How Managers Improve Learning, Performance, Engagement and Their Own Leadership Effectiveness Through Mentoring

I’ve written previously about how the manager as mentor, looks for opportunities to turn ordinary conversations into mentoring moments. In today’s feature article, I take it a step further because in today’s climate, continuously upgrading the knowledge, skills and abilities of employees is vital. And managers have a critical role.

If you are investing in learning and development of your people and expect a return on investment, first ensure your managers know how to mentor their subordinates for transfer of learning and take responsibility for doing so. My article explains how.

Thought Of The Day

"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other." 

John F Kennedy

How Managers Improve Learning, Performance, Engagement and Their Own Leadership Effectiveness Through Mentoring

We’ve known for decades that training rarely improves performance on the job. In fact, 80% of what is learned in a course is forgotten by the time people get back to the workplace!

The crazy thing is that this is easy to turn around! Not only that, but by doing so employee engagement will increase, on the job performance will improve and so will leadership effectiveness.

The problem is three-fold. Too often, when people go to training they don’t have:

1. Specific intentions and purpose for being there;
2. Focus and interest from their managers; or
3. Strategies, support and accountability for transfer of learning.

Without this, it is very difficult for people to retain and apply new knowledge and skills.

The solution is to ensure that your managers know how to mentor their subordinates for transfer of learning and take responsibility for doing so. Managers mentor by collaboratively:

• Planning development;
• Preparing people for effective learning; and
• Supporting the application of what is learned when they return to the workplace.

Planning Development

Most employees now have some kind of personal development plan negotiated with their supervisor or manager. This is a very useful start but both managers and subordinates need to be clear that simply entering a course or other learning strategy into the plan and budgeting time and money for it is not enough.

Managers must mentor their subordinates in conversations that ensure full value is gained from development efforts. Participants must be switched on to using what they learn.

Say for example, “business communication skills” has been identified as an area of development and the employee is enrolled to attend a course on this topic. A conversation should clarify just what “business communication” means in their context and they need to talk about:

• The objectives and content of the course;
• What they’d most like to gain;
• Why that’s important and relevant on the job; and
• How specifically it will contribute to their performance benefit the participant.

This conversation frames purpose and intention

Preparing For Effective Learning

Whether or not a course has pre-work, preparation is needed if people are to make the most of a learning opportunity.

Just prior to course attendance the manager and subordinate should make time to review their earlier conversation. They should also schedule a meeting for immediately after the training. This conversation focuses on:

• Intended outcomes from the training – what the participant will be able to do, do better or differently back on the job;
• The expectation that the participant will reflect on and share their key learning points from the course and ways for applying them at work; and
• How they will personally benefit as a result of their effort.

This conversation focuses the participant and assures them of their manager’s interest.

Supporting Learning Transfer

Follow-up is vital because even the most well-intentioned learner cannot apply new knowledge and skills in a vacuum. Lack of support from managers is the number one reason why learning transfer is generally less than 20%. 

New skills need to be nurtured through practice, feedback and coaching. This may be done by the manager or can be delegated to an experienced colleague.

What can’t be delegated is the post-training conversation where manager and subordinate, as planned prior to the course:

• Review the key content of the course;
• Determine how the learning will be applied in the workplace;
• Discuss what ongoing opportunities and support will be made available;
• Agree what outcomes or evidence will indicate success; and
• Decide when a further follow up conversation will take place.

This conversation embeds strategies, support and accountability for transfer of learning.

Employee Engagement and Leadership Effectiveness

Managers who mentor their people so that they have specific intentions and purpose when they go to training, are focused and aware of the manager’s ongoing interest and have strategies, support and accountability for transfer of learning, will improve on-the-job performance.

Mentoring conversations with their manager increase employee engagement. They know that their manager is genuinely interested in their development and they understand that they are accountable for producing outcomes from any development opportunities.

The process of mentoring their subordinates also benefits the managers. They become more focused on outcomes, they become more engaged with their people and thus they improve the quality of their own leadership.

It’s never been more important to increase the effectiveness of learning, performance, engagement and leadership. Instead of struggling to more with less, managers who mentor leverage the potential of what they’ve got. That’s how mentoring works!

Article End

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