Reverse Mentoring

REVERSE MENTORING: Taking Mentoring to the next level.

Learning is ever in the freshness of its youth, even for the old.– Aeschylus, Greek Playwright

The general belief is that the longer you work for an organization, the more you know and there is less that you need to learn. And, the younger members who are entering the work space are generally considered as less aware and knowledgeable about the workplace.

However, this observation has changed with time and the companies are now realizing that top-down learning is not always the way effective learning happens in an organization. Particularly, with the advent of social media and high use of technology in the corporate world, it is seen that newer and the younger employees come with much

He recognized his lack of technology skills in the late 1990s, and believed that the youngest people joining the company were far more knowledgeable and comfortable about using new technologies than their managers. So, he asked 500 of his top executives to seek out mentors from among the new joiners.

Since, reverse mentoring proved to be very beneficial not only for enhancing the performance and confidence of senior employees but also for enhancing the bonding and relationship between juniors and seniors, this concept is becoming increasing popular and being encouraged by various organizations.

But the fact is that even reverse mentoring has its roots embedded in the traditional mentoring system. For example, usually, a mentor is expected to be senior and more experienced than the mentee. However, reverse mentoring recognizes that there are skills gaps on both sides, and that each person can address their weaknesses with the help of the other's strengths. For example, a younger team member can pass new skills and ideas up the corporate ladder, and someone older can become a role model, career coach, guide for strategizing etc.

Reverse mentoring can play an important role in bridging the gap between the generations currently in the workforce. The way generations are recognized in the workforce

For example, millennials are generally viewed as spoiled and self-centered by the older generations. One the other hand, millennials view older generations as inefficient, rigid and resistant to change.

The basic aim of reverse mentoring is to help the Executives and other leaders to cross this generational divide and communicate with, motivate and engage younger team members.

However, it may not be very easy always to inculcate the culture of reverse mentoring in an organization. The friction from the senior employees sometimes to accept a younger member as a mentor/ professional friend may be enormous.

It requires immense smartness along with experience to break this friction as the mindset of the seasoned employees may not be very vulnerable to change or very flexible towards the new learning environment. They can impose challenges and barriers of the insurmountable level. One strategy as advised by experts to handle this divide is:

“Attract Mentees first and then