ACE member Curtins shares the success of its reverse mentoring programme as part of ACE’s Building Inclusivity campaign.

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everse mentoring is when a more junior member of staff mentors a senior leader within an organisation. Increasing in popularity, ACE’s group for emerging professionals led a cross-industry reverse mentoring pilot in 2017. The subsequent report outlined lessons learned from the programme across seven ACE members and provided a how-to guide for companies interested in reverse mentoring.

Emma Scholes (senior geo-environmental engineer) and Jon Bird (technical director) share their joint thoughts and experiences of the Curtins scheme they took part in 2021, and how it has positively impacted on their approaches to work.

Why did you get involved?

Emma Scholes: “I’d been at the company for just over two years and had just moved from a graduate to become an engineer when the opportunity came up. I was at a point where I was comfortable in my day-to-day role and felt I had enough experience in the company to have my own thoughts and views and was ready to share that understanding.”

Jon Bird: “ I was interested as it was a different approach providing me with the opportunity to learn from people who will be driving and living the future rather than what we usually did which was defining how they should be. I also wanted to push myself outside of my comfort zone.”

Emma: “I know that there aren’t many companies where as a young professional you’re given the opportunity to engage with senior management and board directors, so this was too good an opportunity to pass on. Being a woman in engineering, especially within one of the smaller business units at Curtins, means I have a unique viewpoint and I was keen to share this experience with others.”

What were your expectations going into the scheme?

Jon: “I’d heard very little about reverse mentoring apart from internally. Once I read up on it, I could see how it could be really positive experience if done well”. 

Emma: “I was lucky to work with an engineer in our Leeds office who had taken part in the process the year before and had some really positive feedback.” 

Jon: “I decided to approach it positively and be open minded. I was really hopeful that I would be paired with someone like-minded and I did have a few worries about how the process might work for a horribly mismatched pair! Thankfully that wasn’t the case with myself and Emma and we were a good fit for the programme.”

Emma: “I had no idea who I would be partnered with, or who else would be taking part. I hoped that everyone would have an open mind and that there would be a safe space to discuss our views honestly and in confidence. I did also hope to have a positive impact on my mentee and to give them a different view of things, and in turn have to opportunity to learn from them.”

How did you structure the programme?

Jon: “The Curtins approach was very flexible. We defined our own commitments from the outset and agreed to be fully focused, engaged, direct, honest and self-critical. We also wanted to make sure we were enjoying the process. Emma and I quickly realised we had common values and wanted to approach things in the same way.”

Emma: “A broad programme was mapped out for us from the programme leaders with the suggestion of monthly sessions and a group catch up about two-thirds of the way through the programme. Each pair approached things differently but we decided to cover lots of topics – diversity and inclusion, mental health, future of the workplace, sustainability – and let those discussions drive our goals.”

Jon: “The initial programme also included some key ‘rules’ for the process. We agreed to joint responsibility for: clear communication, establishing trust, appreciating each others experiences, an openness to sharing values and beliefs, a candid discussion of the challenges we faced and the understanding and respect for personal and confidentiality boundaries. I think that this worked well for us.”

“If you believe in continual personal development and are willing to be challenged, then I would definitely recommend participating in a reverse mentoring programme!” Jon Bird, technical director at Curtins

How did you find meeting up with the wider group towards the end of the programme?

Jon: It was interesting to hear how different groups had progressed through this, and the ideas they came up with.”

Emma: “It was great to get everyone together to reflect on the process. We all shared the topics we'd discussed and ideas and initiatives we were hoping to implement. It was really interesting as a lot of the pairs had cross overs so for certain topics we were able to create mini steering groups to push initiatives forward. It was nice to be able to speak to the other mentors about their experiences and see how far we'd all come since our first virtual meeting about nine months previously.”  

What did you gain from the process?
 
Emma: “I think there's a huge sense of achievement. We were never wholly driven by the deliverables, as the process was mainly about learning, but it’s equally inspiring to see some real life outputs from the programme.”

Jon: “My main takeaway was getting to know, and work with, Emma. Having a younger person open up and help you to develop is, I believe, a huge privilege. I hope to stay in touch with Emma beyond this process and, where I can, support her future career.” 

Emma: “On a personal level the process gave me a lot more confidence in my beliefs and has really helped me with communication. Jon has this wealth of knowledge and understanding of the industry and it’s great to tap into that and that he was so approachable and willing to share. I think I've learnt to not be afraid to speak openly, whether that's asking questions or offering suggestions. There's also some great validation in knowing that because you were given the opportunity to share your views and opinions, some positive changes have been made.” 

Would you recommend reverse mentoring to others? 

Jon: “If you believe in continual personal development and are willing to be challenged, then I would definitely recommend participating in a reverse mentoring programme!”

Emma: “You'll definitely get the most out of it by throwing yourself into it. I think its important to not shy away from difficult conversations and to voice your own opinions, not just going along with what you think the other person would like to hear. For a mentor it's important to not feel like you don't have anything to give your mentee that they won’t already know – you're both in the process for a reason”.

Our thanks to Emma Scholes and Jon Bird for sharing their experiences of the Curtins reverse mentoring scheme. Find out more about reverse mentoring in our 2018 report.

View more on ACE’s Building Inclusivity campaign at the dedicated hub.