Improve Workplace Productivity by Working with Professional Mentors. Know How?

Every successful organization knows the importance of embedding a solid mentoring program into organizational behavior. A healthy organizational behavior will keep the business thriving. However, several issues can hinder the team's OB and leave the team leader or manager stranded in unchartered territories. This is where a mentor, someone who's encountered these same issues and solved them, comes in handy. The problems facing middle-level and upper-middle-level OB cultures are pretty universal across most organizations.  

The issues are:

a. Unsatisfactory performance reviews

b. Biased project delegation

c. Unfulfilled monetary rewards

d. Lack of opportunities

e. No scope to improve skills

f. Not assigned job/industry-related tasks

g. Work overload

h. Unfair promotion practices

These issues can persist for months or even years simply because no one knows how to address them. Such an environment leaves employees unhappy and unfulfilled, and many of them will ultimately choose to leave the organization. That's why mentors are so important. Experienced mentors can help managers tackle these issues, thereby improving organizational behavior and strengthening the organization's overall organization. Besides helping to manage cases, there are three additional ways in which mentors can improve OB:

1. Fostering career development: Business growth runs parallel to employee career growth. An organization cannot grow if its employees do not increase with it. A mentor can help an organization manage employee expectations by analyzing career growth for all employees. By learning to foster career development, managers can better target project delegation, increase engagement, and improve performance.

2.Breaking the "junior-level" wall: Most managers aren't even aware that many junior-level employees struggle with an inferiority complex that hinders them from finding the confidence to voice their problems to their managers. The result is a junior-level manager who feels isolated, irritated, and depressed. An experienced mentor can help managers identify this issue and equip them with the skills they need to help employees build their confidence and become more assertive.

3.Creating a transparent OB: Too many OB cultures maintain a closed, secretive environment that does not foster collaboration and teamwork. Communication suffers, and rather than working as a team, and employees are disconnected and end up working as individuals. Often, managers are too close to the situation and can't see what's happening right in front of them. But a mentor has the advantage of observing the case from the outside. They can provide the vantage point needed to close the communication gaps, increase transparency, and bring the team back together.

There is no arguing that mentoring is an integral part of a successful OB culture. The executives, managers, and employees who make up an organization are human, so it's no surprise that interactions often result in friction. Ensuring that things run smoothly, that employees are happy and productive, and that the organization is growing are not easy tasks for managers to accomplish. Mentors can provide guidance and perspective, acting as support pillars to keep the business's roof tall and robust. A healthy OB is fundamental to a successful business, and a powerful mentoring program will go a long way towards ensuring that your organization—and its employees—thrive.

‘The Psychology of Workplace Mentoring Relationships’ written by Lillian T. Eby and Melissa M. Robertson has similar insights about OB and mentoring  

Succeed in mentoring with MentorCloud

Are you looking to boost your OB culture with mentoring? Contact MentorCloud to learn more about crucial starting points. MentorCloud allows your organization to openly share knowledge and wisdom while enabling small and large companies to develop their employees.  

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