We’ve talked about it before – mentoring is no longer hierarchical. What is important is the experience your mentor has to offer you, not their status or job title.
Everyone can and should be a mentor at every stage of their career. In fact, your perfect mentor can be your peer – someone only a little ahead of you on their career journey. You could even mentor multiple people at once, this could be done through group mentoring which we’ve seen huge success with at Mentorloop.
Group mentoring is an innovative way to connect members of your organisation in more meaningful ways. It also contributes to an increasingly vibrant culture in your workplace, where your people will “realize greater productivity, enhanced career growth and overall improvement in employee performance.”
Group mentoring is where one mentor oversees multiple mentees or where one mentee has multiple mentors. Mentoring groups effectively strengthen the relationships between all participants involved and encourage a natural exchange of information in a team-based environment. This type of mentoring allows different ideas to be shared among the members of the program and provides unique advice to the mentees.
When successfully facilitated, group members can feel like they can speak up, expose their vulnerabilities to one another, suggest ideas without fear of retribution. Creating a “sense of togetherness while also encouraging people to take a chance.”
Smarter, Faster, Better – The Secrets of Being Productive by Charles Duhigg, 2016.
Learn more about group mentoring in our comprehensive guide.
Group Mentoring at NAWO
NAWO is an incorporated not-for-profit association driven by the vision of a world where women and men can be equally represented and valued at every level. Through their mentoring program, they want to inspire women to take the lead.
NAWO aims to inspire and support women to reach their full potential and achieve their chosen career goals. Joining our community at Mentorloop, they connect women in leadership positions throughout operations roles into meaningful career-advancing relationships.
They have some of Australia’s largest organisations in their membership; BP, Nissan, NewsCorp, Rio Tinto, BHP, Orica, McCain, Australia Post, and Coca-Cola Amatil.
As their mentoring program got underway the results were immediate and positive. NAWO’s mentors and mentees were making the most out of their groups and were reported to be tracking well towards meeting their mentoring goals. The feedback from participants was also incredibly encouraging and empowering.
“They are a group of seven fabulous women, each with their own distinct strengths and personalities that can support, stretch and encourage each other, as everyone is anchored in a shared experience.”
Diana Hall, NAWO mentor
Read more about Diana Hall, Head of Operations at Castrol ANZ
What does successful group mentoring look like?
Like any mentoring relationship, it all starts with defining your goals and purpose, and then setting expectations within your group.
Early mentoring sessions will often involve getting to know each other and learning about each other’s strengths and characteristics. Mentoring sessions can then be run around defining goals and determining what success means to your mentees. It’s essential as a mentor to create a safe space for your members, so they feel comfortable and open with their fellow members to share new ideas and vulnerabilities, and support one another to help them reach new heights in their career.
Ready to kick start group mentoring initiatives at your organisation? Get started with Mentorloop Pro today (no credit card required) or book a demo with one of our mentoring experts!
