Leadership

business colleagues shaking hands

A No-Nonsense Guide to Building Effective Business Relationships

In business, relationships are often talked about in soft terms, rapport, chemistry, networking. But scratch beneath the surface and you’ll find that building business relationships isn’t about charm or charisma. They’re built on something far more practical: clarity, consistency, and mutual value. Forget the small talk and the LinkedIn likes, effective business relationships are a strategic asset, and like any asset, they need to be earned, maintained, and sometimes recalibrated.

Whether you’re working with clients, partners, suppliers, or your own team, the principles of strong professional relationships remain remarkably consistent. They’re not about working the room or collecting contacts, they’re about building trust, delivering value, and showing up when it counts.

Start With Respect, Not Strategy

Too many people approach business relationships with a transactional mindset. What can this person do for me? How do I close this deal faster? It’s a short-sighted approach that often backfires. The most effective relationships start from a place of respect, respect for the other person’s time, expertise, challenges, and priorities.

This doesn’t mean you can’t be strategic. But it means recognising that long-term success rarely comes from squeezing quick wins out of people. Instead, it comes from being known as someone who delivers on promises, listens when it matters, and treats others like partners rather than stepping stones.

Make Communication a Discipline

Good communication is not a talent, it’s a discipline. In the early days of a business relationship, people are paying close attention. How quickly do you respond to emails? Are you clear and transparent? Do you follow through on what you say?

These little moments send big signals. If you’re vague, flaky, or slow to respond, it won’t matter how brilliant your pitch is, doubt has already crept in. The best professionals make responsiveness and clarity part of their brand. They don’t over-communicate, but they keep people in the loop. They say what they’ll do, and they do it. That alone sets them apart.

Value First, Always

Strong business relationships are built on value, not volume. It’s not about how often you talk, it’s about what you bring to the table. That might be insights, ideas, introductions, or simply the ability to make someone’s life easier. The key is to focus on the other person’s needs as much as, if not more than, your own.

Ask yourself regularly: What does this person care about? How can I help them succeed? That mindset flips the relationship from one of extraction to one of contribution. And when people feel supported, they tend to reciprocate.

Don’t Disappear After the Deal

It’s one of the oldest clichés in business, but still a common misstep: nurturing the relationship right up until the contract is signed, then vanishing until renewal time. The truth is, the real relationship begins after the deal. That’s when trust is tested, and when reliability matters most.

Check in when there’s no agenda. Offer help without a pitch. Celebrate their wins. Share something useful you’ve come across. These small gestures accumulate over time into something rare: a relationship that’s not just professional, but dependable.

Be Honest, Especially When It’s Hard

Trust isn’t built on perfection; it’s built on honesty. If you’ve made a mistake, own it. If there’s a delay, communicate it. If something isn’t working, raise it early and with empathy. People may not love hearing bad news, but they’ll respect you for being upfront.

In fact, some of the most resilient business relationships are forged not during the smooth times, but in how issues are handled. The way you communicate in difficult moments often matters more than the problem itself.

Invest for the Long Haul

Building business relationships takes time. They aren’t built in a single meeting or sealed with a handshake over drinks. They’re the result of repeated positive interactions, small moments that slowly build a foundation of trust and credibility.

That means playing the long game. Stay in touch with contacts even when there’s nothing to sell. Be generous with advice. Be reliable in small things. And don’t forget to say thank you, genuine appreciation goes a long way.

Consistency Beats Charm

At the end of the day, building business relationships isn’t about slick presentations or perfectly timed coffee chats. They’re built on showing up, following through, and proving, over and over again, that you’re someone people can count on.

So if you’re looking to grow your network, win loyalty, or simply become someone others want to work with, forget the gimmicks. Be useful. Be honest. Be present. That’s the no-nonsense formula for building relationships that last, and that work.

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A Practical Guide to Leading Remote and Hybrid Teams

In the not-so-distant past, managing a team meant gathering in a meeting room, reading faces, and exchanging thoughts across a table. Today, leading remote and hybrid teams looks very different. Some team members are in the office, others are dialing in from home offices or café corners halfway across the world. The once-clear boundaries of “workplace” have blurred, and the role of the modern manager has shifted with them.

Remote and hybrid work isn’t a trend, it’s a reality. But for many leaders, the challenge lies not in accepting this shift, but in navigating it effectively. Productivity, cohesion, accountability, and even culture all feel harder to pin down when your team is scattered. Still, with the right mindset and a few grounded practices, remote and hybrid leadership can be just as human, effective, and rewarding as its in-person counterpart.

Clarity First, Always

When proximity disappears, clarity becomes your most important tool. Remote and hybrid teams cannot thrive on assumptions, vague directions, or offhand comments made in hallway conversations. Leadership in this context means setting clear expectations, on priorities, responsibilities, communication norms, and availability.

This doesn’t mean dictating every move. It means ensuring that everyone knows what success looks like, what the current goals are, and how their work connects to the bigger picture. A well-written brief, a simple shared roadmap, or a clearly stated weekly objective can do more to align a team than hours of unfocused Zoom calls.

Trust as a Default Setting

Leading from afar demands trust, not the blind kind, but the intentional kind. You don’t have the luxury of seeing who stays late at the office or who speaks up in every meeting. Instead, you have to lead by outcomes and effort, not optics. The best remote managers resist the urge to micromanage and instead create structures where team members are empowered to deliver on their own terms.

This doesn’t mean letting go of oversight altogether. It means replacing surveillance with structure: regular check-ins, shared goals, transparent progress tracking, and open dialogue. The goal is to create a rhythm of accountability without resorting to control.

Communication Is the Culture

In hybrid and remote teams, communication is culture. It’s the glue that holds everything together, strategy, morale, and relationships. Without daily face time, every email, Slack message, or video call becomes a cultural artifact.

That’s why it matters how you show up and how often. Set a regular cadence of updates, whether it’s a Monday morning team video call or a Friday roundup email. Use asynchronous channels for updates that don’t need immediate feedback, and save video calls for discussions that benefit from nuance or collaboration. And above all, make space for casual connection. A virtual coffee chat or a Slack channel for weekend stories may seem trivial, but these small rituals build trust and cohesion.

Hybrid Doesn’t Mean Half-Engaged

One of the biggest traps in hybrid teams is the unintentional creation of an “in-office elite” ,  where those who show up physically get more facetime, more influence, and more opportunity. It’s often subtle, but it’s real. Good hybrid leadership requires deliberate inclusion. That might mean ensuring remote colleagues aren’t just muted squares during meetings, or it could mean rotating days in the office to avoid the same people always being the ones “in the room.”

Hybrid leaders must constantly ask: Am I designing meetings, decisions, and communication in a way that includes everyone equally? Am I rewarding visibility, or results? Inclusion isn’t a byproduct, it has to be part of the plan.

Flexibility With a Backbone

Flexibility is the great promise of remote and hybrid work, but too much of it, without structure, quickly descends into chaos. Good leaders balance autonomy with boundaries. Set core hours if needed, establish turnaround times, and be transparent about when real-time availability is expected.

At the same time, avoid defaulting back to rigid, in-office norms. Productivity shouldn’t be defined by being “online” 9 to 5. Instead, measure outcomes, respect work-life balance, and acknowledge that flexibility, when coupled with trust and accountability, tends to lead to better performance, not worse.

Feedback Still Matters, More Than Ever

When leading teams in a remote or hybrid setting, silence is dangerous. Without in-person cues, people can begin to second-guess themselves, feel invisible, or lose direction. That’s why timely, honest, and specific feedback becomes even more important. Don’t wait for quarterly reviews. Make feedback part of your weekly rhythm, positive, constructive, and forward-looking.

A quick message acknowledging good work, a thoughtful suggestion for improvement, or a simple “How are you doing with this project?” can go a long way. Your visibility as a leader is now measured not by how often you’re seen, but by how often you’re felt.

Leadership Without Walls

There’s no going back to a one-size-fits-all office. The future of work is flexible, blended, and evolving. The challenge, and opportunity, for today’s leaders is to create coherence without co-location, and connection without constant contact.

Leading remote and hybrid teams is not about recreating the office online. It’s about reimagining leadership for a world where work can happen anywhere, and great teams aren’t defined by geography, but by purpose, clarity, and trust.

Done well, this kind of leadership doesn’t just work, it elevates.

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networking

The benefits of networking with other business leaders

When it comes to career growth, active networking on a professional level is essential. There might be some off-putting connotations to the idea of networking. However, creating good professional working relationships is essential. 

Why is networking so important?

It is essential for business leaders to master the skills involved in networking. This is the same across all industries and regardless of your level of experience. Good industry networking is the difference between having an okay career and a fantastic career. 

With the right approach, networking can help you to build relationships that will be mutually beneficial with other professionals within your industry. With a solid network of professionals in place, you will be one of the first to hear about new and exciting job opportunities within your industry. You’ll also know when people with the right skills are looking for a new role and would fit nicely into your team and reap a whole host of other benefits. 

Who should your professional network include?

You need to make sure that you have the right contacts in your professional network. This is something that will help you to maximise your learning opportunities and career growth. You should consider building your industry network to include the following groups of individuals:

  • Former and current colleagues
  • Study peers and classmates
  • Friends in the industry
  • Members of the appropriate industry-related associations
  • Peers from other digital networks like LinkedIn
  • Recruiters who are specialists in your field

The type of networking that you do may vary but could include everything from informal chats at social events to attending events that are specific to your industry. The goal of networking is to open up the lines of communications and begin to make network relationships

The benefits

There are many benefits to be had from networking, and if you are not doing your networking effectively, then you could be damaging your career prospects. These benefits include:

  • Strengthening your business connections within your network
  • Tapping into your network when you need ideas and perspectives
  • Raising your professional profile
  • Helping you to grow your own personal brand
  • Getting access to job opportunities
  • Exchanging best practice knowledge with members of your network
  • Getting support and career advice
  • Boosting your confidence
  • Gain a perspective that is different
  • Develop long lasting relationships that can also be social as well as professional
  • Get answers when you have questions
  • Find your ultimate dream job

How do you start networking?

Building networks is incredibly beneficial for your career but for many individuals the work that is necessary to build up a network is not something that comes naturally. Not everyone is comfortable starting conversations with individuals that they do not know and even the idea of sitting next to a stranger at a conference can fill them with dread.

You can prepare for such eventualities by planning ahead and making sure that you have a couple of relevant points for discussion in your arsenal so that when you find yourself making small talk with new people you have something to discuss. Not all discussion points need to be about work, they are simply ways of getting conversations started. 

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Flexible Mentoring – How To Adapt to Your Mentee’s Needs

Mentoring is about guiding someone’s development, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all process.  Flexible mentoring recognises that each person being mentored is unique and, as such, it requires a tailored approach. Here’s how to create a mentoring plan that adapts and evolves with your mentoring relationship.

Clear goals but a flexible framework

Start with a clear understanding of what your mentee wants to achieve. Is it a promotion, new skills, or increased confidence? Establish expectations for both of you. This can include how often you’ll meet and what topics you’ll cover. However, you need to remember that these initial goals might change, so be ready to revisit them.

Listen and understand

To be a flexible mentor, you need to be a good listener. Pay attention to your mentee’s aspirations, challenges, and preferred learning styles. Do they learn best by doing, observing, or discussing? Ask questions and create a safe space for open and honest conversation. This will help you tailor your guidance to fit their needs and their personality.

Expect the odd curveball

Life isn’t linear and mentoring is no different. Be prepared for unexpected events that might require adjustments to your plan. A job loss, a family emergency, or a change in priorities can all impact your mentee’s needs. See these changes as opportunities to help them navigate challenges and develop resilience.

Mix it up

People learn in different ways. To keep your mentee engaged, use a variety of mentoring methods. One-on-one meetings offer focused support, while group workshops can encourage peer learning. Online resources like articles and webinars provide easy access to information. Consider arranging job shadowing too, to give them real-world experience.

Regularly check in – but don‘t hover

Schedule regular check-ins to track progress and make adjustments. These meetings allow you to celebrate successes, identify roadblocks, and ensure you’re both still on the same page. Is your mentee feeling overwhelmed or lacking support? Regular feedback helps keep the mentoring relationship on track. However, it’s important to let them make some mistakes, and learn some lessons themselves. Don’t hover.

Learn from everything – even mistakes

Acknowledge and celebrate achievements. These successes build confidence and motivate your mentee, but don’t shy away from setbacks. Analyse what went wrong, identify areas for improvement, and use these experiences as learning opportunities. Did a networking event not go well? If so, help them reflect on why and develop their networking skills.

It’s a two-way street

While you’re guiding your mentee, be open to learning from them too. They might have fresh perspectives, new ideas, or different ways of doing things that can broaden your own knowledge and understanding.

Flexible mentoring is about creating a supportive structure that can adapt to your mentee’s individual journey. By being responsive, understanding, and willing to adjust your approach, you can help them reach their full potential.

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The Imposter Syndrome: How To Combat Self-Doubt For Career Advancement

The term ‘imposter syndrome’ has been in use since 1978 when it was introduced by psychologists Suzanne Imes and Pauline Rose Clance. Both of whom struggled with self-doubt despite their obvious success in their chosen field. It was this which led them to embark on a study program of other successful women similarly afflicted by self-doubt.

The American National Institute of Health describes imposter syndrome as ‘a behavioural health phenomenon described as doubt of intellect, skills or accomplishments among high-achieving individuals.’

Self-doubt, feeling like a fraud and subsequent fear of failure can affect anyone in any field. It can happen at any stage of their career.

Combating self-doubt in order to advance your career involves a combination of strategies. These are aimed at building self-confidence, gaining clarity and then taking action.

Identify the reason for imposter syndrome

What triggers your self-doubt? Is it the fear of failure or feeling not good enough in comparison with others? When you understand the root cause you can begin to address the problem.

Challenge negative thoughts

When self-doubt creeps in, challenge this with evidence-based reasoning. Ask yourself if you have any actual reason or evidence to support this feeling or if they’re based on past experiences or assumptions.

Be kind to yourself

Acknowledge that everyone experiences self-doubt at some point. Even leader Elon Musk has admitted to suffering from self-doubt over public speaking. Give yourself a break when things get a bit challenging. Focus on your strengths and talents and leverage them throughout your career. Keep reminding yourself of past successes and times when you’ve overcome challenges – keep a written record of these.

Continuous learning

Invest in your personal and professional development through ongoing learning and skill-building activities. The more you learn the more confident you’ll become in your abilities.

Set realistic goals

Break down your career goals into small, achievable steps and celebrate each time you achieve a new milestone. Keep a record of your progress to help build confidence and block imposter syndrome. Visualise yourself achieving all your career goals and imagine how you will feel. This helps to reinforce positive thinking.

Seek feedback from supportive people

Ask for feedback from trusted colleagues, mentors or supervisors. Constructive feedback can provide you with valuable insights and help you recognise where your strengths and talents lay. Surround yourself with supportive people who believe in you and encourage you in your career goals. Avoid those who would undermine your confidence or feed your self-doubt.

Take positive action against imposter syndrome

Sometimes the best way to combat self-doubt and power through your career is to take action despite those niggling feelings. Break out of your comfort zone and take calculated risks. Once you have done this for the first time your confidence will get a massive boost and you will find it becomes easier and less nerve-wracking to keep taking those small steps forward. Don’t be afraid to sometimes seek support from a mentor as you advance in your career.

Overcoming self-doubt is an ongoing process so be patient and keep taking those small steps to greater self-confidence.

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Growth mindset leaderships

Leaderships That Really Worked

There are quite a few examples of how leaders have been successful in their chosen fields. However, some leaderships have undoubtedly been more spectacularly successful than others. Often, this is down to how they lead and how they treat the people who work for them.

Whether setting up mentoring schemes – proven to work well in a wide variety of industries – as we know only too well here at EL Mentoring, or driving people to effect change, the right leaderships can change fortunes and change the world.

Successful leaders exhibit a combination of strategies and qualities. Here are a few examples of outstanding leadership styles and individuals who are widely recognised as being the best.

Elon Musk

The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk is often considered to be eccentric and combative. He is also one of the world’s most devisive leaders. However, his innovative style of leadership shows a man unafraid to take risks and push boundaries in the pursuit of his own personal vision for the future. He has the ability to inspire and lead in a highly competitive market. This way, he can ensure his status as an industry leader in the field of electric vehicles and increasingly artificial intelligence.

Steve Jobs

The co-founder of Apple Inc was a charismatic leader. He was known for a ferocious work ethic and his ability to inspire and motivate his team to achieve groundbreaking, indeed world-leading innovations in the technology industry. His charisma, single-mindedness and attention to detail became the rock on which the success of his company grew.

Angela Merkel                                                                                                                 

Not a business leader but a highly effective one nevertheless. The former German Chancellor was known for her adaptive leadership style. It helped her successfully navigate the challenges posed by the European economic and refugee crises. She is widely respected among the German people and world leaders. Her ability to adapt to changing circumstances contributed to a long and successful political career.

Sheryl Sandberg

She was the Chief Operating Officer at Facebook from 2008 to 2022. She then, after a stint at Google, moved on to found her own enterprise Leanin.org. This was based on her recipe for success at work and in life. Her leaderships encompassed high expectations and encouragement of the people around her to reach goals. She is known for praising those who do good work. Plus, she takes steps to work out an individual’s talents, pushing them to improve.

Jeff Bezos

The founder of Amazon, which started out as an online bookstore. Bezos has turned his company into the world’s biggest online seller. He is known as a transformational, decisive but often autocratic leader. This is due to his high standards and tendency towards micromanaging. Through his analytical thinking and calculated risk-taking style he has made his company successful. He has done so by splitting his workforce into small teams. They are then trusted to complete required tasks. He is also focussed on improving communication to create a healthy but driven competitive environment among employees.

Companies and businesses can come and go, however it is clear that the key to lasting success is great leadership. This means that can adapt and innovate when required to best suit the needs of their teams and achieve their goals.

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Reverse Mentorship – Can Learning From Less Experienced Leaders Work?

Mentoring – passing on knowledge and skills to newer or less experienced colleagues – has been around for decades. It has served businesses well in terms of helping colleagues learn the ropes. Now a new, dynamic approach to mentoring has turned this idea on its head. Reverse mentorship is the innovative practice bringing mutual benefits at all levels.

The Evolution of Mentorship

Mentoring in its traditional form is the exchange of ideas and transfer of knowledge and  experiences between colleagues, the mentor and mentee. The mentor is typically someone more experienced and often older than the one who is learning i.e. the mentee. Mentoring would traditionally focus on tailored guidance and learning from experience rather than through book learning or attending lectures. Reverse mentoring has come about because of rapidly advancing technology and working practices typically embraced by younger people necessitating a fundamental change in expectations. Cross-generational collaboration emphasises the benefits of continuous learning for all employees whether junior or senior.

Understanding Reverse Mentorship

The definition of reverse mentorship is simply one individual who is considered less  experienced or younger who shares knowledge and skills with a more experienced or older individual. An example could be a student doctor mentoring a more senior doctor on new technology or practices. This could be done in order to enhance the care of patients or improve data recording.  Reverse mentoring can also be useful in helping directors or senior leaders, who often miss out on what is actually happening within their organisation.

This especially benefits those who have a separate working environment from the junior workforce to understand what is happening throughout the business. It gives them ground-up information from someonel with a greater insight in shop-floor practices or work-based conflicts, so helping to facilitate necessary changes in organisational practices. Modern mentorship is based more on the idea of the reciprocal fostering of growth between parties rather than on seniority or experience.

Breaking Down Generational Barriers 

The traditional idea of older individuals being the source of superior and unchallenged knowledge and junior colleagues being somehow inferior is thankfully rapidly disappearing. Now, enlightened individuals have ann understanding of how younger people or new joiners can bring with them a wealth of knowledge and skill sets which benefit an organisation. A rapidly-evolving use of reverse mentoring is gaining traction in providing education at all levels around the challenges faced by minority groups. This can help to improve diversity and inclusion within workplaces. For example, a reverse mentor who is part of group such as BAME or LGBTQ+ can provide a unique understanding of the challenges and how to overcome them. 

Benefits of Reverse Mentorship

Reverse mentoring is proving to have big impacts across all kinds of organisations in opening up channels between the generations. It helps to share learning, knowledge and tech-savvy skills. Plus, gives those who previously wouldn’t have had any input the opportunity to teach and advance themselves alongside the chance to interact with senior or executive individuals they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to reach. Those more senior or previously more ‘knowledgeable’ benefit from gaining valuable insights into emerging trends and ideas as well as new skills. Reverse mentoring also promotes transparency and greater freedom at all levels to put forward ideas.

Conclusion 

Leaders, no matter how senior can always benefit from the opportunity to learn and grow. Plus, a culture of continuous learning and mutual collaboration within a workforce can become a powerful ally for success. Reverse mentoring can be effective in gaining insights and awareness of challenges facing minority sections of an organisation and into how an organisation is progressing. Knowledge equals power equals success.

Reverse mentorship

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Imposter syndrome virtual business mentoring failure pillars of mentorship

Building the 5 pillars of mentorship

Mentoring is a great option for those who are looking to promote cultural and commercial growth. It taps directly into and then inspires the further development and sharing of relevant expertise and experience that can already exist in an organisation. Those companies who invest in mentoring find that they see improvements in employee retention and satisfaction, interpersonal skills, communication skills and transfer of knowledge, amongst other benefits. Many mentors agree that there are 5 pillars of mentorship, so let’s take a look at them. 

The program is championed from the top

In this pillar, the mentoring program is championed by those in leadership positions within the company, they endorse and embrace it. They themselves have mentors, and they also mentor others. They also believe that mentoring is important for both personal and professional development. 

These individuals play an important role within the enterprise mentoring program and give their weight to:

  • ensuring the program is seen as a priority – they understand the benefits and want to share this
  • legitimise the program by lending a sense of respect to it. 
  • Being available for any key events and engaging with all employees during the program. They also speak out about ROI in the program.

The program is planned strategically

Good initiatives don’t just happen. They are carefully planned out and have measurable and specific outcomes. There should be a robust planning process to make certain that the effort and energy within the program is maintained over the years rather than fizzling out over a matter of months. This planning should also account for the seamless running of the program across the company. 

The program should be measured and defined

You need to work out what measures matter to your organisation. Any outcomes must be articulated clearly so that an ROI can be measured across the organisation. Some measures are calculable and empirical, whilst the rest will be anecdotal by nature. 

You need to have a system that will capture and then report on these measures to help refine the process whenever there are new participants in the program. This will help with regular reviews.

Training for participants

Mentoring programs often fail because it is believed that pairing a mentor and a mentee is enough. It is important to ensure that you provide introductory and then ongoing skill development to both parties. When they have the proper training, this gives everyone:

  • A message of commitment
  • A consistency of approach
  • A quality of delivery
  • Enhanced relational capability
  • Very clear expectations.

The program should be supported by processes and systems

Within the HR of many companies, you will find frameworks, processes and tools which can capture and then support employee development needs. These are things that can be used within any mentoring program in order to ensure that there is no isolation and that there is efficiency in the way individuals are processed and the program is deployed. 

The right tools, procedures and policies can assist in reducing cost and time within your program and help improve the mentorship experience.

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diverse team of leaders Diversity mentoring

Exploring diversity in mentoring relationships

Within any organisation, mentoring is quickly emerging as an incredibly powerful way in which organisational diversity can be encouraged. This is particularly true where there is a need to create greater cross-group understanding whilst ensuring the minority and disadvantaged groups are supported. Unfortunately, mentoring between those groups that are rather unique comes with its own issues. 

Define the purpose of your mentoring program

It is important to be clear about the purpose of any program you set up. This is especially the case when it comes to “diversity” mentoring. If your program is simply to support a particular group, then it may be unclear exactly what is going on. 

Know your audience

The last thing you want is for your well intentioned leads to create unintentional insults. It is important that your mentoring program does not devalue the group it was hoping to support. Make sure you understand the perspective of those you want to support. 

Ensure your program is an opt in one

In order for a mentoring program to be successful it is essential that those involved want to be there. This is very important for a diversity mentoring program or a cross group one where you need individuals to listen to and understand varying different perspectives. 

Quality over quantity

Your program, no matter how well intentioned, should be limited with regards to the number of good mentors that you have available. It can be tempting to try to fit in any many diverse individuals as possible. However, if you don’t have the right ratios you will not be able to offer the quality of mentoring that you would like. 

Same or different groups?

There is a lot of discussion that looks at the values of having mentees and mentors from the same or different diversities. There are advantages to both. Within a group of like individuals, there is more likely to be great rapport and empathy. However, within different groups you are more like to find a greater degrees of cross-cultural understanding which may be more beneficial. Much of how you decide to do this will depend on the purpose you have already defined. 

Training

Unfortunately, mentoring programs cannot just happen. It is important for everyone involved to receive training so that there is value to the mentoring that takes place. For diversity training, this means that everyone involved should be fully aware of all of the diversity issues that may come up. They must be able to foster a caring and sensitive approach to how they handle these issues. That way, you can ensure that the best results are created through the mentoring process. 

Acknowledge stereotyping

Finally, and possibly one of the biggest barriers in diversity mentoring, stereotyping can be a real issue. Within a same group, the sharing of these stereotypes may go unquestioned. This can be the case even though this can be the biggest barrier to success. It is important to assure that assumptions are not being made and that stereotypes are acknowledged and discussed. Additionally, mentors must have the training to discuss honestly the role that stereotypes have in terms of mentoring.

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Failure In Leadership: Is It Your Best Teacher?

Let’s face it: no one wants to feel that they have failed, but sometimes failure in leadership does teach valuable lessons that perhaps can only be learned when things don’t go as they should.

Failure gives growth opportunities, which benefits and shapes how we manage ourselves and lead others.

Failure as a lesson for the future – some key takeaways

  1. Don’t keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result.
  2. Understand that failure, while uncomfortable, allows you to raise your self-awareness.
  3. Failure provides opportunities to stop, take stock and reinvent.
  4. It improves flexibility of thinking, and those who learn from their failures will do better in the future, but only if they use what they learn productively.
  5. No one ever gets everything right all the time. Allow yourself the compassion you would show others, then move on.
  6. Don’t blame others or become a victim yourself. Spend time working on solutions based on what happened. Solutions and planning will help, but becoming stuck on apportioning blame won’t.

As a leader, you may feel expected always to be right and never fail, but it’s almost guaranteed at some point, something will not work out as you wish, and that could be through simple circumstances that you or your team had no control over. What will make you rise and shine is how you handle that failure. You have the perfect opportunity to learn, as do your team and your company. This is where leadership skills and learning how to build from failures are part of the coaching and mentoring services we offer here at EL Mentoring, helping you to grow as a leader.

Learning to tackle hurdles productively is vital to moving forward. Successful leaders are not those who always get it right. They are the people who work to handle the situation, move on and learn from it for the future.

Using failure to grow

Have you ever heard the phrase ‘change is the only constant’? This is something successful leaders understand. They realise that staying flexible will allow them to accept the need for change and be adaptable. This positivity helps them channel positive energy into finding solutions, rather than wallow in negativity that can quickly grow when things don’t go as planned. Your mindset as a leader will influence those around you. If you panic, they will panic, and that achieves very little. It’s okay to admit when you don’t have all the solutions, and asking for help is not a sign of weakness. It can open up a whole stream of ideas and innovative solutions from a broad spectrum of people, one of whom could be sitting on the perfect answer. 

Look forward. If you keep looking back, you will focus on the obstacles and forget to strive for outcomes. Watch, look and learn. Being prepared to take risks will show you how far you can go. Sometimes, ‘no risk’ will equal ‘no reward.’ as a successful leader, you must sometimes take a risk. Successful leadership is about getting it right, not being right.

Our last words

‘Don’t complain about failure’. Use the valuable lessons as a road to success.

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