Reverse Mentoring

As part of helping leaders in organisations develop their own understanding of the issues and opportunities presented by Diversity and Inclusion (D&I), one very effective strand of development is 'Reverse Mentoring'.

As the name suggests, unlike in traditional mentoring where, typically, a senior person will mentor a junior colleague, in reverse mentoring it works the other way round. That is to say, a senior leader will be given the opportunity to be mentored by a more junior colleague who, from a diversity and inclusion perspective, is different from him/her in some way, and who has a different experience of the organisation as a result.

All reverse mentoring programmes are designed with the specific circumstances and needs of the client in mind, so there is no 'set programme'. However, some of the successful programmes designed and managed by Brook Graham have included the following features:
Reverse mentoring relationships typically aim to run for between six months and a year, with between six and eight face to face meetings between the 'mentoring pairs' during this time.
Both the senior mentees and the mentors are briefed and prepared for their roles in advance of the scheme starting (and for mentors this usually involves attending a one or two day workshop)
There is regular contact and support provided as the scheme goes ahead, and periodic check-ins to see that the process is running smoothly.
At the end of the scheme there is a formal 'wrap –up' to consolidate learning and resulting action plans.

Having seen how effective this process can be in "helping people see what they don't yet see" and turn those new insights into action, we are strong advocates of reverse mentoring. We would be delighted to talk to you about how it might work in your organisation.