I have been reading a lot of articles lately that touch on the topic of culture and the importance of it for any organization today. I have seen situations where employees have left organizations because the culture was not conducive to them being able to grow personally and professionally. In some cases the culture was really negative and to the point of being toxic. They moved on as they saw what working in that sort of environment could do to their health, stress level and eventually spin off into having an impact on their personal/family life. I have experienced it and worked with good people that got caught in the negative vortex and were struggling to become positive again. So why do leaders within the organization sometimes not see this going on and have developed the ostrich syndrome where their heads are buried in the sand. As the turnover rate climbs within the organization they struggle to figure out why.

This past couple of weeks I was blessed with the opportunity to do a number of presentations to business people in four different locations. We were asked to speak on the topic of “mentor programs – mentor cultures” in each of the locations. We added a different element to the presentation in that we role played a couple of different scenarios at the end of the presentation. This provided the folks that attended with an understanding of what mentoring was about – and the difference between effective and not so effective mentoring.

What was interesting in a lot of the locations was the discussion around the need for an assessment of their existing culture in order to ensure that it would support a mentoring culture. Business people saw the need for mentoring but more importantly saw the need for that culture assessment prior to implementing any form of mentoring in their organization. There are a number of different approaches to doing a cultural assessment. A Google search on the term “organizational culture change programs” yields 273,000,000 entries. It is no wonder that a lot of organizations choose to not do anything and live with things the way they are. From what I am seeing I don’t think that approach is worthwhile.

Understanding where your culture is today is a good step to take but it doesn’t need to be an onerous task. Knowing where we are starting from is the first step and then beginning to implement mentoring into the organization is the next logical step. One of the outcomes that we strive for is engaged employees and that will come by following the process we have just outlined. Think of this journey as the means to help your organization be more successful by leveraging your greatest strength – your people! Embrace the “power of mentoring”, “can you afford not to?”

References:

1. http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/12/to_change_the_culture_stop_try.html

Doug Lawrence, President of TalentC® presents Dania Myers with her designation as a Certified Mentor Practitioner. Dania is the first person to successfully complete the International Certification for Mentoring - Certified Mentor Practitioner Accredited training program.

Creating that culture that motivates employees to get out of bed in the morning and come to work is the challenge that a lot of organizations are struggling with today. Recruiting and retaining quality employees in an organization that does not have that motivating culture is a challenge. I spoke with an employee of an organization a few weeks ago where the culture was not positive. He indicated that he now understood what I meant when I stated that, “the good ones will leave – because they can!” He was a good employee that wanted to make changes to improve the organization. It was not happening so he moved on to another organization. He indicated that some of the other employees followed suit and moved on to other more positive organizations. He also mentioned that the open-door leadership style that I supported had a new twist where you now had to knock before entering the manager’s office as the door was usually closed.

When we analyze all of this we see that the change that needed to take place at the leadership level did not take place. Changing a culture to one that creates a learning and development environment takes work. The negative culture that exists today did not happen overnight and will not be changed overnight either. The journey to a more positive culture can only happen if it begins at the top.

I did a couple of presentations this past week to some great people on Mentor Programs and Mentor Cultures. We talked a lot about how the implementation of either one of these initiatives can go south on an organization. One of the key challenges was the aspect of “corporate support”. It is really important that the journey begins with the full support of senior executives/owners of companies and that they emulate the right behaviors as they begin to implement either or all of these initiatives. The folks that I presented to fully understood the need for either a mentor program or a mentor culture.

We discussed how important it was to engage the Baby Boomers at this particular time so that they can transfer their business knowledge to the future leaders within the company. We always hear the comment about “knowledge is power” and that some do not want to transfer that knowledge for fear of no longer being needed. I recommend to these folks that they need to view this as a chance to leave their legacy in the organization. How exciting and rewarding it would be to see someone grow personally and professionally from the support that you provided before you begin the retirement chapter of your career! Convincing these valued contributors of their importance and the legacy that they could leave starts at the top.

It is becoming really clear that creating the right culture for your organization is one of the most important challenges that you need to be meeting head on right now. If you don’t then you will be facing recruitment and retention challenges, lost productivity, increased negativity within the organization and a high level of disengagement at all levels within your organization. You can do this! Embrace the “power of mentoring” and remember “can you afford not to?”

I have written a couple of articles on this topic before. I was recently in a couple of conversations where the topic was around reverse mentoring. Reverse mentoring was defined as the process that takes place when typically a younger person mentors an older or more senior person.

I want to take a look at the term reverse mentoring for just a minute.  When I checked the definition on line they stated: a) opposite or contrary to a previous or normal condition, b) acting, operating, or arranged in a manner contrary to the usual, and c) effecting reverse movement. There are a number of other definitions but they all seem to say much the same thing. The term reverse mentoring has a negative connotation for me and I am reluctant to use it when I am talking about mentoring which is more positive process with benefits to people and organizations.

Mentoring and a mentoring culture create a learning and development environment within the organization. That environment works for all no matter their age or tenure within the organization. Reverse mentoring is really just effective mentoring in an organization that embraces the “power of mentoring”. It is part of that learning and development environment where all employees can learn through the mentoring process from each other. It becomes a continuous learning cycle.

Think of the outcomes from this! Engaged, empowered and accountable employees working together to increase productivity within the organization. You have an organization where everyone understands the benefits of effective communication and the value of a positive work place. You have an organization where people can’t wait to get up and come to work in the morning. Employees at all levels contribute to the goals of the organization and understand their role in the attainment of those goals.

As you embrace the “power of mentoring” and your organization considers implementing a mentoring culture and/or a mentoring program make sure that it is done from the aspect of effective mentoring. Let’s share the “gift of mentoring” – effective mentoring and realize all the benefits that we as employees and the organization can in a culture of mentoring!

References:

1. http://www.leaderpost.com/jobs/Reverse+mentoring+turns+tables/7318451/story.html
2. http://talentc.ca/index.php/2011/reverse-mentoring-or-is-it-good-mentoring/
3. http://talentc.ca/index.php/2012/reverse-mentoring-part-of-the-journey-to-a-mentoring-culture/
4. http://business.financialpost.com/2012/10/19/reverse-mentoring-is-mutual-if-youre-doing-it-right/

What does that actually mean? How do you determine that you have created a healthy organization or better yet how do we measure that? My best friend and adviser fired those questions at me when we last met. If you recall he was responsible for our last article!

So what is the definition of Organizational health?  I read an article in the McKinsey Quarterly that I think best provides the answer to that question.  “Organizational health is the ability of your organization to align, execute, and renew itself faster than your competitors can and is just as important as focusing on the traditional drivers of business performance. Organizational health is about adapting to the present and shaping the future faster and better than the competition. Healthy organizations don’t merely learn to adjust themselves to their current context or to challenges that lie just ahead; they create a capacity to learn and keep changing over time. This, we believe, is where ultimate competitive advantage lies.”**

We all know, or at least we should know that our most important – our most valued assets in our organization are our people. If you don’t believe that then look around at what some of the most successful organizations do in order to stay ahead of the competition. They value their employees and put into place a number of different things that are most definitely focused on that valued asset.

A healthy organization creates healthy outcomes for its people – improved health and well-being, and for the organization – reduced costs and improved performance. * These healthy outcomes depend on whether:

• the business values its employees
• safety comes first
• jobs are challenging
• employees have control over work load and work pace
• employees have a say in workplace decisions
• relationships are based on trust, respect, and fairness
• employees have adequate resources to do their job
• supervisors support employees
• employees have opportunities for training and development
• communication is two-way and open
• employees are recognized for their contributions
• pay and benefits provide an adequate and secure living standard

When I look at this list I see a healthy organization as one that has a solid mentoring culture in place. When you take the time to embrace the power of mentoring and create a culture that is based on mentoring you will have in place a healthy organization.  Effective mentoring demonstrates the organization’s commitment to its employees and to the creation of a learning and development environment. Safety is a priority at all times. Employees are challenged through meaningful job assignments and their input is sought in a two-way open communication style that engages, empowers and creates accountability. Relationships become the foundation for continued success within the organization and those relationships are based on trust and respect for each other. All of these can be attained through the “power of mentoring”.

The thing to remember though is that the commitment to mentoring must be organizational wide – from the top down. It requires an understanding of what we want to accomplish by implementing a mentoring program but more importantly to create a mentoring culture wherein a mentoring program can survive. We want to make sure that everyone understands the expectations of the two parties in a mentoring relationship through proper training. The business value of mentoring is well documented – we just need to make sure that we do our part to realize the true value.

When your organization stands in front of its organizational mirror what does it see? Do you see an organization that is struggling with lost productivity and negativity? Do you have a challenge with recruiting good talent and then retaining them? If you were to ask someone on the street to describe your organization what would they say?

If your organization is not happy with the image that it sees when it stands in front of its mirror then it is time to act and make those changes. Waiting to the 11^th hour to do something may be too late. You need to create that learning and development environment through the implementation of a mentoring culture and mentor program. You do need to embrace the “power of mentoring”. After all, “can you afford not to.”

References:

1. * Graham Lowe Group Inc. – http://creatinghealthyorganizations.ca/index.php

2.**http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/organization/organizational_health_the_ultimate_competitive_advantage

I am truly blessed to have so many great people in my life. You sometimes wonder why that is so. We could just take it for granted but I can’t do that. I need to understand why. Guess that is part of who I am. The other day I met with one of my closest friends and advisers. He is always good at providing me a question or two that turns into a topic that I can do more research on and then write about. His question and challenge to me the other day was, “are great leaders born or can anyone learn and develop into a great leader?” He then went on to categorize where he saw my leadership which was a very humbling experience to say the least.

I have always wondered what the true answer is to this question – are great leaders born that way or is this something that they can grow into. After doing all my research I am more inclined to suggest great leaders are born with the attributes or as Jim Collins suggest the Level 5 seed (Page 36 – Good to Great). Most organizations have leadership development programs and spend a lot of money on developing leaders and yet we have a leadership talent shortage that is impacting the bottom line for a lot of organizations. Is it possible that some of the people that we have identified for leadership training do not possess the Level 5 seed or perhaps have minimal leadership skills at best? Do we want everyone to be a Level 5 leader or are we satisfied with them being at a level below that? The answer to that question lies within your organization and the leadership development program that you have in place.

When I read through the material that Jim Collins provides in “Good to Great” I see the Level 5 leader as one that will best fit into the model we need to take organizations into the future.  I look at this primarily from the needs of the employees which are ultimately the needs of the organization. That is of course if your organization is people focused. I have done a number of presentations on Transformational Leadership and Mentoring.  A Level 5 leader and a Transformational leader are very similar and both are very much people focused. That is most definitely the leadership style of the future.

Leadership or lack thereof is a reason for some employees leaving the organization – approximately 17% (Gallup Research). Leadership/management is a factor in most of the other reasons as well for employees leaving an organization. I have mentored a number of folks that have had to make the move to a new environment and in discussing the reasons why it was readily apparent that the leadership/management was the main contributor.

Based on my research I am suggesting that the great leaders are born – they were born with the seed and it grows over time. There are others that can develop into leaders but they will never be what we would call “great leaders”. They are likely more focused on what is in it for them – they lack the humility and professional will to reach that level of leadership that we would call them a great leader. I am also suggesting that this is symbolic of a Transformational Leader as well. This leadership style is the future for organizations that wish to excel and be considered among those that are highly successful.

The Level 5 Leader makes a great mentor and in fact one of their missions in life is to identify and groom their successor. All leadership development programs should have mentoring as part of the program no matter what level of leadership we are aspiring to. The attributes of an effective mentor are those that we see in a great leader.

Great leaders are born with the seed. Great leaders are Transformational leaders. Mentoring is critical to the development of all leaders and is a strong characteristic of a Great leader. Embrace the “power of mentoring” – “can you afford not to?”

References:

1. http://www.amazon.ca/Good-To-Great-Companies-Leap-And/dp/0066620996

2. http://www.jimcollins.com/article_topics/articles/good-to-great.html

3. http://blogs.hbr.org/imagining-the-future-of-leadership/2010/06/5-steps-to-addressing-the-lead.html

4. http://businessjournal.gallup.com/content/106912/turning-around-your-turnover-problem.aspx#2

HRMAM has partnered with Doug Lawrence, President of TalentC® – People Services Inc. (www.talentc.ca) in the design and implementation of the HRMAM Mentorship Program. Doug was instrumental in the design and implementation of the Saskatchewan Association of Human Resource Professionals (SAHRP) Mentorship Program which has been in existence now for 4 years.

HRMAM looks forward to the implementation of this program as a value add to its members and to the Human Resource profession.

Organizations have realized the benefit of mentoring and the business value it brings to an organization.  Through a mentoring culture we can create engaged, empowered and accountable employees, increasing productivity within the organization.  This workshop is designed for those wishing to understand mentoring and mentoring concepts.  The workshop is aimed at those who wish to begin to mentor others and those currently mentoring someone and wishing to enhance their mentoring capabilities.  In this program, you will:

• determine the role of the mentor and mentee
• explore the benefits of being a mentor and a mentee
• understand the importance of developing a trusted successful mentoring relationship
• learn about mentoring techniques and their application

No previous mentoring experience is required to take this program.  Participants must complete about six hours of required pre-course work.

Instructor: Doug Lawrence

Date: May 14, 2013

Times: 8:30 am–4:30 pm

Location: Holiday Inn Express, Saskatoon

Fee: $795 plus GST (includes materials and lunch)

Registration Deadline: May 1, 2013

Website: http://ccde.usask.ca/blp/essentials

I am seeing some changes in leadership styles as we continue to promote what is needed to move organizations into the future. Unfortunately it is not at the speed that we need it to be. The “old boys” culture seems to be very predominant in a lot of industries. The need to understand that apprentices, interns, and young professionals want to be mentored and not managed is at times a struggle for some senior managers to grasp. What I am also seeing is that people at all stages of their career are now reaching out to find a mentor as they see the value in doing so. They want to grow personally and professionally.

The article this week-end in the Leader-Post newspaper talked about female board members being better at decision-making. As I read the article I could see a lot of the attributes of transformational leadership spread throughout the article. The leadership style that women bring to the table is definitely in alignment with transformational leadership.  Sadly we seem to have a shortage of women in senior leadership/board positions and that is going to have an impact on organizations going forward. There is also a shortage of female mentors that can assist in their growth personally and professionally. I know that the large majority of people that I work with are female who are very focused on making a difference and working very hard to get there. I see through their growth the development of their transformational leadership skills and that is very rewarding for both of us. The relationship that we have created in each case is one that focuses on a learning and development environment. That environment is a two way environment where both the mentor and mentee/protégé prosper. That provides the opportunity for transformational leadership to excel. What we now need to focus on is getting organizations to develop a culture focused on a learning and development environment that is nurtured in rich developmental relationships. As more organizations move towards creating this culture – a mentoring culture we will see an increase in women in senior leadership roles and providing their leadership at the Board table. Transformational leadership is the future and it can be enabled through the “power of mentoring”. “Can we afford not to?”

References:

1. http://www.leaderpost.com/jobs/Female+board+members+better+decision+making/8205071/story.html
2. Transformational leadership, learning goal orientation, and expectations for career success in mentor – protégé relationships: A multiple levels of analysis perspective – John J. Sosik, Veronica M. Godshalk, Francis J Yammarino; The Leadership Quarterly 15 (2004) 241-261