Most mentoring exercises assume a role of an experienced individual who helps the younger counterpart to acquire knowledge or a particular kind of skill. Reverse mentoring, as the name suggests, is the other way round. A concept which is widely being accepted abroad, but yet to gain visibility in the mainstream Indian work force which still follows the traditional corporate flow.
Reverse-mentorship is an un-conventional company trend that involves an older manager meeting with a younger subordinate to learn about technologies and skills such as social media, e-commerce, to name a few, and keeping up with the current trends. What differentiates it from the usual mentorship is that it need not be formal. The whole schemes is to get-together with the younger people from different backgrounds and have an idea exchange which is not restricted to just the corners of office.
Jack Welch, Chief Executive of General Electric embarked this idea when he ordered his employees to mix up with the younger mentors to learn internet and web which have become an integral part of every business. The exercise turned out to be a brilliant idea exchanging platform-cum an informal training which got the younger crowd visibility among their counterparts.
In the India of 21st century, business dynamics are changing, all the more because the median age of an Indian is somewhere between 25 and 30. They are the ones who are driving internet and mobile penetration and, actively becoming a part of an ever-changing technology arena. This youth is the driving force of the economy and consumerism. Evidently, those who do not catch up with this pace will be wiped out.
We live in an age where news reaches us in split seconds through a mobile app or social media and not TV. Clearly, to become an active part of this trend, one needs to be involved in it to understand it better and evolve with it. Just the way we learnt to manage our tasks on Microsoft office from organizing them through piles of files, more than a decade ago. And, who would be the better than the GenY to mentor us in it? While we continue to grasp and integrate newer technologies in our lives, we are still away from being the specialists in a lot of things, making the need for reverse mentorship even more significant.
Here are a few positive changes that ‘reverse mentorship’ can lead to, for both traditional leaders and the millennial.
Beyond the boardroom: The whole nature of reverse mentoring is informal, thus defying the tone of traditional board room meetings. The nature of such meetings is more on idea exchange and less based on authority, which makes it more engaging. Such a practice helps cultivate flexibility and trust among employees besides encouraging them to venture into things that may not be a part of routine job but essential for self value addition.
Bridges the proverbial generation gap: While the vertical hierarchy exists and is essential for a career growth, it must co-exist with a horizontal order where all are equal and the fact that everyone needs to learn new things is continuously is accepted. This unconventional sort of a parallel bridges the generation gap and helps creating harmony among colleagues.
The social context: No one can discount the relevance of virtual or the internet world for any business. A larger part of your TG could be there online talking about your business and you can’t miss an opportunity to engage with them in real time. Empowering the TG increases stickiness to the brand and that’s where the social context plays a very major role. That speaks volumes about this sudden arrival of brands on social media. With the reverse mentorship, the lesser informed traditional leaders can take cues from this trend and comprehend it for their betterment by implementing new technology through their computers and phones.
Cultivating future leaders: Amidst all this, a business owner or a top level executive, with being opened to get mentored, throws open a door of opportunities for future leaders, looking beyond any kind of bias. An open exchange of ideas ensures a quick resolution to a constant problem or a crisis that the senior management may be dealing with.
Broadening the learning curve: Learning is a never ending process. Keeping pace with the latest trends has become the need of the hour. Truly the learning curve has to be broadened to accommodate many new things for a better productivity and efficiency.
One may begin to wonder on the need for Reverse Mentoring when a more experienced top-level-management is enough to train the new ones. But then, the term training and learning should frequently undergo a paradigm shift to accommodate new ideas, from different backgrounds, age groups, exposures and experiences, only then a company can work holistically. Being a part of a reverse mentoring relationship is a great way to bridge the generation gap and be a part of a two way learning process. The key to success in reverse mentoring is the willingness to create and maintain an attitude of openness to the experience and dissolve the fence of status, power and position.
T R Ramachandran 
Excellent.
Good one.In fact without reverse mentoring,the gen X will be outdated.