Full Text Articles On Mentoring These articles on corporate mentoring are provided by Management Mentors US and UK offices.  If you find a great article let us know.  "The Retirement of the Baby Boom Generation: The Coming Knowledge Drain" "Banks Use Mentoring to Aid Retention," Training Zone "Knowledge Management through Mentoring," www.universal-manager.co.uk "Mentoring and Diversity" "Diversity Through Mentoring," People Management Download our Corporate Mentoring Program Press Kit   "The Retirement of the Baby Boom Generation: The Coming Knowledge Drain" A little noticed trend is afoot that will greatly affect the continued success of our country’s businesses – the retirement of the baby boom generation. By 2010, workers, senior managers, and senior executives will begin exiting the workforce for good. With them, they will take the experience and practical knowledge that has built and sustained some of our county’s most successful companies. The impact of this exodus is still largely unknown, because so many benefits of good management are intangible. But what we do know is that the composition of senior staff is on the verge of significant change. The challenge facing companies today is how to most effectively prepare the next generation of leaders to continue the successful growth of tomorrow’s corporations. One of the most significant and empowering tools available to face this challenge is executive mentoring. Unlike traditional mentoring programs that focus on having senior staff work with junior staff to familiarize them with the company culture, political structure and hierarchy, executive mentoring is a formal program that facilitates the transfer of knowledge, practical experience and grass roots know-how from senior-level executives to mid-level career professionals. The primary goal of executive mentoring is to prepare mid-level managers and executives to move successfully into senior-level positions. Although many mid-level professionals believe that they already possess the knowledge to advance to a senior level, there is a vast difference between the perspectives and approaches of the different levels. Mid-level professionals focus primarily on effective problem solving for the people they manage, and the profitability of the divisions they run. Senior executives focus on the evolution of the company, ensuring enterprise-wide profitability, and strategies for gaining or retaining competitive advantage within their market space. While mid-level professionals contribute to all of these goals, they rarely possess the perspective to develop the high-level planning that will ultimately drive the company to attain these goals. A formal, well-developed executive mentoring program provides mid-level executives with insights into the nuances of strategic planning, teaches them to see the big picture by bringing it into focus for them, and provides expert counsel as they prepare themselves for challenges of ever-increasing magnitude. It is important to remember that we are not talking about helping a handful of individuals get promoted. We are talking about preparing the business and thought leaders of tomorrow to successfully and confidently carry the mantle of leadership forward. As our most seasoned experts, counselors and confidants prepare for departure, American businesses must prepare to move on without them. And to do so successfully, they must act now to transfer the vast knowledge these professionals possess to the next generation of leaders, before it’s too late. Executive mentoring is one of the most powerful and cost effective strategies in preparing your future leaders for the challenges of tomorrow. Don’t let the value of your experienced senior managers leave with them! back to the top “Banks Use Mentoring to Aid Retention,” Training Zone An increasing number of banks are using mentoring schemes to boost morale, aid retention and develop skill sets from within, according to a latest report. David Twiddle, Managing Director of Morgan McKinley commented, “Recent redundancies and cost cutting have meant that financial institutions are unable to retain high performers solely through big bonuses, or to buy talent with golden hellos. An increasing number of firms are using mentoring schemes as a mechanism to fulfill a variety of corporate as well as individual goals. The schemes can propel high-potential people through organizations and improve inter-business communication.” Mentoring schemes are successful in achieving corporate and individual goals in the City, according to a report by Morgan McKinley’s intelligence network, the Forum. Recent redundancies and cost cutting initiatives mean financial institutions are unable to retain high performers through the traditional mega-bonus payment or to buy in talent through golden hellos. Instead, many banks are using mentoring schemes to boost morale and develop skill sets from within. The report includes comments on a mentoring pilot at a London Investment Bank. The mentorees felt they had “looked over the parapet” at their potential future within the firm and seen the broader scope, whilst mentors concurred the mentoring program “provided insight into management style and effectiveness (and) gives insight into strategy, morale, and leadership in other parts of the firm.” back to the top “Knowledge Management through Mentoring,” www.universal-manager.co.uk Look through most HR publications today and you are sure to find mention of the importance of knowledge management. We are told that in an environment of change the organizations that will succeed will be those that have addressed this issue. Some forms of knowledge assets are tangible: working and service standards, for example, along with regulations and compliance procedures, etc. But what of the intangible assets, the Human Capital, which ultimately is the source of competitive advantage for every organization? How do you capture that and put a value on it? The computer is merely a tool in the process … to put it in editorial terms, knowing how a typewriter works does not make you a writer. Now that knowledge is taking the place of capital as the driving force in organizations worldwide, it is all too easy to confuse data with knowledge and information technology with information. From Drucker, P.F. (1995) “The Post-Capitalist Executive,” in Managing in a Time of Great Change, Penguin, New York, NY People generating new knowledge through the outcomes of research, people putting knowledge into storage systems and people trying to consume knowledge. How much more time do managers, for example, now spend in reading and handling information, which at times threatens to take over? Successful knowledge management involves neither computers nor documents but rather interactions between people. From Davenport, T.H. “Think Tank: The Future of Knowledge Management,” CIO, December 15, 1995. back to the top "Mentoring and Diversity" The need for mentoring programs is especially acute for minority employees. The impetus for creating a mentoring initiative often comes from minority employees who find themselves excluded from informal mentoring, resulting in the inability to advance as rapidly as others. Mentoring can empower minority employees with the tools they need to advance their careers. Recent data addresses the limited progress minority employees have made because of a lack of mentoring: “Research by John P. Fernandez, president of ARMC Consultants in Philadelphia, shows that 72% of blacks in 1978 and 78% in 1995 reported they were excluded from informal work groups and unable to find sponsors and mentors.” HR Magazine, March 2000. “Catalyst, a non-profit, New York based research organization, found that overall, 47% of black women cited lack of access to a mentor as a barrier to advancement.” HR Magazine, March 2000 “In 1983, 25% of working blacks were clustered in low-paying service and unskilled jobs. By 1999, that number had dropped only slightly, to 22% of working blacks. Between 1983 and 1999, blacks consistently made up about 11% of the total U.S. workforce. Yet in 1983, only 3% of engineers and 3% of attorneys were black. In 1999, blacks made up 5% of engineers and 5% of attorneys.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Given these statistics, it is not surprising that women and people of color seek access to mentoring and view it as an important strategic tool to professional development and advancement. Since mentors tend to mentor those who are “like them,” they often do not think about reaching out to those who are “unlike them.” They may fear the unknown or be unaware of the need. Therefore, to expect that all employees will find informal mentors is not realistic and will not happen. Companies are recognizing that mentoring access has to be gained through an established process that provides opportunities for all employees. Even if a company is enlightened enough to establish a structured mentoring initiative, it may not be sensitive to the unique needs involved in diversity mentoring, such as finding diverse mentors and understanding how to navigate successfully in a majority culture. It is important, therefore, for anyone exploring a mentoring initiative to identify its goals, not only for the organization, but for the mentorees. Our approach is to respect and build upon the company’s culture and the needs of employees being mentored. A one-size-fits-all approach will fall short of achieving your goals. back to the top “Diversity Through Mentoring,” People Management Many organizations want to become diverse, indeed many will need to find diversity in their products and services if they are to grow. But how will their customers judge them? Will it be by product diversification alone? It may be by how much diversity exists in the company’s employee population. Do customers, when doing business with a given company, interact with people like them? Diversity should be viewed as an asset that can bring new ideas and different solutions to challenges faced in the workplace. The drive for competitive advantage in global markets is pushing diversity up the corporate agenda. Organizations which embrace diversity have a much better chance of succeeding than those that don’t. back to the top Press Kit Would you like to learn more about our services? Call us at 617-789-4622 (just outside of Boston, Massachusetts) or e-mail us to see how you can achieve desired business results through a well-designed mentoring program.