In a time of incredible change, professional disruption, and overwhelming loneliness, mentorship can anchor us. The connection and meaning it can bring through rapport and clarity of purpose is critical to supporting people through turmoil, and it can strengthen relationships across one’s organization.

Without the limiting factor of geographic proximity, you can expand your pool to make great mentor/mentee matches that prioritize shared interests and values over logistics. You might find that by embracing the digital tools you have, you can build an even more robust mentorship program than you had before.

Building Rapport – Mutual trust and respect, a shared understanding of one another’s values and perspectives, and strong communication.

  • Take a holistic mentoring approach. Acknowledging how much our personal and professional lives are intersecting is a powerful basis for any mentoring relationship.
  • Ditch group events in favor of one-on-one relationships. Investing time in meaningful, deep connections with individuals one-on-one can be a refreshing change and a chance for more authentic connection.
  • Offer multiple modalities for connection. Provide guidelines and options for communication, then let mentoring pairs try and see what works for them.
  • Embrace the advantages of remote connection. Remote mentoring can promote equity and build relationships free from the biases we face in person.

Clarity of Purpose – Infusing a clear sense of purpose in the mentor/mentee relationship creates excitement and momentum to solidify the relationship.

  • Create benchmarks and celebrate wins. Mentoring pairs should set and check-in on goals, and should create a public or semi-public forum to share progress.
  • Ground mentoring in organizational values. Grounding the overall goals of the mentoring program in your company’s values in virtual mentoring can help strengthen a shared corporate culture even when employees don’t have a shared office.
  • Provide consistency and structure. Having a structured starting place will often lead to interesting, specific, and relevant discussions.
  • Collaborate in real time. Don’t just talk about goals; work on them together.

We encourage you to see mentorship as a powerful tool that can liberate you and empower your workforce to support one another — and we hope you find purpose in doing so.

 

Reference:
Harvard Business Review (2021, May 12) by Marianna Tu, Michael LiWhat Great Mentorship Looks Like in a Hybrid Workplace?