Mentoring Circles

Mentoring circles are a form of group mentoring, with some similarities to action learning sets. The core characteristics are:

• The mentees share a broad learning goal – for example, making a transition in the leadership pipeline (say, from managing self to managing others); or developing strategic thinking skills
• There are always two or more mentors, who may or may not both be present at each meeting
• Sessions may be face-to-face, virtual or a combination
• Mentees are responsible not just for their own learning, but supporting the learning of their circle colleagues.

How do they work?

Circles typically last for 12 to 24 months and consist of 6 to 10 mentees and two or three mentors. The mentors are selected because of their relevant experience in the topic areas, on which mentees wish to focus.

The circle meets monthly, with an agenda agreed in advance. Mentees present both their interests (what they would like to learn) and any learning they have already undertaken, which is relevant to share with the group. This learning might be reflection on a specific experience, some reading, or an interview conducted on behalf of the circle with an executive or an expert, either inside or outside the organization. Mentors add to the conversation with information the mentees may not have access to, with narrative that generates insight, and in other ways that draw upon their experience.

It is important that the mentors do not “take charge” or try to chair the sessions – although, if they are more senior than the mentees, they can easily fall into the trap of doing so. If the mentors take charge, the agenda shifts away from what the mentees want to explore towards what the mentors think they should learn. Allowing the mentees to take control also helps build their comfort in working with people more powerful than they are.

Each mentee has a personal development plan, which they share with their peers and the mentors. Two or three may form sub-groups, collaborating and supporting each other on specific areas of their development. Subgroups may also support each other by reviewing each mentee’s progress against their development plan.

Pluses and minuses of mentoring circles

Among the advantages of mentoring circles are that:

• They help overcome mentor shortages
• There are some time-cost savings compared to one to one mentoring (although these are typically not as great as might be imagined because of the extra effort in preparation)
• Mentors can learn from each other
• Mentees can learn from multiple sources – both mentors and mentees
• They accustom people to the process of co-learning and taking responsibility for other people’s learning as well as their own
• Mentees may transfer some of the circle approaches back into their own teams
• Circles often continue to network and support each other long after the formal arrangement
• Mentees frequently create informal one-to-one mentoring relationships (sometimes with one of the circle mentors, sometimes with someone else)
• Mentors – in their roles as talent spotters – get to observe talented employees both as individuals and in how they perform as part of a group

Disadvantages include:

• Confidentiality issues – things a mentee (or mentor) might say in a one to one conversation they may be reluctant to reveal in a group setting. Also, sensitive information is more likely to leak in a group setting than one-to-one
• One or two “freeloaders” can undermine the positive dynamics of the group; equally, some circles have encountered the problem that members have been insufficiently supportive of those, who for genuine reasons are unable to contribute fully
• Circle members may become competitive rather than collaborative in the presence of senior people, who can influence their careers
• People vary in how comfortable they are with group learning. For example, naturally reserved people may contribute less to circle conversations than more extrovert colleagues

A typical mentoring circle meeting

At least one mentor attends, but it is not essential that all attend always. They sit literally in a circle, preferably without any tables, so that no-one assumes a position of authority. The broad topic for the mentoring conversation (or more than one topic) has been agreed between the mentees beforehand and communicated to the mentors in advance. This gives the mentors an opportunity to reflect and prepare. Occasionally, the mentors may bring someone else into the session, whose knowledge or experience will be particularly useful to the mentees.

Meetings typically take 60 to 120 minutes.

The session starts with a check-in. How is everyone progressing in their development? What learning opportunities have they had or expect to have? What would they like support for from the other circle members?

The first topic is raised and the circle appoints one of the mentees to facilitate the dialogue. Mentors listen first, then choose appropriate moments to offer insights, guidance or questions. Where necessary, they support the mentee-facilitator in managing the conversation. They encourage the circle to summarise the learning, offering additional thoughts of their own only at the end.

The process is repeated for other topics as time allows.

In other approaches:

• One of the mentors holds a mentoring conversation with a mentee, in the centre of the circle. Usually the topic is one relevant to most or all of the mentees, but of immediate and urgent relevance to the particular mentee – for example, how to help the mentee’s team recover from a major setback
• The mentor presents a dilemma based on their own experience and invites the circle to discuss how they would have approached the situation. The issue is one raised by the circle, but the mentor chooses the case. The mentor eventually reveals what actually happened and the learning that he or she took from the experience.
• Two or more mentors hold a short discussion (perhaps 10 minutes) about a topic, in the centre of the circle, with the mentees observing. The mentors rejoin the circle and respond to questions from the mentees.
• A mentor presents a relevant issue from their own personal development plan. Each mentee offers a question they think might be helpful and the mentor chooses which ones he or she feels are most useful, responding to these. One of the big pluses of this approach is that it is a great equalizer! However, the primary intent is to give mentees an insight into the thinking of more senior leaders.

Quality issues

While there have been no published empirical studies, it appears that, like any form of mentoring, the quality of outcomes improves with appropriate training for both mentors and mentees. Mentors need to learn how to stimulate and support learning dialogue between mentees, rather than focus on mentor-mentee conversations. Both mentors and mentees benefit from training in:

• Basic facilitation skills
• Core concepts and skills of being an effective mentor/ mentee
• Creating and using personal development plans
• Challenging and being challenged
• Managing power issues

© David Clutterbuck, 2018

Prof David Clutterbuck
Coaching and Mentoring International Ltd
Woodlands, Tollgate,
Maidenhead,
Berks, UK. SL6 4LJ

www.coachingandmentoringinternational.org
e-mail: info@coachingandmentoringinternational.org
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