Digital transformation has become a strategic imperative for organisations to survive and thrive in this digital era. It is the cornerstone for operational efficiencies, business agility and innovation at scale for sustainable competitive advantage.
We have all come to realise that digital transformation is less about technology but more about people. People within our organisations formulating digitalisation strategies to completely reimagine our businesses (executives and managers). People executing on these strategies and effectively utilising technology capabilities to bring these strategies to life (managers and operational workforce), and people benefitting from the opportunities and value brought about by these transformative initiatives in meeting their expectations (customers).
People are therefore still our most valuable asset, but how can we leverage the opportunities of mentoring to truly empower and enable people as we navigate and accelerate our digital transformation journeys within our organisations?
Mentoring can generally be defined as the act or process of guiding and helping people in truly supporting their development and growth. Articles often report that approximately 70% of the Fortune 500 companies have mentoring programmes and this tends to remain the benchmark and foundation for discussions around mentoring.
Lifelong learning should be encouraged, backed with mentoring programmes and ongoing professional development programmes.
Global statistics, however, reveal that around 76% of people think that having a mentor is exceptionally important but only around 37% actually have a mentor.
A vast number of studies have also highlighted some of the incredible benefits of being a mentor and being mentored. This includes growing your professional network, enhancing competencies, improving employee retention, developing the ability to better solve local and global challenges, and the list goes on.
Learning from others is a powerful tool – lifelong learning is key
In this digital era, mentoring has become essential for all people across industries, across job roles and job levels.
For executives and managers, mentoring can take place across regions, within a specific industry and with the help of global business leaders and industry experts. This can help executives to stay connected with a network that can provide valuable insights, experiences and guidance on how they have navigated the challenges and leveraged the opportunities of technology to digitally transform their business.
Mentoring can also ignite innovative ideas for sustainable growth and development that can benefit our businesses and economy at large.
Moving from a know-it-all to a learn-it-all culture is key. In today’s rapidly-changing landscape of emerging technologies and digital innovation, executives can no longer be stuck in a fixed mindset.
It is okay to admit when we don’t know something and to seek guidance with the willingness to learn. Lifelong learning has become the essence to remain relevant. This goes beyond education and training, and is an ongoing and self-motivated pursuit of knowledge and skills throughout an individual’s lifespan.
Some experts highlight that for organisations to accelerate their digital transformation journey, training is imperative through which organisations should fulfil their obligation to upskill and reskill their people.
In addition, lifelong learning should be encouraged, backed with mentoring programmes and ongoing professional development programmes. This indicates that while education and professional development is important, lifelong learning is crucial. It is essential that this culture is fostered throughout an organisation.
Executives and managers can use their learnings and experiences to then guide and influence the operational workforce through mentoring.
In being cognisant that time is often the biggest challenge to mentoring others, it is important to highlight that mentoring sessions do not have to be lengthy. They should, however, be focused and valuable, and it is important to remember that we learn as much as we teach.
Mentors can encourage mentees to work towards specific development goals, bridging skills gaps, combating resistance to change, and supporting the execution of digitalisation initiatives.
Some experts now encourage reverse mentoring, which refers to a junior employee mentoring a more senior employee. This can be used to tap into the ideas of juniors to better understand the expectation and demands of their peers in the digital world.
This type of mentoring comes with its own set of benefits, such as encouraging open-mindedness and innovation across job levels and generations. Empowering millennials to share fresh ideas so that organisations are able to attract and better service millennial customers, and so forth.
When managers serve as mentors, they can build high-performance teams. When we all start mentoring just one person, we can build a truly empowered nation that is able to accelerate our organisation’s digital transformation efforts into the future, driving effective economic growth and positive change in our society.
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