Mentoring isn’t just about sharing — it’s about learning too. Ben Heath shares insights from his journey on why embracing Reverse Mentoring alongside traditional approaches can benefit both individuals and organisations alike.
As a former mentor on a formal mentoring programme, I’ve seen first-hand just how powerful these relationships can be. I was the senior soldier for some 1300+ Service People with 23 years of experience in the British Army, and I was honoured to be able to support a junior Reservist soldier through the Army Reserve’s commissioning process.
To my surprise, this relationship gave me more than I had initially anticipated.
I relished the idea of being able to give back following all those years of Service, as helping others has always been at the heart of everything I do. But, even as I gained more and more experience, I came to realise that I had just as much to learn as anybody else.
My mentee was an Army Reservist and a teacher in his civilian life and, given my pathway to leaving Service by transitioning into L&D, he had far more experience of the ‘outside world’. We had many useful conversations where we could share knowledge in both directions, which gave me some great insights. This also extended further, and I often found myself in my final role as an Regimental Sergeant Major (Head of Organisational Development) coming up with continuous improvement initiatives to improve the lived experience for my soldiers and drive meaningful change. But I knew I didn’t have all of the answers.
As well as regularly holding focus groups, I would informally chat with individuals and teams who would be the most affected and who had far superior knowledge than me about technologies and systems we could use to improve things. I repeatedly sought their council, which meant that I was able to gain insights into the real areas of focus that would be most meaningful and have the most impact, i.e. enabling me to do my job better in serving my people.
In his book Rebel Ideas, Matthew Syed examines the power of cognitive diversity and argues the idea that harnessing different perspectives leads to more effective and innovative solutions in problem-solving. This diversity also applies generationally. Quite naturally, younger generations are typically more technologically savvy and more able to keep up with the ever-evolving pace of digital change. They understand the needs of the workforce because they are the workforce. They genuinely seek purpose and want to make a difference, making reverse mentoring a hugely rewarding process for both parties.
Of course, reverse mentoring might not be the easiest thing to implement because it challenges traditional hierarchical structures where the people at the top know more than the people at the bottom. Can we admit that’s not always true? Nobody wants to feel threatened by somebody less experienced but, by showing humility and developing a growth mindset, we can reframe the threat as an opportunity or the weakness as a strength. It can bring valuable insights to senior leaders by shining a light on unknowns, enhancing their ability to better meet employee needs, whilst also helping to posture the company to be able to adapt quickly and efficiently to evolving business and customer needs.
By keeping the best of traditional mentoring and embracing reverse mentoring, this kind of relationship can truly be a two-way street. It can be formal or informal, but most important is that this type of communication exists. Without it, organisations will not be maximising the opportunities open to them and could be holding themselves back.