Struggling to retain staff? You need to mentor them.
I moved from Perth to Sydney for work at the bright-eyed age of 25.
It was my first manager role.
A month after arriving, I found myself in the boardroom on the top floor, which looked out directly over Circular Quay. What a cracking view. Except I was staring at a room full of Senior Execs and Directors. I was first presenter of the day. They were all staring back.
How did it go? It went … okay. I don’t remember much, except being a little cheeky to someone who questioned the ability of the team I’d inherited. Afterwards, I was approached by one of the older guys (he had a PhD in mathematics, so was probably fairly smart). He smiled and said, “Next time, slow down when you present. And lose that corporate mask you put on today. Show us the real you. Your style has promise but it needs work.”
That man wasn’t my direct manager but chose to help me anyway. He was one of a handful of mentors I’ve had in my career. He never sugar-coated his feedback. In the years that followed he provided some of the most helpful career and personal advice I’ve ever received.
In time (meaning decades, not merely a few years) I became experienced enough to mentor others myself. I discovered that to do it well, you need to put in effort. Some thought-leaders (ahem, cough) say that being a mentor is totally separate to your role as manager. Not for me: mentoring is an important piece of your overall management pie. And a yummy piece at that. When you wear the mentor hat, your focus is on the individual’s growth and development. It involves sharing your knowledge and experience. The aim? To help that team member reach their full potential. It’s a deeper, more personal level of engagement.
My tips for being a good mentor:
👉 It doesn’t mean you’re a cheer leader. There’s no rah-rah. You’re not their best friend.
👉 Good Mentors tell you the cold, hard truth. They challenge you. Tough-love, in some ways.
👉 If you don’t care about the person, don’t bother mentoring them.
Two useful sentences for your mentor kit-bag:
👉 You’re good but you could be better. Want to know how?
👉 How honest do you want me to be?
When you mentor as part of managing, it’s far more likely you’ll keep hold of good staff. Your team culture will improve. Plus you’ll drive innovation and creativity. Which will see productivity lift … and what manager doesn’t love to hear that?
