Finding a great mentor is hard. A lot goes into making mentoring work, but above all it starts with finding a great connection.
I spent today launching a new mentoring circle, with a bit of a twist. Instead of a pure skip-level experience, all of my direct reports were involved, along with high-potential managers from across the organization.
We worked together on business problems, identified key priorities and challenges for the coming year, and came up with some fantastic strategies and plans. There is so much power in collaboration.
And then we tried something new “speed mentoring.”
Speed Mentoring
As a caveat, this is a group that has worked together at various levels. Some of us have deeper relationships and have had developmental discussion before, some were just getting to know one another. We asked in advance, and the team agreed they were game to try something new.
The Design
Although none of us had any experience with “speed dating” we were intrigued by the concept of short, focused interactions to look for areas of common interest.
Each participant was asked to come prepared with any ideas and questions they had for the leaders on the team. The mentees were in complete control of the conversations, and could use the time however they wished.
We set up small tables around the room, and each of the leaders manned a station and the mentees flowed through spending 10 minutes at each station. The mentees controlled the conversations, and each took on a different flavor.
The Questions
I was intrigued at how deep the conversations went in just 10 minutes. Each mentee took a different approach. Nearly all conversations sparked dialogue that will continue.
- “What’s my “brand with you?”
- Why wouldn’t you promote me?
- What’s the biggest mistake you ever made?
- What makes you fail?
- What are you working on developmentally?
- Did you ever take a job that was a bad fit? What did you do?
- What characteristics are you looking for in a leader?
- How do you think I am doing?
- Just what makes you so passionate about leadership development?
The Feedback
The feedback we received was amazing. I was worried that the time was too short, or that the feedback from so many people in a short time frame would be overwhelming. Participants agreed that it was “intense” but would do it again with the same design.
- “It was helpful to see the patterns and consistency in the feedback”
- “I could tell everyone was being really candid and had my best interest at heart”
- “I liked that we could control the questions and decide where we wanted to take the conversation with each person.”
- “It was great to see so many different perspectives on the same question”
The conversations continued later that day, on a break or walking to dinner. Can you mentor in 10 minutes? Of course not. Can you spark a connection worth exploring further? I believe you can.
The best is yet to come.
I can’t speak regarding mentoring as much I can speak about coaching.
I always block 45 minutes for a coaching telephone call with a client. There are times when they’re short on time. This can be as little as 10 minutes. I call this laser coaching convos.
Some of my best coaching has occurred in 600 seconds. Why? We get right to what’s important and I ask questions in a laser like fashion. The client gets focused quickly.
Steve, Thanks so much. The thing is, I was startled how meaningful a few of these conversations became in just a few minutes. It was inspring and seeded a neat ground.
This was something i truly enjoyed. I appreciated everyone’s candid feedback and commitment to help me develop. I grow as a leader each day and was thrilled with our meeting. Thank you for everything.
Michael, thanks so much for joining this conversation! It was great to have you there, with all of your insights, contributions, and excellent questions.