Great and rounded leaders had great mentors. Aristotle mentored Alexander the Great; Belgian cycling legend Eddy Merckx mentored Lance Armstrong, and in business, Freddie Laker mentored Sir Richard Branson. And so, a mentor has become a trusted friend, a counselor, a teacher…a person who is prepared to impart wisdom and plain common sense.
In many businesses for the last twenty years there has been a practice of in-house mentoring or peer coaching. New employees come under the guiding wing of a reasonably senior and seasoned person to enable them to embark upon learning journeys and voyages of experience. Today many senior executives have part-time mentors who may embark upon programs to improve shortfall skills or may act as advisors and counselors.
Increasingly organizations understand the value of mentor-protégé relationships to speed change in processes and behavior, to develop conscious competence, and to develop value-added knowledge, skills and behaviors. Examples of this can be seen at all levels. Car mechanics are mentored in customer-facing skills, electrical engineers are mentored in customer-facing team skills, and sales people are mentored in go-to-market strategic skills.
