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to have already “walked the path” of the mentee. Spend time with them on a regular basis. Find out
what specifically they would like support with. Focus on being a positive guiding influence. On
encouraging them to look at situations from different perspectives. On offering non-threatening
critique and challenge. Work on building their confidence. Share knowledge, experiences, and
perspectives that can help them find creative solutions to problems, make decisions, and shape their
career. If your organization has a mentoring program, find out how it works. If it doesn’t, set one up
within your unit or function.

4. One-dimensional view of development? Think 70:20:10. Research tells us that around 70% of
learning comes from practice—from on-the-job experience. From completing assignments and tasks
that are challenging. About 20% comes from the feedback, coaching, and mentoring we get from
others. And 10% comes from formal, instructional activities such as training programs, reading books,
etc. Help others create development plans that are three-dimensional. For example, if someone is
looking to develop leadership capability, you might encourage them to read a biography, attend a
course. Offer to support them finding a mentor, someone whose leadership they admire. Someone
they could study, spend time with, listen to, and learn from. And help them find opportunities to apply
their learning in real situations and reflect on what they learned from it. Why is this three-dimensional
approach so important? Research indicates that the learning that occurs outside formal classes and
courses is generally more frequent and effective than its formal counterpart.

Want to learn more? Take a deep dive…

Fast Company Staff. (2005, May 2). Learn more now. Fast Company.
Gallo, A. (2011, February 1). Demystifying mentoring. Harvard Business Review Blog Network.
Gallo, C. (2013, June 21). Seven ways to inspire employees to love their jobs. Forbes.

Gardner, J. (2011, August 31). Keep your team by keeping them learning. Business Insider.

5. Want to encourage self-awareness? Give and facilitate feedback. Most people are motivated by
feedback for three reasons. First, it helps them understand how they’re doing against their goals,
what they’re doing well, what they need to improve, and how they’re impacting others. It enables
them to make midcourse corrections. Second, it shows them what they are doing is important and
that you’re there to help. Third, it’s not the “gotcha” game of negative and critical feedback after the
fact. If there are negatives, they need to know them as soon as possible. Encourage people to get
feedback from multiple sources, including you, on what matters for success in their job. Formal 360
feedback is a great place to start. If they have direct reports and peers, recommend asking their
associates for comments on what they should stop, start, and continue doing to be more successful.
Be straight with your people. Give as much real-time, accurate, and balanced feedback as you can.

6. Want to encourage personal responsibility? Coach. Coaching puts an individual firmly in the
driver’s seat of their own development. And, it requires your letting go of control and resisting the urge
to “tell” them what and how to develop. As a coach, your role isn’t to know the right answers, it’s to
know the right questions. Questions that are thoughtfully constructed with the aim of facilitating a
person’s thinking around their development. Questions that help them gain clarity on where they’re
heading, “What’s your goal?” That encourage them to explore where they are in relation to their goal,

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