As a manager in the feed and grain business, you wear many hats. Managing labor — your employees — and capital — the dollars your business uses to run your operations and invest in assets — involves various roles and responsibilities.
Working with employees means hiring, evaluating, offering the right level of compensation and sometimes letting people go. Our focus in this column will be on a different responsibility related to your people — mentoring those employees whom you feel have significant opportunity to grow and rise to higher levels of management or departmental responsibility within your business.
Good mentoring requires a slightly differing set of skills and actions than just motivating and evaluating your workers.
Why mentoring matters and the benefits
Mentoring can be defined as a “reciprocal and collaborative relationship that most often occurs between a senior and junior employee (the mentee) for the purpose of the mentee’s growth, learning and career development.”
The website Art of Mentoring, www.artofmentoring.net, states that a mentor “is someone with valuable experience and knowledge who offers guidance and support to the mentee.” It says “mentors are not just advisers … they share insights and are able to open doors that might otherwise remain closed to the mentee. They may perform various mentoring functions, sometimes acting as a coach, a connector, or even a challenger, to help their mentees reach their full potential.”
Mentoring matters because it is a more personalized approach, above and beyond the evaluations you typically do with your employees. If done properly, it can help the mentee grow, assists in helping them develop relationships, allows them to receive support and encouragement in addition to critique of their work, as well as providing the opportunity for the mentee to come to you (the mentor) for questions and advice.
There are several benefits of mentoring, for your business and for your employees. For your firm, mentoring can help increase productivity and cultivate leadership capability. In addition, it can improve your feed and grain company’s culture, and some experts say it can “capture Baby Boomer wisdom and experience.”
For your people, good mentoring can provide greater job satisfaction and better performance. Some employees report increased confidence and professional happiness as well as a greater sense of well-being.
And there are benefits to you, the mentor. While you are likely already a good leader — mentors can gain valuable leadership skills by guiding and supporting mentees. You can also enhance and expand your network by connecting your mentees with key people. If you are not the owner or the top manager in your firm, mentoring can provide you with opportunities to increase your visibility and influence within your feed and grain business. Finally, many mentors report increased job satisfaction and commitment within the company as a result of taking on a mentoring role.
Your roles as a mentor
Developmental mentoring
Setting a strong foundation for the relationship with your mentee helps the process. Points to consider include setting clear expectations: discuss your and the mentee’s goals and perhaps the timeline over which the relationship will take place.
Building trust is also an important aspect of the relationship; be reliable, honest and create a “safe space” for your mentee to share thoughts and concerns. You can foster a collaborative environment by encouraging open communication and participation from your mentee.
Sharing your experience — positive and negative
One of the key things that can benefit your mentee is hearing about and learning from your career path. You can provide guidance, insight and advice based on your own experiences. Talk about things that went “right” in your career and decisions you have made and the results that occurred.
You should also discuss mistakes that you have made, what you learned from these mistakes and how these experiences might benefit your mentee.
Part of your role as mentor is to offer constructive feedback to your mentee. This involves specific, actionable feedback that helps your mentee grow. Another key part of your experience and theirs is to encourage self-reflection. Helping your mentee identify their strengths and weaknesses and setting goals for improvement can be particularly helpful.
Fostering growth and development
As a mentor, there are a variety of ways you can foster growth and development in your mentee. Encourage independent thinking and challenge your mentee, by allowing them to make their own decisions and take ownership of their learning. Encourage them to step outside of their “comfort zone” and take on new challenges.
Celebrate their successes and provide resources by sharing relevant articles and books that support their learning. Finally, be a role model by demonstrating the behaviors and values you would like them to emulate.
Making key introductions and being your mentee’s advocate
An important role you can play in helping your mentee grow is by making introductions to key people. This not only shows the role and importance of networking but also helps them grow their own network.
Another way to assist is to appropriately advocate for your mentee. This may involve supporting their appointment to committees or other positions within your firm that would be beneficial for them.
Enjoy the role
Perhaps you had someone who served as mentor for you; perhaps not. However, as we have outlined, mentoring can be a very productive activity for all involved. It can also be fun. Watching the employee you mentor learn and grow can be its own reward, and fun to watch and participate in the process.
Give some thoughtful consideration to serving as a mentor, and we hope it provides a creative spark — and tangible benefits for your feed and grain business.
