Reverse mentoring turns the tables
Concept offers execs fresh take
If you met Ioana Birleanu, you might be surprised to know she’s a seasoned mentor for senior executives around the world. Right now the Romanian-born territory account manager for Cisco Canada in Vancouver is mentoring company president Nitin Kawale.
What might take you aback is the fact she just celebrated her 27th birthday.
Birleanu is part of a reverse-mentoring program that Cisco developed for its worldwide offices. Reverse mentoring pairs senior management with more junior staff members to refresh or enhance skills in such areas as diversity, social media or technology adoption.
Birleanu began her reverse-mentoring stints four years ago when Cisco launched its pilot project. As a gen Y female, she fit the company’s wish list for the program.
“This isn’t the classical mentoring model,” she says. “I work with business leaders to bring vision to how our generation likes our work day. We need flexibility. If we can work from a park, our car or at home by choice, we will do that. We also like to be communicated with in a certain way.”
Birleanu appreciates the fact that organizations such as Cisco realize the importance
“I CAN’T TELL NITIN HOW TO RUN THE BUSINESS IN CANADA, BUT I CAN TELL HIM THE WAYS TO COMMUNICATE WITH A YOUNGER CUSTOMER BASE.”
IOANA BIRLEANU
of tapping into the younger generation’s mindset.
“I can’t tell Nitin how to run the business in Canada, but I can tell him the ways to communicate with a younger customer base. I’m not telling my mentees they have to be on Facebook. But I am there to tell them when it’s OK to share a photo or personal information or how to use privacy settings. I know it because I do it every day.”
Kawale says his time with Birleanu has helped him gain valuable insight into meeting the needs of a changing employee base.
“Like many organizations, we have a multi-generational workforce,” he says. “When you look at the demographics, it’s really important for me to understand how to attract, retain and create a work environment for these next-generation employees.”
He says his first few weeks with a mentor proved daunting. “When she started telling me what was possible, I was overwhelmed. As someone leading a large business, I thought I was already productive. But this world is transforming at an incredibly rapid pace, I realized it’s hard to stay on top of everything.”
Reverse mentoring helped Kawale find ways to become more productive. Part of that included finding alternative ways to communicate to employees through blogging, video and Twitter. He is also much better versed in the use of collaborative tools.
It isn’t always easy for executives to change their tune, Kawale says.
“Senior executives can be very set in the ways we work. But there are so many new tools that can have a dramatic impact on productivity and innovation, there’s a real opportunity for us to improve our business processes. We have to start thinking differently.”
For Tony Ianni, partner in the transactions practice at Ernst & Young in Toronto, reverse mentoring was less about technology, and more about diversity in the workplace. His mentor is Simone Carvalho, a 40-year-old employee from India, who works in another division at the firm.
“One of the things I struggled with as a new leader in business was appreciating the challenges other folks face day in and day out, particularly around diversity,” he explains. “Reverse mentoring gave me the opportunity to build a strong relationship with someone and get an additional perspective that’s helpful for building out the business.”
Ianni feels that reverse mentoring has helped him better understand issues around culture and religion. “Diversity is not necessarily something that we have been trained in. Understanding some of that dynamic is important as our workforce becomes more diverse. At the end of the day, I believe that reverse mentoring makes a ton of sense.”
Besides, Kawale says, it can give senior management a much needed shot in the arm.
“These mentors are very confident in what they do and how they view the world. They’re full of energy and good ideas. That kind of motivation makes a difference for all of us.”