply chain companies today offer a variety of mentoring programs, including

formal and informal ones. They generally are face-to-face, online only or a
combination of the two, Kram says.

Because employees can be geographically dispersed, organizations may want to

experiment to see what kind of programs work best for them, she says. Programs
 often work best when there is a face-to-face component at the beginning to
establish rapport, she says, adding that it’s possible for relationships to evolve on
the phone or through Skype. “When nothing is done face-to-face, it’s less likely the
program is going to be effective,” she says.

Another popular variation is a mentoring circle — a group of employees who come

together on a regular basis and support each other in their own learning and
development, Kram says. “Sometimes those mentoring circles are supported with
education and training, so that the experiences in those groups can be effective, and
sometimes those mentoring circles include senior mentors as well; they’re not just
peers,” she said. Mentoring circles also have other names, such as peer mentoring,
peer coaching and mentoring groups.

Mentoring
Mentoring is one of the most effective ways of passing down tacit know-how from
an expert to an aspiring expert. This practice dates back throughout human history,
and is just as relevant today.
Mentoring is about practice under the guidance of an expert. Unlike classroom
learning, the apprentice or mentee is given practical tasks, under the supervision and
guidance of his mentor.

Liebowitz (2009) refers to formal mentoring programs as a well-established way to

retain and transfer knowledge. He highlights an example from the NASA Goddard
Space Flight Center, where the mentoring program runs for a year, and includes
assignments, meetings, formal mentor training, assessment, etc.
Mentoring can be implemented both formally (as above) and informally. Informal
mentor relationships could involve assigning a guide to a new employee, or simply
encouraging him to seek out a mentor. For the most part however, organizations are
beginning to look at formal relationships designed to train the newcomer as quickly
and effectively as possible.

The characteristics of an ideal mentor are (based on the work of Clutterbuck 2001
and Heathfield 2011):

 Personal expertise
 Familiarity with the organization: its procedures, culture, etc.
 Desire to teach/guide
 Ability to motivate
 Ability to allow for personal development of the mentee: Must accept different
approaches and offer his own advice as an alternative not a mandate.
 Commitment: time, resources, persistence, etc.
 Skilled communicator
 Ability to remain professional: includes the ability to realize when the
mentoring relationship has run its course and/or when it is no longer
functioning
 Self-aware and self-critical
 Ability to foster trust
Mentoring is a key process for knowledge management. Apart from transferring tacit
knowledge and retaining expertise within the organization, it can also help the
mentee to become a recognized and accepted member of the community, by passing
on corporate vision and values and improving his grasp of corporate networking
(Clutterbuck 2001). Companies should therefore consider implementing formal
mentoring relationships and mentor training as an investment in the future
knowledge stock of the organization.

Corporate Governance

Corporate governance is the system by which businesses are directed and

controlled." Good corporate governance is a key factor in underpinning the
integrity and efficiency of a company. Poor corporate governance can weaken a
company’s potential, can lead to financial difficulties and in some cases can cause
long-term damage to a company’s reputation.

A company which applies the core principles of good corporate governance;

fairness, accountability, responsibility and transparency, will usually outperform
other companies and will be able to attract investors, whose support can help to
finance further growth.

This blog will briefly outline the role of each principle.

Fairness

Fairness refers to equal treatment, for example, all shareholders should receive
equal consideration for whatever shareholdings they hold. In the UK this is
protected by the Companies Act 2006 (CA 06). However, some companies prefer
to have a shareholder agreement, which can include more extensive and effective
minority protection.
 In addition to shareholders, there should also be fairness in the treatment of all
stakeholders including employees, communities and public officials. The fairer the
entity appears to stakeholders, the more likely it is that it can survive the pressure
of interested parties.

Accountability

Corporate accountability refers to the obligation and responsibility to give an

explanation or reason for the company’s actions and conduct.

In brief:

 The board should present a balanced and understandable assessment of the

company’s position and prospects;
 The board is responsible for determining the nature and extent of the significant
risks it is willing to take;
 The board should maintain sound risk management and internal control systems;
 The board should establish formal and transparent arrangements for corporate
reporting and risk management and for maintaining an appropriate relationship with
the company’s auditor, and
 The board should communicate with stakeholders at regular intervals, a fair,
balanced and understandable assessment of how the company is achieving its
business purpose.

Responsibility

The Board of Directors are given authority to act on behalf of the company. They
should therefore accept full responsibility for the powers that it is given and the
authority that it exercises. The Board of Directors are responsible for overseeing
the management of the business, affairs of the company, appointing the chief
executive and monitoring the performance of the company. In doing so, it is
required to act in the best interests of the company.

Accountability goes hand in hand with responsibility. The Board of Directors

should be made accountable to the shareholders for the way in which the company
has carried out its responsibilities.
Transparency

A principle of good governance is that stakeholders should be informed about the

company’s activities, what it plans to do in the future and any risks involved in its
business strategies.

Transparency means openness, a willingness by the company to provide clear

information to shareholders and other stakeholders. For example, transparency
refers to the openness and willingness to disclose financial performance figures
which are truthful and accurate.

Disclosure of material matters concerning the organisation’s performance and

activities should be timely and accurate to ensure that all investors have access to
clear, factual information which accurately reflects the financial, social and
environmental position of the organisation. Organisations should clarify and make
publicly known the roles and responsibilities of the board and management to
provide shareholders with a level of accountability.

Transparency ensures that stakeholders can have confidence in the decision-

making and management processes of a company.

Benefits Of Corporate Governance

Strong corporate governance maintains investors’ confidence, whose support can

help to finance further growth. Companies who implement the principles of good
corporate governance into working environemnt life will ensure corporate success
and economic growth. They are the basis on which companies can grow.

What is 'Corporate Governance'

Corporate governance is the system of rules, practices and processes by which a

company is directed and controlled. Corporate governance essentially involves
balancing the interests of a company's many stakeholders, such as shareholders,
management, customers, suppliers, financiers, government and the community.
Since corporate governance also provides the framework for attaining a company's
objectives, it encompasses practically every sphere of management, from action
plans and internal controls to performance measurement and corporate disclosure.

!--break--Governance refers specifically to the set of rules, controls, policies and

resolutions put in place to dictate corporate behavior. Proxy advisors and
shareholders are important stakeholders who indirectly affect governance, but
these are not examples of governance itself. The board of directors is pivotal in
governance, and it can have major ramifications for equity valuation.

The Board of Directors

The board of directors is the primary direct stakeholder influencing corporate

governance. Directors are elected by shareholders or appointed by other board
members, and they represent shareholders of the company. The board is tasked
with making important decisions, such as corporate officer appointments,
executive compensation and dividend policy. In some instances, board obligations
stretch beyond financial optimization, when shareholder resolutions call for certain
social or environmental concerns to be prioritized.

Boards are often comprised of inside and independent members. Insiders are major
shareholders, founders and executives. Independent directors do not share the ties
of the insiders, but they are chosen because of their experience managing or
directing other large companies. Independents are considered helpful for
governance, because they dilute the concentration of power and help align
shareholder interest with those of the insiders.

Good and Bad Governance

Bad corporate governance can cast doubt on a company's reliability, integrity or

obligation to shareholders. Tolerance or support of illegal activities can create
scandals like the one that rocked Volkswagen AG in 2015. Companies that do not
cooperate sufficiently with auditors or do not select auditors with the appropriate
scale can publish spurious or noncompliant financial results. Bad executive
compensation packages fail to create optimal incentive for corporate officers.
Poorly structured boards make it too difficult for shareholders to oust ineffective
incumbents. Corporate governance became a pressing issue following the 2002
introduction of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the United States, which was ushered in
to restore public confidence in companies and markets after accounting fraud
bankrupted high-profile companies such as Enron and WorldCom.

Good corporate governance creates a transparent set of rules and controls in which
shareholders, directors and officers have aligned incentives. Most companies strive
to have a high level of corporate governance. For many shareholders, it is not
enough for a company to merely be profitable; it also needs to demonstrate
good corporate citizenshipthrough environmental awareness, ethical behavior and
sound corporate governance practices.
orporate governance is the mechanisms, processes and relations by
which corporations are controlled and directed.[1]Governance structures and
principles identify the distribution of rights and responsibilities among
different participants in the corporation (such as the board of directors,
managers, shareholders, creditors, auditors, regulators, and
other stakeholders) and includes the rules and procedures for making
decisions in corporate affairs.[2] Corporate governance includes the processes
through which corporations' objectives are set and pursued in the context of
the social, regulatory and market environment. Governance mechanisms
include monitoring the actions, policies, practices, and decisions of
corporations, their agents, and affected stakeholders. Corporate governance
practices are affected by attempts to align the interests of
stakeholders.[3][4] Interest in the corporate governance practices of modern
corporations, particularly in relation to accountability, increased following
the high-profile collapses of a number of large corporations during 2001–
2002, most of which involved accounting fraud; and then again after the
recent financial crisis in 2008.

Leadership
A transformational school leader ensures students focus on their studies by being
considerate of individuality, being charismatic in influencing them, and inspiring
them. Instead of using set problem-solving techniques, he or she involves students
and teachers to come up with solutions to problems as they arise. Transformational
leaders in a school setting quickly identify areas in need of improvement, seeking
out-of-the-box solutions. The leader identifies cynicism and intentions to quit among
teachers, through consultation and individualized consideration. Realigning their
values and goals to resonate with those of the school, the leader reassures teachers
that they are needed and valued.

However, becoming a transformational leader is difficult, especially as this is a

leadership style heavily dependent on charisma. Here are three other contemporary
leadership styles that are similar to transformational leadership.

1. Servant Leadership

A servant leader shifts focus from his or her own interests to the people he or she
serves.
The focus of servant leadership is not on the result, but on the means of achieving
the result – primarily through expression and handling of other people’s needs. This
assistance should be in the form of providing guidance in individual roles,
empowering followers, and developing a culture of trust toward meeting
organizational goals.

The concept of servant leadership, though popular and effective, has suffered
tremendously because it has remained largely undefined. Some scholars have
recently taken an interest in servant leadership and have attempted to make the
theory more applicable at the organizational level. A side-by-side comparison
between the transformational and servant leadership reveals relatively similar
attributes; both styles of leadership are people-oriented.

Most notably, both types of leadership involve elements of integrity, trust, respect,
delegation, vision, and influence on followers. Both leadership styles emphasize the
appreciation, mentoring, recognition, and listening skills of the leader as
empowerment tools for the followers.

However, there are certain points of departure between the two styles. While it
emphasizes gaining trust and influencing followers, servant leadership calls for more
sacrifice on the part of the leader. The pursuit of profits is secondary for the servant
leader. Followers are more likely to have greater freedom under a servant leader than
transformational leader.

Another principal difference is the leader’s focus. Though both styles call the leader
to service, the servant leader’s ultimate focus is the follower, while the
transformational leader’s greatest concern is to encourage followers to serve the
organization diligently. The fundamental difference between the two styles is that
the servant leader focuses on the followers’ needs, while the transformational leader
focuses on organizational goals.

The servant leader’s followers achieve organizational objectives because they

become the leader’s first priority. This is different from transformational leadership,
where interests of the organization are the ultimate priority.

Charisma is a key ingredient for transformational leadership. Charisma refers to

charm and power to inspire, motivate, and excite others. While transformational
leadership relies on the leader’s charismatic power to achieve effectiveness, servant
leaders create the same motivation and influence through the act of service, without
grandstanding on the leader’s part.

While both styles of leadership are effective, there are risks attached to each. Both
may fall prey to manipulation and corruption, since, with these kinds of leadership,
the leader eventually garners some authority or power over the followers, which can
be used for negative purposes. Some followers are too reliant on their leaders and
establish strong links with them to satisfy their pressing dependency needs.

While both transformational and servant leadership may have negative applications,
their benefits far outweigh these negatives.

2. Transactional leadership

Another historical leadership style is transactional leadership, in which a leader

offers some valuable thing in exchange for the follower’s services. Most traditional
relationships between leaders and followers are transactional, since most people
believe “quid pro quo” (“something for something”) to be the ultimate purpose of
negotiation. In such an arrangement, everyone is happy and thus there is no harm
done.
The contract between employer and employee is mostly transactional.

Transformational and transactional leadership are different, but can complement

each other occasionally, depending on circumstances. The combination of
transactional and transformational leadership is best. Though it may be easy to
augment transactional relationships, it is not possible to replace it with
transformational leadership, since transactional leadership is also an effective
motivation technique.

A transformational leader who fails to charm his or her followers will often resort to
transactional leadership. Transactional leadership is a shortcut and is not as long-
lasting as transformational leadership, because the reward promised may not always
be available, but the charisma of the leader will never be depleted.
Transformational leadership transcends the transactional style. Motivation from
within the follower produces powerful results.

Another trait of transactional leadership is “management by exception.” The active

form of this type of management involves assessing employee performance and
taking corrective measures where needed. In the passive form, the leader only
intervenes where things have gotten out of hand. The last of the transactional traits
is the laissez faire leadership, in which the leader allows employees to do as they
like.

Transformational Leadership

The leadership frameworks discussed so far are all useful in different situations,
however, in business, "transformational leadership " is often the most effective
style to use. (This was first published in 1978, and was then further developed in
1985.)
Transformational leaders have integrity and high emotional intelligence . They
motivate people with a shared vision of the future, and they communicate well.
They're also typically self-aware , authentic , empathetic , and humble .
Transformational leaders inspire their team members because they expect the best
from everyone, and they hold themselves accountable for their actions. They set
clear goals, and they have good conflict-resolution skills . This leads to high
productivity and engagement.
However, leadership is not a "one size fits all" thing; often, you must adapt your
approach to fit the situation. This is why it's useful to develop a thorough
understanding of other leadership frameworks and styles; after all, the more
approaches you're familiar with, the more flexible you can be.

Charismatic Leadership

Charismatic leadership resembles transformational leadership: both types of

leaders inspire and motivate their team members.

The difference lies in their intent. Transformational leaders want to transform their
teams and organizations, while leaders who rely on charisma often focus on
themselves and their own ambitions, and they may not want to change anything.

Charismatic leaders might believe that they can do no wrong, even when others
warn them about the path that they're on. This feeling of invincibility can severely
damage a team or an organization, as was shown in the 2008 financial crisis.
 Servant Leadership

A "servant leader " is someone, regardless of level, who leads simply by meeting
the needs of the team. The term sometimes describes a person without formal
recognition as a leader.
These people often lead by example. They have high integrity and lead with
generosity . Their approach can create a positive corporate culture, and it can lead
to high morale among team members.
Supporters of the servant leadership model suggest that it's a good way to move
ahead in a world where values are increasingly important, and where servant
leaders can achieve power because of their values, ideals, and ethics .
However, others believe that people who practice servant leadership can find
themselves "left behind" by other leaders, particularly in competitive situations.

This style also takes time to apply correctly: it's ill-suited to situations where you
have to make quick decisions or meet tight deadlines.

Transactional Leadership

This style starts with the idea that team members agree to obey their leader when
they accept a job. The "transaction" usually involves the organization paying team
members in return for their effort and compliance on a short-term task. The leader
has a right to "punish" team members if their work doesn't meet an appropriate
standard.

Transactional leadership is present in many business leadership situations, and it

does offer some benefits. For example, it clarifies everyone's roles and
responsibilities. And, because transactional leadership judges team members on
performance, people who are ambitious or who are motivated by external rewards
– including compensation – often thrive.

The downside of this style is that, on its own, it can be chilling and amoral, and it
can lead to high staff turnover. It also has serious limitations for knowledge-based
or creative work.

As a result, team members can often do little to improve their job satisfaction.

 ransactional Leadership
 In this kind of leadership, a clear chain of command is established. The leader
motivates his subordinates by presenting them rewards and punishments. All
requirements for a subordinate are clearly stated with corresponding rewards. If
they fail to satisfy those requirements, they will receive a corresponding
punishment.
A couple of famous examples of transactional leaders are Joseph McCarthy and
Charles de Gaulle.

 Transformational Leadership
Transformational leaders lead by motivating by their followers. Leaders appeal to
their followers' ideals and morals to motivate them in accomplishing their tasks.
Basically, these kinds of leaders empower their followers using their own beliefs
and personal strengths. Simply put, they inspire their followers.
Famous transformational leaders include Martin Luther King Jr. and Walt Disney.

Servant Leadership
In servant leadership, the leader takes care of the needs of his followers first before
they take care of their own. Instead of acting like a king to their subordinates,
leaders act as servants. The leader feels that they need to serve their followers
rather than force upon them what they want.
Famous examples of servant leaders include George Washington, Gandhi and
Cesar Chavez.

Talent Management
Although the benefits of effective talent management have been much discussed
over the past decade, it is only recently that organisations have started to move
from discussion to action. Effective talent management is about identifying,
developing, engaging and retaining ‘high value’ individuals with either high
potential for the future or who are fulfilling business critical roles. It highlights the
importance of not only attracting individuals with high potential, but also
developing, managing and retaining them while measuring the return of this
investment. Effective talent management can contribute to a variety of strategic
objectives:

 Building a high performance workplace

 Encouraging a learning organisation
 Identifying as an ‘employer of choice’
 Ensuring return on investments in training and development
It seems common sense that, if you have a highly engaged workforce with the right
skills, it can vastly benefit your business. However, it is important to note that you
need to consider all aspects when addressing your organisation’s approach to talent
management. There is no point having a highly skilled and trained workforce if
they aren’t engaged and motivated to complete their work, and vice versa.
Poor talent management can affect your business in a number of different ways.
An untrained workforce can lead to an increase in the amount of time it takes to
complete tasks and a higher number of errors and/or accidents. However, these
issues can still occur despite considerable investment in training. Training will
only make a difference to your business outcomes if it is addressing the right skills
needs and being delivered in a way that allows time for learning and the
opportunity to implement this learning on the job. So many businesses implement
training without measuring whether it makes a difference to business outcomes and
leads to a return on investment.
Another important reason to consider investing in learning and development
opportunities in your business is that research suggests it is linked to high levels of
employee engagement, even among staff members who are paid less. There has
been a lot of discussion in the media recently about the living wage, with figures
suggesting that one in five people in the UK earn below the threshold, placing the
UK as one of the worst offenders among OECD countries (The Work Foundation).
In this economic environment in particular, training and development can be of
particular value to jobseekers, as many people still struggle to find their ideal job
first time round. A strong career pathway within what might be considered a
temporary role can encourage employees to view their job as a career, rather than a
stopgap solution.
Poor employee engagement is linked to problems with staff retention levels. This
can have a considerable cost to your business, with current estimates at over
£5,000 to recruit a new member of staff. Addressing your employee engagement
can have a significant return not only in terms of increased staff retention, but also
through increased motivation and commitment.
Next month I’ll be discussing the various ways you can effectively address the
issues discussed above, along with some hints and tips on how to get the most out
of talent management solutions.

Talent Management can be defined as identifying the need for recruiting

talent for a particular task at hand, planning to meet those needs and fulfilling
those needs. Right talent is paramount for any and every organization. Many
studies and surveys say that talent management is probably the most
important function of the Human Resources department of a company. It is
the responsibility of the HR department to ensure that employees with the
right skills set stick with the company.
 Data Analytics: Taking the right strategic decisions in the HR domain
relies on accurate data, and as any HR manager would know, good data is
hard to come by. That’s where a talent management tool can help by
automating the core processes and helping you capture data for making
better decisions.
 Employee engagement: It’s important for the HR department to keep the
entire workforce engaged and give them a sense of belonging and
progress. But it can get quite challenging, given the overall complexity of
the function. That’s why more and more HR managers are relying on
talent management applications to develop and streamline important
 Automation of tasks: Certain tasks are best done automated, like
creating salaries or updating leave info. These and many similar tasks
can be automated to free up resources for strategizing and more critical
tasks that can pay back over time.
Talent management helps you get in control of cyour organization’s talent and
make sure the talent base grows with time. CEIPAL is one such cloud-based,
mobile native talent management software. Do check it out. Hope this answer
helps. :)