Creating a Mentorship Program at Work

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗢𝗻𝗲-𝗼𝗻-𝗢𝗻𝗲𝘀? . . . 💫When you become a manager or leader, your responsibility shifts. Your role isn’t to maximize the potential for the work; it’s to maximize the potential of those around you.   💫Having one-on-one meetings is an excellent chance to have routine discussions about professional growth, and if conducted effectively, these regular check-ins can increase engagement, accomplishments, and employee retention. Additionally, one-on-ones serve as the basis for top-performing teams.   🚩Yet so few leaders fulfill this core responsibility, and no one should consider themselves a leader if they can’t commit time and effort to improve the abilities of their team members.   👉Recommendations for effective one-on-ones:   ✅Prepare Well: Go over previous notes or, if first time, request they fill out a survey with open-ended questions, complete an online tool to identify their strengths, or use other templates to gain some insight before the meeting.   ✅Proper Schedule: Ensure they have proper time to prepare and the meeting doesn’t conflict with a hectic or stressful time for them.   ✅Use Open Space: Sometimes, being away from the workplace can lighten the mood and improve the conversation.   ✅Set the Agenda Beforehand: Facilitate the conversation to stay on focus.   ✅Let the Team Member Lead: Don’t deliver a monologue; this approach isn’t very effective. Instead, let team members set the tone. Remember, it’s only about them!   ✅Encourage Self-Awareness: Help them become more introspective by asking the right questions.   ✅Be Open-Minded: Their view of their future may differ from what you think is best for them. Don’t let your experiences and biases overtake their passions and ambitions.   ✅Pay Attention to Their Well-Being: Team member well-being may not be tended to, which can impact their ability to consider signing up for a mentorship program or training opportunity.   ✅Build Trust: Managers must recognize their limitations and provide accurate information to build trust and connection with team members and create a supportive work environment.   ✅Be an Active Listener: Pay attention, ask questions, summarize, and ensure no distractions!   ✅Take Notes: Keeps track of the conversation for revisiting progress in the next session. But don’t violate the previous point! Write notes when appropriate or after the meeting so as not to distract.   ✅Revisit Previous Goals: Did the team member pursue mentorship or certification? How are you supporting?   ✅End on a Positive Note: Motivate them at the end of every meeting and pave the way for a positive working environment!   🔥It requires dedication and focus to initiate discussions on team member growth during one-on-one meetings. However, these personalized discussions are invaluable for creating customized learning and development plans that can significantly enhance and nurture talent!

The best mentors won't find you, You have to find them. My core values for career development: • Ownership - Taking responsibility for your growth • Courage - Moving through discomfort for what matters • Reciprocity - Creating value, not just taking it What I can't stand is seeing people wait for career opportunities while mistaking passivity for patience. Here's how to ask potential mentors (without feeling awkward): 1/ Be direct about your goals Don't beat around the bush. Tell them exactly what you need. "I was promoted to senior engineer and want to level up my systems architecture skills. Would you be willing to mentor me?" 2/ Tell them why you chose them People appreciate knowing what drew you to them specifically, showing you’ve done your homework. "I'm reaching out because of your experience leading engineering teams at high-growth startups." 3/ Start with a small ask Don't request a long-term commitment right away. "Would you be open to a 30-minute video call to connect?" 4/ Be gracious if rejected Sometimes people don't have bandwidth. That's okay. "I understand you have significant demands on your time." 5/ Ask for alternatives If they decline, their network might be your next opportunity. "Is there anyone you'd recommend I connect with instead?" 6/ Approach with the right mindset Confidence in your goals. Respect for their time. Gratitude for their expertise. I've seen too many careers stall because of fear of rejection. But I promise: The temporary discomfort of reaching out is nothing compared to the permanent pain of career stagnation. Stop waiting for the perfect mentor to appear. Make the first move today. What strategies have worked for you when finding mentors? Image Credit: GraciousQuotes --- Follow me, tap the (🔔) Omar Halabieh for daily Leadership and Career posts.

“I feel this in my bones.” Managers, if you want your team to feel valued and supported (and not comment or think the above words instead), think of your 1:1 meetings as how you can use it for your team member’s benefit. Here’s a few ways to do that: • Timing: Weekly 1:1s (or regular pre- and post-shift check-ins) can create consistency, showing your team that they’ll have dedicated time with you, instead of stretching them out to quarterly, or even bi-weekly (“Is this a meeting week?”) Plus, regular check-ins allow for more efficient use of your time and theirs. There’s less “quick questions” and door knocks when your team can count on getting your attention. • Starting Right: Be on time and avoid last-minute cancellations or lengthy delays unless it’s a true emergency. Seemingly “small” actions like showing up on time and genuinely asking how they’re doing send signals - good ones. And when your team member shares something they’re struggling with, take a moment to truly listen, rather than brushing it off with “Yeah, just how it is now. Anyway…” • Who Goes First: Give them the floor at the start. Your team member may have pressing questions or issues they need answers to, and letting them go first makes sure they can walk away from the 1:1 feeling more confident on next steps than when they started. Your team needs to know you’re present and listening - because while it’s great to have a good back (and front) 9, your team might just be nodding along, waiting to finally get answers to the questions they’ve had for days. #meeting #manager #managertips

The best coaches guide you *and* give you tools and time to practice on your own. Rocky had a great coach—and he spent time running those stairs solo. The same can be true for how we think about driving growth for employees in hybrid work environments. Coaching/development is another one of the biggest questions leaders have about hybrid and remote work—“How can I be sure people are growing if they aren’t learning by watching others?” It is a reasonable question. The challenges of creating effective mentorships in a remote setting are clear: 61% of employees feel remote work limits their development opportunities, and 35% are less likely to seek mentorship (Harvard Business Review & Wellable). With intentional strategies, however, growth doesn’t need to take a backseat in hybrid workplaces: 🚀Launch official, yet flexible mentorship programs.  While the ‘learn by watching’ approach is ok, it’s even better when we intentionally match mentors/buddies who feel accountable for helping someone grow. Make the matches official, set goals for meetings, and then let people decide when and how they connect. People may choose to meet in an office, over coffee, or on a phone call. The location matters less than the intention. (Yes, it’s even ok if people paired together aren’t in the same location!) To get them started, you can offer suggested topics to guide discussions. 🦾Introduce AI leadership coaches.  AI-driven coaches can offer personalized, 24/7 support, helping with growth on both in-office and remote days. At @Rising Team, we’ve built aRTi, our personalized AI Leadership Coach that combines science-backed best practices with unique insights about each individual from their Rising Team sessions. It means you can always get advice from someone who knows you and your team, even if you are remote.  🪜Encourage career vision discussions.  Help employees outline long-term career goals and then connect near-term projects to their future aspirations. Once they understand how the projects they are working on today fill gaps they have towards their longer-term goals, people become much more energized. They create their own Rocky “stair-running” moments where they don’t need a coach to help them make progress. Overcoming development challenges in a hybrid setting happens most effectively when people are given the right tools and environment to grow on their own—kind of like a flower in a pot. When we provide the right soil, water, and light conditions, people are able to thrive both with support and on their own. For more ideas on managing teams in a hybrid work environment, download Rising Team’s’ free eBook on Maximizing Hybrid Work Success: https://lnkd.in/g9ditxXA #HybridWork #EmployeeDevelopment — This is the third post in a series on maximizing success in hybrid and distributed work. Check back on Wednesday for more insights on team building and connection in hybrid work environments.

I've talked to dozens of PX and L&D leaders who are struggling to up-level their managers. The deeper problem lies in this endless feedback loop👇 It's not fair (or accurate) to say "manager training never works." We have to ask WHY it isn't working. This is what we've heard from chatting with some of the brightest CPOs, L&D leaders, and HRBPs this year: 🏃♂️ "Managers are too busy." Great learning programs seem to always fight against time and bandwidth. While many companies say they prioritize learning, they're not always able to create environments where there's time for both driving outcomes and growth. 🤷♀️ "Content is hard to apply." When managers do attend a training, they often leave with more questions than answers. Many skills like feedback, expectation setting, and psychological safety aren't absorbed by reading but by doing. This can leave managers with the impression of wasted time or confusion. 🙊 Manager don't ask for help. When managers run into problems covered by the training, they don't always ask their bosses or HR for help. They may hope the issue blows over or that they're simply overreacting. (OR lots of managers go to HR, who don't have the bandwidth to properly support them!) 💥 Problems worsen, and more training is the solution! When trainings fail to stick and HR fails to catch problems in time, these issues blow out of proportion. A failure to give feedback may evolve into a performance improvement plan. HR is left to be clean-up crew, and told to do more trainings. It's a frustrating problem wheel, and it only builds on itself. The answer isn't more of the same training––PX leaders have to smash the wheel. 🛑 So how do you break this cycle? The answer is better manager development programs, that challenge each of the problems in the wheel. This might look like: 💡 Context-based learning in the flow of work 💡 Bite-sized, actionable learning modules 💡 Peer-based mentorship and discussions 💡 User-focused learning design and programs 💡 Executive-backed learning time and support 💡 Diverse avenues for manager support (not just HR!) 💡 Better data and analytics on what managers are struggling with Naming and breaking this cycle requires a lot of creativity and iteration. It's not enough to design the same modules for diverse populations of leaders, and that's why L&D leaders have one of the hardest jobs out there. But the effort is worth it. It's the difference between pouring L&D budget down the drain and growing managers into the leaders your organization needs. How have you noticed this cycle affecting your L&D programs? What cycle-breakers have you found? Let us know in the comments! #learning #learninganddevelopment #hr #management #training

Trust doesn't come from your accomplishments. It comes from quiet moves like these: For years I thought I needed more experience, achievements, and wins to earn trust. But real trust isn't built through credentials. It's earned in small moments, consistent choices, and subtle behaviors that others notice - even when you think they don't. Here are 15 quiet moves that instantly build trust 👇🏼 1. You close open loops, catching details others miss ↳ Send 3-bullet wrap-ups after meetings. Reliability builds. 2. You name tension before it gets worse ↳ Name what you sense: "The energy feels different today" 3. You speak softly in tense moments ↳ Lower your tone slightly when making key points. Watch others lean in. 4. You stay calm when others panic, leading with stillness ↳ Take three slow breaths before responding. Let your calm spread. 5. You make space for quiet voices ↳ Ask "What perspective haven't we heard yet?", then wait. 6. You remember and reference what others share ↳ Keep a Key Details note for each relationship in your phone. 7. You replace "but" with "and" to keep doors open ↳ Practice "I hear you, and here's what's possible" 8. You show up early with presence and intention ↳ Close laptop, turn phone face down 2 minutes before others arrive. 9. You speak up for absent team members ↳ Start with "X made an important point about this last week" 10. You turn complaints into possibility ↳ Replace "That won't work" with "Let's experiment with..." 11. You build in space for what really matters ↳ Block 10 min buffers between meetings. Others will follow. 12. You keep small promises to build trust bit by bit ↳ Keep a "promises made" note in your phone. Track follow-through. 13. You protect everyone's time, not just your own ↳ End every meeting 5 minutes early. Set the standard. 14. You ask questions before jumping to fixes ↳ Lead with "What have you tried so far?" before suggesting solutions. 15. You share credit for wins and own responsibility for misses ↳ Use "we" for successes, "I" for challenges. Watch trust grow. Your presence speaks louder than your resume. Trust is earned in these quiet moments. Which move will you practice first? Share below 👇🏼 -- ♻️ Repost to help your network build authentic trust without the struggle 🔔 Follow me Dr. Carolyn Frost for more strategies on leading with quiet impact

I recently changed my mind. If you follow me, you know I’m against highly selective emerging leader programs. In general, dumping time and $ into selectivity is a bad investment: 1. You spend your budget on I/O psychologists and assessments to eliminate interested talent (when you could just use that $ to include more people). 2. You end up with a smaller pipeline of prepared leaders. 3. You may even turn off interested talent by rejecting them. But, but, but…Here’s a notable exception from a mid-size pharma company’s sales department: You create a two-stage program that funnels talent toward leadership: 1️⃣ You offer a broad aspiring leader program. This is for anyone and everyone interested in becoming a leader. There are no qualifications, no screening, and no selection. The goal here is to show ICs what it’s like to be a leader and to train them in critical self-leadership skills like Growth mindset, resilience, and EQ. 2️⃣ You create a selective emerging leader program. This program is much more selective and for pre-identified talent. In other words, this is the group of people who has been through the first level of training AND still wants to be a leader AND is identified as high potential by their manager (I won’t get into detail on HOW to go about selection in this post). --- Most companies are choosing one of the above. Or creating one program that falls somewhere between the two. But, if you can do both, the advantages are massive! Your broader program: - gives people the chance to opt out of people leadership - opens up a high quality development opportunity to all of your ICs - creates a natural funnel toward that more selective program Your more selective program: - will be full of people who you know are willing to step into a people leader role - can tackle higher-level topics assuming the baseline of skill development in your previous program - can replace your first-line leader turnover I’m open to more selective emerging leader programs, but only if they occur after a broader development opportunity (preferably for ALL ICs). I just don’t want to see companies screen out on potentially great leaders! P.S. Follow me, Kevin Kruse, for more leadership development posts like this one.

A pretty effective recruiting strategy I've found is to reach out to fairly senior experts in a discipline that would be a rung or two more qualified than your open position and ask them if they know any amazing people in their network who might be a fit. It does two things: 1. It typically connects you to people who are generous, curious, and want to see others around them succeed. These people might be good candidates for senior roles when they come available, and they're typically just good people to know. 2. It connects you to candidates who are often not looking for a new role but come with a built-in backdoor reference and you have a perfect icebreaker, "X person said you are very talented, so I'd like to meet you."

Want to Build a High-Trust Culture? Think Like a Spy Handler. I used to recruit terrorists. Now I recruit trust. Turns out, the tools aren’t all that different. Whether you’re building loyalty in a war zone or in a boardroom, the same rule applies: People don’t follow policies. They follow relationships. When I was in the field, every asset had a story. A fear. A hope. A reason to say yes—and a dozen reasons not to. My job was to figure out what they really needed. And build enough trust that they’d risk their lives to talk to me. Now? The same skills I used to flip foreign agents now help leaders build cultures where people feel seen, trusted, and empowered. Want to retain your top talent? Start acting like a handler: ✔️ Build rapport before you need it ✔️ Ask better questions—and actually listen ✔️ Pay attention to what’s not being said ✔️ Make people feel safe being honest ✔️ Use empathy as your primary access point ✔️ Ditch the ego—you're not the mission, they are ✔️ Stop weaponizing “feedback” if you haven’t earned the right to give it ✔️ And never underestimate the power of a well-timed “I see you, and I’ve got your back.” Because if you don’t know what motivates your people, someone else eventually will. Trust is your early-warning system. Your culture is your counterintelligence program. Trust isn’t built in all-hands meetings or quarterly check-ins. It’s built in the quiet, consistent moments. Start by asking yourself: What does this person need to feel seen, heard, and safe? Then? Deliver. Like your mission depends on it. #Leadership #WorkplaceCulture #PsychologicalSafety #HumanRiskManagement #InsiderThreat #SpycraftForBusiness #EmployeeRetention #Motivation