Reverse Mentoring at GE

Reverse Mentoring at GE The first and most important pitfall we have to refer to in this case is the uneasiness with which an older senior executive might let himself be tutored or mentored. Obviously, they are not used to this: as the article has mentioned, it is unusual for the mentor to be younger than his pupil and this may create a state of discomfort for both the participants.

If we consider that the age difference could be around 25-30 years, an executive aged 60 or 65 can perhaps find it uneasy to be in a position where he has to recognize that he is not able to master something, he is not able to teach himself and has to get help from somebody not only years younger, but also much lower on the corporate ladder. From my point-of-view, a smaller age difference between the two is more appropriate. A second pitfall that may appear is related to the corporate relations.

Obviously, the corporate ladder has certain rules and the orders are passed on from top down. Just as obvious, these are respected because the person carrying them out is not in a position to question them. Does the mentoring process affect these corporate relations? They may, in the sense that someone lower down may find himself on a position of equality with the senior executive or even a position of superiority.

Indeed, it is not the executive passing out orders, but the young mentor, who gives out different assignments as homework. Just as the mentor said, the process helped her be more comfortable around the executives. Can this comfortableness be pushed to the extreme where respect to the more important person within the company is ignored? Not necessarily, but one has to take care and be sure that the relations within the company are not disturbed.

Resuming this discussion, the process has to take well into consideration two of the relational aspect involved: age (the mentee tends to be much older than the mentor) and social and economic status (the mentee is higher up on the corporate ladder). 2. In the first stage, the mentor and the mentee become acquainted and clarify their interests. In this specific case, it is probable (or rather possible) that the mentor and the mentee have met within the company and know each other.

It is however probable that extensive conversion has never taken place. In getting to know one another, the mentee should make sure that the mentor feels at ease with the situation (it is most probable he will not at the beginning) and together, they should clarify their objective: getting the mentee to use the Internet and become used to today's high tech age. The second stage decides whether the mentor and the mentee are compatible with one another.

In our case, this can take several days and it is important that the two connect and are able to handle the situation properly.