From the course: Reverse Mentorship Essentials

Address your fears

- So this might be the first time the organization has tried reverse mentoring, or they might have run programs before. You might be feeling a little nervous or afraid of judgment, that's completely normal. A few ideas to help you get comfortable. If you're unclear about the intentions of the program, or what your objectives should be, speak to the program lead to clarify. Use the cohort of mentors that you are part of to bounce ideas off and to role play. Practice how you will share your message. Is there an individual who has been a mentor previously that you could speak to to get advice? And most importantly, lean into the relationship with your mentee, and share, as you feel comfortable to, how you're feeling about the relationship. You may be surprised to find that they're feeling exactly the same way. It's essential that you both start the relationship with the intention of being vulnerable and courageous. As we've talked about, establish clear boundaries and ways of working, which will allow you to lean into this experience with vulnerability. Psychological safety is paramount, not only to you, but to the mentee too. You may not hold the traditional power with this relationship, but to the leader, they're putting themselves out there to be judged for their apparent lack of knowledge in this subject matter area. So you really do hold the power to influence and cultivate an understanding of difference. A great example of both the mentor and the mentee having to lean into something quite challenging was the experience of John's paternity leave. John was from the UK and a parent to three children. He didn't take paternity leave with his first or second child. The fact that the C-suite didn't take paternity leave made him feel as though whilst there was a policy in place, the social norms existed, which meant it could be a career-limiting move. And yet he decided to take leave with his third child. When he returned to the office, teammates made disparaging comments towards him as he assumed a non-gender typical role. John really struggled to share this with his mentee, as this leader did not take maternity leave, how would he take the feedback, that as he didn't lead by example, it set the tone that this was not acceptable? Will John feel further ostracized when he raised it, they had discussed some wider, less personal organization issues and established a good level of psychological safety. And then at their fourth session, John broached the subject. His mentee was extremely receptive, and that leader realized that he needed to lead by example, ensuring that men had permission to take their lead. John's boldness in addressing his fears and his leader's response shows that when you take bold action in spite of fear, change can happen. Think now on your mentorship. Is there something that you'd really like to address but you are afraid of? After establishing psychological safety, you can explore these areas further.

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