Reverse mentoring is flipping the script. It empowers younger workers to share their expertise and ideas with more senior employees. Matching up workers from different generations facilitates the exchange of knowledge and ideas. It fosters an environment of growth and learning. Experienced workers can learn new skills and escape their comfort zones, while younger employees can learn business basics they missed in the classroom. Reverse mentoring is powerful and can create a lasting impact within your company. Reverse mentoring supports diversity initiatives and helps to develop graduate employees. It is a powerful way to build human connections and community within a business.

What Is Reverse Mentoring?

Reverse mentoring is upward mentoring. It is mentoring where the senior person is learning from the experience of the junior person. The objective of reverse mentoring is to allow leaders and senior managers to stay current with their organizations and the outside world. It will enable junior personnel to share their voice with more experienced people.

The Power of Reverse Mentoring

Reverse mentoring allows you to learn something from someone instead of learning about something. Firsthand is always the best teacher in life. Reverse mentoring is like learning a new language from a native speaker instead of a textbook. It removes the possibility of misinterpretation and keeps things in context.

This type of mentoring widens your perspective. It pulls you out of the rut of doing the same practices for years without innovation or renovation. Reverse mentoring offers fresh perspectives from younger mentors. Take advantage of what a younger mentor does not know. Their less complicated thinking can help you solve problems and use creativity.

Reverse mentoring can empower the mentor, the next generation of creative leaders. The reverse-mentoring relationship teaches the mentor the value of knowledge sharing. It brings attention to the why behind their work and lets them see the intentionality of their work. They can form their methodology. They can present their rationale for what they do and what they create. This experience is excellent preparation for defending their work to clients throughout their careers.

Suppose you want to bridge generational gaps, foster a learning culture that includes senior leaders, retain junior-level talent through engagement, and drive innovation by exposing leaders to new ideas. In that case, setting up a reverse mentoring program might be an excellent decision.

Set up Your Reverse Mentoring Program

Younger generations can teach and inspire seasoned professionals, so consider setting up a reverse mentoring program. The process is like a traditional mentoring program:

• Decide what you are trying to establish with a reverse mentoring program. What can you learn from the younger generation?
• Find the right leader for the program.
• Set your goals and metrics.
• Determine the application and matching process.
• Recruit the people you want and figure out how to connect them.
• Hold regular meetings and prepare for potential roadblocks.
• Measure success with identified goals and the feedback you receive.

Exact Staff can provide your organization with unique talent to help you meet your business needs.