5 Reasons Why Modern Business Leaders Must Act as Mentors

This article will teach us why modern business leaders must act as mentors or why they need to take up mentoring role as part of today’s workplace practice. In the contemporary world, leadership goes far beyond the traditional definition of what a leader should be. As they often say, modern problems require modern solutions. So, as a leader, to solve the modern problems of high employee turnover and low engagement, you need to step up your leadership game.

Going ahead, we would all agree with the fact that the corporate world has been transformed in unimaginable ways over the years. Parallel to that, the dynamics of leadership and what employees want from their employers have also changed. Hence, organizations are more employee-centric than ever before.

In this bid to be employee-centric, organizations are now increasingly introducing mentoring programs. Looking at the statistics, more than 84 percent of Fortune 500 Companies have mentoring programs for employees. Besides, all the Fortune 50 Companies have mentoring arrangements. So, for sure, there is something about mentoring programs in the workplace that has got organizations interested.

What are these benefits and why are mentoring programs becoming a part and parcel of the modern workplace? Let’s find out in this blog! Without further ado, let us shed light on why modern employers need to take up the role of mentoring. You can see this as 5 Incredible Benefits of Mentoring In The Workplace.

5 Reasons Why Modern Business Leaders Must Act as Mentors

#1. Mentoring promotes natural learning

As an employer, you need to be aware of the fact that employees have massive expectations of learning from their organizations. They see workplace learning as a vital aspect of their professional growth. Having said that, when employees get a fair share of learning opportunities, they remain engaged committed and put in the extra effort.

On the other hand, when employees do not get learning opportunities, they do not see their organizations as adding value to their career growth. So, that is where disengagement comes into the picture. Hence, as an employer, it is essential to foster an environment of natural learning. For that, acting as a mentor is your best bid. When you act as a mentor, you promote a natural learning environment.

To substantiate, as a mentor, you inspire greater confidence and cooperation in your employees that they can walk up to you anytime to learn something meaningful. Also, as a mentor, you offer hands-on learning experiences to your employees in terms of quality traits, hard skills, and soft skills. All in all, in a workplace where bosses act as mentors, there is a conducive working environment with little reluctance among employees to advocate for their learning needs.

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#2. Mentoring helps employees set and achieve goals

Bosses talk about targets while mentors are more than happy to help their employees set and achieve their goals. Having said that, it is important for you to not be a boss at all times and switch to being a mentor when needed.

If your employees see you as a mentor, they will perceive you as being far more approachable than a boss. Hence, whenever they face issues realizing their potential, setting goals, and working in the direction of achieving their goals, they can walk up to you. This is exactly how being a mentor can be so much more impactful than being a boss. This will be your best move to get the best out of your most talented employees who would of course, need directions from you.

Related: 5 Ways Employers can be Employee-Centric

#3. Mentoring fosters trusted relationships in the workplace

We often overlook the importance of trust in the workplace. However, little do we know that trust can do wonders in the workplace. To substantiate, as per Harvard Business Review, workplace trust can enhance the overall productivity of employees by 50 percent. Moreover, trust in the workplace can increase workplace engagement by 76 percent. Isn’t that something amazing to know?

Having said that, mentoring arrangements in the workplace are likely to encourage greater trust in the workplace than in boss-employee relationships. To explain, when you go the extra mile to offer learning opportunities and value to your employees in person, they will respond with greater affection and trust. Would you not trust someone who is willing to take out time to help you learn more on a personal level? Similarly, your employees would love that too.

Eventually, based on this trust, they will respond with greater commitment, diligence, and engagement. Also, because of this trust, there will be lesser burnout and stress among your employees. Hence, you should always be more than happy to offer your valuable mentorship.

Read: Business Mentoring for Entrepreneurs in Nigeria

#4. Mentoring gives employees a sense of inclusion

Would your employees give their best when they feel excluded? Would you want to give your best in a place where you feel a sense of exclusion? Of course, not because inclusion is a very basic human expectation.

Having said that, another great benefit of mentorship programs in the workplace is that they will offer a pleasant sense of inclusion to the employees. When employees participate in mentorship programs and interact with their seniors on a personal level where superiors share practical knowledge, employees will feel included. So, if we look at the benefits of mentoring programs in the workplace from a broader perspective, inclusion will be at the heart of the mentoring arrangements.

#5. Mentoring can replace training modules

On average, companies spend around 1300 USD on the training of an employee per annum. So, if your organization has more than 100 employees, certainly a large part of your operating expenses goes into employee training. But what if I tell you that a part of these expenses can be saved?

Yes, when there are mentoring programs in place offering real-time experiential learning, a host of classroom training modules would not be needed. For instance, why would you want a classroom learning module on leadership development when organizational leaders can share their perspective of leadership as mentors to their subordinates?

This is just one example of how paid training modules or sessions can rather be replaced with mentoring programs. Not only does it save a part of the operational costs but also promotes greater employee engagement. So, it’s a win-win situation for all, isn’t it?

Wrapping up: Modern Business Leaders Must Act as Mentors

There is a lot more to mentoring than just learning or employee development. Mentoring can help you create a working culture that is laden with high engagement, enthusiasm and, more importantly, trust. So, it is high time that entrepreneurs and employers let the mentors in them take over. Of course, given your ample experience and vision, you will become a great mentor!

For sure, mentoring is one of the best ways for organizations to be employee-centric in contemporary times. The whole ideation of mentoring is best aligned with the interest of both employees and employers.