s the world adapts to hybrid work environments and gets more comfortable with the work-from-anywhere mindset, the next generation of leadership is called to navigate a new dynamic: the marked decline in opportunities to build networks of advisers and sponsors. With junior and senior team members no longer working side by side on a consistent or even periodic basis, the tried-and-tested strategies of establishing networks and helping talents grow through mentorship are quickly becoming outdated.
This is a downside lost neither on up-and-coming professionals nor employers. A Gallup survey published in 2022 found that 38% of fully remote workers in the U.S. would prefer hybrid work, meaning that around 4 in 10 people are willing to give up some work-from-home (WFH) flexibility to have in-person office experiences. In an interview with The Information, former AOL CEO Tim Armstrong supported an at least partial return to the workplace, saying young employees might otherwise miss out on the “largest career-learning cycle.” “If I had one piece of advice for younger people in their 30s: Go back to work,” he said. “Even if your company doesn’t let you come back, create your own working environment and invite some people over.”
Historically, young professionals began to engage across professional and social circles as soon as they entered the workforce. These interactions nurtured relationships that often lasted the entirety of one’s career. While it’s true that professionally focused social media platforms can bring people together, they typically don’t offer the sorts of in-person interactions that cement a relationship. A LinkedIn connection is in no way commensurate with the networking of old.
Today, with in-person engagement largely absent, younger professionals and their more senior colleagues share a responsibility to construct a new template to drive relationship-building opportunities. Practical steps to spur such a renaissance include:
- Assemble a kitchen cabinet: Every professional would be well served by establishing at the start of their career an informal group of trusted advisers from all corners of their professional and personal lives. To be effective, this ever-expanding group should be equal parts boosters and truth-tellers. Beyond offering sage counsel, providing helpful job references, and opening doors, these people should be encouraged to voice hard truths. Unrestricted by professional obligations or bias (as a direct supervisor would feel), these advisers can be a reliable source of valuable advice born of experience.
- Escape the comfort zone: Exacerbating the isolation of remote work over the last two-plus years, many young professionals have been swamped by a relentless torrent of assignments, making it difficult for them to move outside their industry-defined verticals. Consequently, it is more critical than ever to seek advisers and mentors from as diverse a group as possible. Alumni associations, community service groups, and charitable organizations provide the type of 360-degree engagement that benefit members over time.
- Don’t leave this for later: Young professionals should start building a robust supportive framework as early as their first internship. (When Marian moved to New York after college, her nascent cabinet fed her endless ideas she was able to turn into freelance pieces. And Suzanne still receives advice from someone she connected with during a White House internship her first year of college.)
- Keep the embers warm: The key to a fruitful relationship is regular maintenance. This can be as simple as sending an occasional handwritten note or sharing a news article or book recommendation. Staying in touch sends an unmistakable message of interest and caring and creates organic opportunities to catch up. The key is to be proactive, especially when there is no immediate “ask.” In other words, the engagement has to be genuine and not an obvious pretext.
Ultimately, each person is responsible for building their network, using all the tools at their disposal. Senior executives have a part to play, too, by acting as role models and contributing practical advice to help direct younger colleagues on their journeys. Constructed deliberately over time, a cohort of advisers and mentors can be a professional’s most valuable asset.
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A WFH Casualty: The Decline of Mentorship—and How to Fix It
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Photo via Unsplash.
March 1, 2023
Debates continue over whether we should return to the office, but something is missing from the conversation. Younger workers are missing out on mentorship opportunities, but there are ways to establish similar relationships in the new environment, write Suzanne Rich Folsom and Marian Salzman.
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s the world adapts to hybrid work environments and gets more comfortable with the work-from-anywhere mindset, the next generation of leadership is called to navigate a new dynamic: the marked decline in opportunities to build networks of advisers and sponsors. With junior and senior team members no longer working side by side on a consistent or even periodic basis, the tried-and-tested strategies of establishing networks and helping talents grow through mentorship are quickly becoming outdated.
This is a downside lost neither on up-and-coming professionals nor employers. A Gallup survey published in 2022 found that 38% of fully remote workers in the U.S. would prefer hybrid work, meaning that around 4 in 10 people are willing to give up some work-from-home (WFH) flexibility to have in-person office experiences. In an interview with The Information, former AOL CEO Tim Armstrong supported an at least partial return to the workplace, saying young employees might otherwise miss out on the “largest career-learning cycle.” “If I had one piece of advice for younger people in their 30s: Go back to work,” he said. “Even if your company doesn’t let you come back, create your own working environment and invite some people over.”
Historically, young professionals began to engage across professional and social circles as soon as they entered the workforce. These interactions nurtured relationships that often lasted the entirety of one’s career. While it’s true that professionally focused social media platforms can bring people together, they typically don’t offer the sorts of in-person interactions that cement a relationship. A LinkedIn connection is in no way commensurate with the networking of old.
Today, with in-person engagement largely absent, younger professionals and their more senior colleagues share a responsibility to construct a new template to drive relationship-building opportunities. Practical steps to spur such a renaissance include:
- Assemble a kitchen cabinet: Every professional would be well served by establishing at the start of their career an informal group of trusted advisers from all corners of their professional and personal lives. To be effective, this ever-expanding group should be equal parts boosters and truth-tellers. Beyond offering sage counsel, providing helpful job references, and opening doors, these people should be encouraged to voice hard truths. Unrestricted by professional obligations or bias (as a direct supervisor would feel), these advisers can be a reliable source of valuable advice born of experience.
- Escape the comfort zone: Exacerbating the isolation of remote work over the last two-plus years, many young professionals have been swamped by a relentless torrent of assignments, making it difficult for them to move outside their industry-defined verticals. Consequently, it is more critical than ever to seek advisers and mentors from as diverse a group as possible. Alumni associations, community service groups, and charitable organizations provide the type of 360-degree engagement that benefit members over time.
- Don’t leave this for later: Young professionals should start building a robust supportive framework as early as their first internship. (When Marian moved to New York after college, her nascent cabinet fed her endless ideas she was able to turn into freelance pieces. And Suzanne still receives advice from someone she connected with during a White House internship her first year of college.)
- Keep the embers warm: The key to a fruitful relationship is regular maintenance. This can be as simple as sending an occasional handwritten note or sharing a news article or book recommendation. Staying in touch sends an unmistakable message of interest and caring and creates organic opportunities to catch up. The key is to be proactive, especially when there is no immediate “ask.” In other words, the engagement has to be genuine and not an obvious pretext.
Ultimately, each person is responsible for building their network, using all the tools at their disposal. Senior executives have a part to play, too, by acting as role models and contributing practical advice to help direct younger colleagues on their journeys. Constructed deliberately over time, a cohort of advisers and mentors can be a professional’s most valuable asset.
