Mentoring as a Leadership Role

One of the responsibilities of leadership that leaders sometimes minimize is the role of the leader as a coach, mentor and developer of people. For leaders who are single-focused on getting the job done, all of this “people stuff” can seem like a distraction at best. However, as Jack Welch, the former CEO of GE said: “Before you are a leader, success is all about yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” As you reflect on goals for yourself, we encourage you to consider not only plans for your own growth, but also how you are going to support the development of your team.

With everything you invariably have on your plate, and prioritization a necessity for success, it is a legitimate question to ask why it’s important to focus on developing people. Much research has been done on this topic, and it really comes down to three things:

In the short term, people whose development is encouraged are more engaged. The Gallup organization has done extensive research on employee engagement, and found that there is a strong correlation between people who answer positively to the question “Is there someone at work who encourages my development?” and those with high engagement. Engagement turns into productivity and results.

In the medium term, the payoff to the manager is that people who have been successfully coached and mentored develop the ability to do more independently, without as much direction or guidance from their manager. They will develop greater comfort in making decisions, and initiating action to achieve goals.

Over the long term, organizations with a developmental focus develop bench strength and are able to promote internally. They develop a strong culture with people who understand the business from different perspectives. They are able to capitalize on business opportunities because they have capable people ready to take on a new challenge.

Over the years, we have worked with many leaders who have a strong focus on coaching and developing others, and have seen their best practices. Here are the ones that stand out and are a good reminder for all of us.

1. They tune into people in a meaningful way. In coaching, if I ask a client who is adept at developing people to describe her team, she will share very nuanced perspectives on each person, and will often be tuned into their untapped potential. “He was on two assignments where he wasn’t a strong contributor so has gotten a bit of a bad reputation. They were both led in a fairly structured, top-down way. But I know he really thrives in an environment where he can be creative and has other people to brainstorm with. When he can do that, he comes up with amazing ideas that others don’t see. There’s a new initiative coming up that would be a good fit for his subject matter expertise, and could use his creative thinking, though he’ll need to be able to influence others to hear his ideas. I think he could really thrive there, particularly if I support him in developing his influencing skills.”
2. They think as strategically about their team as they do the business. Leaders who are strong people developers can see the business years down the road, and anticipate the talent and capabilities they’re going to need. They develop strategies for developing the people who will serve as the next generation of leaders. “We have a new product that we’re going to be launching in 12 months. I want to put Susie in a role where she can learn enough that she can take over the product six months after the launch. She’s not ready yet, but if the product manager mentors her for the next year she should be ready. That will enable the product manager to move onto a global role where he can broaden his perspective and understanding of the emerging markets that will be core to our business in the next 5 years.”
3. They spend time on it. Strong people developers will hold one-on-ones with their team members on a regular basis, and don’t cancel them when “something else” comes up. They see them as equally important as everything else on their calendar. In their one-on-ones they will resist the temptation to focus only on immediate issues, and will spend time talking about fit for role, performance trends, and career direction. And they do this throughout the year, not just during the annual mandatory performance management conversation. “I’m going to do one-on-ones this month, checking in on how everyone is doing. There’s been a lot of change and I want to get a true pulse of the team. I plan to ask how they’re feeling about their work, and what they see themselves doing in 6 – 12 months. I also have some ideas to check out about how they may be able to contribute to a new initiative that is coming up.”

So, as you look forward, how could you enhance your focus on developing your team? What commitments are you prepared to make to both deliver results for your organization and develop your team?