Mentoring As A Leadership Tool

“We used to in every class have a Discord. It used to be like a lot of people just asking questions about maybe like, a lab or a homework... I guess everyone’s just Chat-GPT now. Like the new classes that I have now, we still have the Discord, but nobody really talks because most or all the questions are answered by ChatGPT.” —P16, undergraduate computing student If you’ve moderated a class Discord, you’ve probably felt this shift: a once-busy channel that used to hum with “anyone stuck on Q3?” goes quiet. Not because students stopped needing help, but because they started getting it elsewhere. A new study by Hou et al puts language to what many of us have sensed. Based on 17 interviews across seven R1 universities, students described a social rerouting of help-seeking: 13 of 17 said peer requests are now mediated by GenAI (often “ask GPT”), and students noticed community spaces like Discord slowing down. However, when AI becomes the first responder, the “hidden curriculum” stops circulating. Fewer quick questions means fewer micro-mentorships, fewer perspective-shifts, less socially shared regulation — all the good stuff that builds belonging and lifts performance over time. Students save minutes, but communities lose momentum. So what can educators do about this? - Design “peer-first, AI-fast” protocols. Peer interactions build camaraderie and a sense of belonging. Educators need to design experiences that build more peer interactions and support inside classrooms, to compensate for GenAI caused declines.   - Protect mentorship routes. Research also showed that younger students are reaching out less often to senior mentors, missing out on invisible learning that comes from understanding unwritten rules and cultural norms. Educators might need to formalize “office-hours relays” (senior → junior → cohort) so guidance doesn’t vanish.  - Create informal interaction opportunities. Informal opportunities help students build relationships beyond their immediate circle, and provide entry points into additional learning communities. Have you seen AI change the quality of collaboration in your learning or work spaces? How can we preserve the “hidden curriculum” when AI takes over first-line help?  #GenAI #Education #PeerInteraction #HiddenCurriculum

Finding the right mentor can change the trajectory of your career. But in today’s job market, and especially when nearly a quarter of recent grads are unemployed, traditional mentors alone may not be enough. That’s why Alexis Redding and I wrote a new piece for Fast Company about the overlooked value of peer mentors, or what we call “mirror mentors.” These are the friends and colleagues who know you well, who can keep you accountable, offer encouragement, and share tactical support along the way. Sometimes mirror mentors can even be more helpful than senior mentors. They’re in the trenches with you, they understand your struggles in real time, and they often have the bandwidth to provide the kind of consistent, hands-on support that’s critical during a job search. We shared three key ways mirror mentors can transform your job search: ✔️ Sourcing opportunities, including the hidden job market ✔️ Providing tactical help, from résumés to negotiations ✔️ Offering encouragement and accountability when the process gets tough By building a small mentor pod, you can make the journey less isolating and much more effective: https://lnkd.in/ezJPbFWs Who are your mirror mentors, and how have your peers supported you in your own career journey?

Day 8/30 of the Idea to Revenue Mentorship: Something magical happened today. I stopped talking. The group started solving each other's problems. One participant was stuck on their product format. Before I could jump in, three others shared what worked for them. Problem solved in 10 minutes. It made me realise: The best mentorship isn't mentor-to-student. It's student-to-student with a guide on the side. Three powerful shifts emerged: 1. PEER FEEDBACK HITS DIFFERENT When I critique, they listen politely. When a peer who just solved the same problem shares? They take notes furiously. 2. COLLECTIVE WISDOM > INDIVIDUAL EXPERTISE 100 people trying 100 approaches beats one mentor's playbook every time. 3. ACCOUNTABILITY COMPOUNDS Disappointing your peers who are grinding alongside you? That's harder than disappointing a mentor. This is why accelerators work. Why building in public beats building in private. You don't just need a mentor. You need mirrors — people on the same journey. Question: Who are you building alongside? If the answer is "no one" — that might be your biggest bottleneck. Day 8 complete. 22 days to revenue. P.S. The participants helping others the most? They're moving the fastest. Teaching forces clarity.

Why Being a “Mentern” is Essential in the Modern Workplace While it never won any Oscars, the film “The Intern” reminded us that experience never gets old. Robert DeNiro plays a 70-year-old retiree who applies to be the “Senior Intern” to a CEO, Anne Hathaway, who is half his age. She initially doesn’t want to hire him because he’s “a little too observant,” but she does and what we see over the course of the film is that he morphs from intern to mentor. My experience at Airbnb was just the opposite, but shares some parallels. Brian Chesky is almost half my age and hired me to be his in-house leadership and hospitality mentor in early 2013 when most people had never heard of this little tech start-up. Within a few weeks, I realized that I needed to be as much an intern as a mentor because I’d never worked in a tech company and I often felt like both the wisest and dumbest person in the room. The founders ultimately said I was as curious as I was wise which earned me the title, “modern elder.” I coined the term “mentern” in my book “Wisdom@Work: The Making of a Modern Elder” to capture the fact that with almost half of Americans working for a younger boss and five generations in the workplace for the first time, we need to operate as mutual mentors like never before. The physics of knowledge and wisdom used to flow from old to young, but it now flows in both directions. While I could offer my Airbnb colleagues EQ (Emotional Intelligence), they could offer me DQ (Digital Intelligence) and we were all better off for it. As I spent time exploring the topic of intergenerational collaboration, I got to know the guru on this subject Marc Freedman, who started https://bit.ly/4lSdI57. He’s my modern elder as I’ve learned so much from him about how we can create a society and workplaces that value one of the most important forms of diversity, age diversity. I’m proud that Marc joined me on my podcast (https://bit.ly/47WCbmg) last week and that we’ll be co-leading a Santa Fe workshop November 10-15 called How to be a World-Class “Mentern”: Mastering the Skills of Mutual Mentorship (https://bit.ly/4g473U1) (this week’s episode with Rob Bell goes live this morning). This workshop is perfect for anyone asking the following questions: - How can I feel relevant again in a workplace full of people younger than me? - How can I distill my wisdom and share it in a way that younger folks will value it? - How can I develop a new sense of purpose by feeling like I’m having an impact? - How can I renew my sense of curiosity and openness to learning something new? - What programs exist that foster more intergenerational collaboration? Here’s a recent PBS NewsHour video on Marc Freedman’s organization CoGenerate (https://bit.ly/3HO3kNL), and how it brings the generations together to co-create the future.

Have you ever been mentored by someone 10 years younger than you? 😲😲 I have. And I highly recommend it.😊✨ During my time at L'Oréal Australia, I had the chance to speak at a leadership event where they had built an entire program around reverse mentoring. Not a buzzword. A real structure where junior talent mentored senior leaders. On everything from how Gen Z thinks, to emerging tech, to what inclusive culture actually looks like in practice. And honestly? It’s one of the smartest things a company can do. 👉🏻👉🏻 Why? Because: – Interns are closer to consumer shifts than the boardroom – New grads know TikTok and AI tools like second nature. – And junior team members often see the cultural blind spots leaders miss. The Times article on British Airways hit the nail on the head. - 80 pairs - Junior staff mentoring the C-suite. - Game-changing insights that are shaping how the airline leads from within. I have first hand seen Reverse mentoring flipping the script. It humbles leadership. It future-proofs decision-making. And it brings in the voices that matter most. At a time when everything’s evolving from platforms, behaviour, expectations, listening isn’t optional. It’s the new superpower. 💪🏻💪🏻 👇🏽 CEOs, here are my 3 actionable ways to start reverse mentoring today: 1. Form intentional pairings: Pair junior talent with leaders and set up dedicated time when these two can connect. 2. Make it safe: Set clear expectations and remove the pressure to impress. Authenticity > polish. 3. Turn insights into action: Don’t let the conversation end at “good point.” Bake learnings into culture, strategy and product. So here’s my question: When’s the last time you learned something from someone just starting out? #ReverseMentoring #Insights #GenZ #AI

Despite the cultural and language barrier — with 90% of the team primarily speaking Russian — last year, I tested a 'reverse mentoring' program within our organization. I recognized the invaluable insights and digital fluency of our younger members and facilitated structured sessions where they mentored senior executives. It started with informal coffee meetings and progressed to virtual sessions where ideas flowed freely over collaborative digital platforms. The results were remarkable: our senior leaders gained technical knowledge and a fresh perspective on innovation and market dynamics. Simultaneously, our junior colleagues felt empowered and appreciated, their confidence growing with each session. This initiative not only boosted team morale but also fostered a more inclusive workplace culture where creativity and mutual respect flourished naturally. My recommendation? GO FOR IT! Cognitive biases like the Dunning-Kruger effect, for example, really can hinder organisational success by limiting openness to new ideas and technological advancements. Yes, it affects the bottomline big-time. As industries evolve rapidly, fostering this sort of exchange of knowledge becomes essential for maintaining agility and staying ahead in competitive markets.

Why Every Leader Should Embrace Reverse Mentoring? Reverse mentoring, introduced by Jack Welch during his tenure as CEO of General Electric in the 1990s, reshaped how knowledge flows in organizations. Welch saw younger employees as a key resource for teaching senior leaders about emerging technologies like the internet. Over time, this approach has evolved into a dynamic tool for addressing generational, strategic, and cultural challenges in modern workplaces. Today, reverse mentoring is a game-changer for organizations looking to stay relevant. At BNY Mellon Pershing, the practice improved transparency and connection between executives and younger employees, leading to a 96% retention rate among participating Millennials. Employees felt valued as their insights influenced key decisions. Similarly, PwC and IBM have used reverse mentoring to bridge gaps in understanding diversity and inclusion. Both companies paired senior leaders with employees from underrepresented groups, facilitating conversations that led to a more empathetic and equitable work environment. At Estée Lauder, the focus shifted to business relevance. Junior mentors provided insights into consumer behavior, helping leaders adapt strategies to align with changing market trends. This initiative led to the creation of “Dreamspace,” a platform where fresh ideas could be shared across the organization. Reverse mentoring thrives on the mutual exchange of ideas. It nurtures understanding between generations, promotes innovation, and makes employees feel heard. These examples show how it equips organizations to remain agile and inclusive, while enabling leaders to evolve with the times. By embracing reverse mentoring, companies not only drive progress but also build workplaces ready for the future. #nyraleadership

𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹, 𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 * * 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙈𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙄𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙏𝙚𝙘𝙝 Too often, Reverse Mentoring is dismissed as a “tech update” for senior leaders. That’s selling it way short. At its heart, Reverse Mentoring is about building intergenerational intelligence — fostering real empathy, breaking down silos, and connecting leaders with the lived experiences of younger colleagues. This connection humanises leadership, encourages vulnerability, and creates a culture where continuous learning thrives. 𝗧𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁, 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻: > Creating safe spaces where honest conversations happen. > Encouraging leaders to listen without judgment. > Prioritising relationship-building over rigid schedules. When leaders invest in these relationships, they don’t just learn new tools — they gain fresh mindset shifts that transform their leadership. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥, 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘔𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨. #ReverseMentoring #IntergenerationalIntelligence #LeadershipCulture #PsychologicalSafety #InclusiveLeadership #LearningCulture #LeadershipEvolution #EmployeeEngagement #MentoringMatters #FutureOfWork #Eminere Eminere Limited Out-take from our Panel SXSW London with Sean Doyle sharing one of his experiences of a traditional mentoring experience which then shifted into reverse mentoring.

Memoirs of a Gully Boy Episode 32: #Mentorship – The Bridge to Collective Growth In every career, there comes a point when the focus shifts from personal success to creating opportunities for others. Mentorship is that bridge—a powerful tool that not only shapes individuals but also builds stronger teams and organizations. The Early Lessons in Guidance One of my first experiences as a mentor came during a high-stakes project involving a new hire fresh out of college. The project’s complexity overwhelmed him, and mistakes became frequent. Instead of micromanaging or criticizing, I walked him through the basics, shared my own early career struggles, and gave him the space to learn. With time and encouragement, he gained confidence and delivered key components of the project. Watching him grow and succeed was as rewarding as achieving the project’s goals. Lesson 1: A mentor’s role is not to provide all the answers but to enable others to find their own. During a process optimization project for a manufacturing client, I worked closely with a team of young managers. While they were technically sound, they lacked the leadership experience needed to navigate high-pressure situations. I introduced them to structured decision-making frameworks, helping them break complex problems into manageable steps. Within months, they were not just solving problems but leading sub-projects independently. Some of them eventually rose to senior leadership positions, proving that mentorship creates a ripple effect that benefits individuals and organizations alike. Lesson 2: The best mentors don’t just develop problem-solvers—they cultivate future leaders. Learning Through Reverse Mentorship Mentorship isn’t a one-way street. I’ve often found myself learning from those I mentor, particularly during innovation-driven projects. In one instance, a young team member introduced a new data visualization tool that significantly improved our ability to analyze and present key metrics. His fresh perspective enhanced the project and reminded me that mentorship is about fostering mutual growth, where both mentor and mentee evolve together. Lesson 3: Mentorship thrives on mutual learning—it’s as much about listening as it is about guiding. The Role of Empathy in Mentorship Mentorship isn’t solely about technical guidance; it’s about understanding the challenges your mentees face. During a critical software migration, one team member struggled with personal issues, affecting his performance. Instead of pressuring him, I offered flexible deadlines and support, enabling him to focus on both his work and personal life. That experience underscored the importance of empathy in mentorship—creating a safe environment where people feel supported, not judged. Lesson 4: Empathy builds trust, and trust transforms mentorship into a lasting Partnership Mentorship is a cornerstone of professional growth. It’s the act of lifting others, shaping future leaders To be continued...

“So… what are you going to work on?” That was the first thing my PhD advisor asked me in our very first one-on-one meeting. 😬 I had just started my PhD, fresh from undergrad with two years of research. But I still had no idea how to answer that question. I remember sitting there thinking, “Wait — isn’t that your job?” 😅 Looking back now, I realize how naïve I was: Even with undergrad research experience, a thesis, and years of science courses behind me, I didn’t yet understand how research training actually worked. My advisor took a hands-off approach. He believed in letting students carve their own paths. And while that can work for some, it left me floundering in the beginning. Thankfully, the lab was large and postdoc-rich - and those postdocs saved me! They helped me brainstorm, learn the ropes, design experiments, troubleshoot, survive my first committee meetings, and stay afloat through setbacks. They became my mentors. Not assigned. Not formal. But essential. In academia, we often think of our PI as our one and only mentor. But in reality, no single person can (or should) be your everything. Mentorship can — and should — come from all directions: 📚 A postdoc who shows you how to write your first grant 🔬 A fellow grad student who walks you through a protocol 💬 A staff member who teaches you the soft skills no one talks about 🤝 A friend who listens and says, “You’ve got this” Science is about learning. Science is about collaboration. Science is about passing along knowledge - both formally and informally, day by day. To every new graduate student out there: ➡︎ Seek mentorship everywhere. ➡︎ Don’t wait to be assigned support. ➡︎ Build a network of people who help you grow - and return the favor when you can. Mentors come in all forms. And sometimes, the best ones aren’t the ones you expect. #PhDCareers #GradSchoolLife #MentorshipMatters #ScientificTraining #EarlyCareerResearchers #PhDLife #AcademicCulture #PeerMentorship #CollaborationInSTEM #Microbiology #WomenInSTEM #ScientificCommunity #BeyondTheBench #PhDJourney #ProfessionalDevelopment