How reverse mentorship can help create better leaders | The Way We Work, a TED series

Transcriber: TED Translators Admin Reviewer: Ivana Korom

We've always thought of mentoring

翻译人员: mi mi 校对人员: Yolanda Zhang

我们通常认为的导师指导

是老一辈将智慧传递给年轻人。

as the older generation passing down wisdom to the young,

but there's a huge benefit to flipping that around

但是我们将它反过来，

让新手教老手， 将会有意想不到的收获。

and allowing the novice to teach the master.

[The Way We Work]

【我们的工作方式】

[Made possible with the support of Dropbox]

【感谢 Dropbox 的大力支持】

目前的社会劳动力 由五代人组成，

The workforce currently consists of up to five generations

and it's becoming more diverse

由于涉及了许多特殊群体，

across all spectrums of underrepresented groups.

劳动力人群变得越来越多样化。

But that change is not arriving nearly as fast

但是这个变化的速度 在企业高管层、董事会

in C-suites and in boardrooms.

并没有那么快。

Which means there's a growing gap

这就意味着，

between leaders and their people

领导者和他们的员工

in regards to their perspectives and experiences.

在观点和经验方面的 差距越来越大。

Our organizations can fall right through that gap

我们的团队通过这个差距，

into the trap of stale thinking, blind spots

从陈旧的思想、认知的盲点

and having policies that could alienate

和对特殊群体

these underrepresented groups,

不友好的政策入手，

not only in regards to age,

不仅是年龄、

种族或者性别。

race or gender,

还包括持各种不同观点的人群。

but all different kinds of viewpoints.

Reverse mentoring could be an antidote to that tunnel vision.

反向指导可能是 克服这种狭隘愿景的良药。

But making reverse mentoring work,

但是，让反向指导发挥作用，

isn't as simple as finding a mentor

不只是找到一位导师

and pressing go.

那样简单。

你必须发自内心地

You have to be genuinely curious

about learning from that individual.

对向导师学习这件事感兴趣，

也必须有意识地对待这段关系，

And you have to be intentional about the relationship

in order to make it valuable.

才可以使它有价值。

我之所以知道这一点， [ 当千禧一代相信雇主提倡的是一种 ]

I know this because I was asked

是因为我在维珍大西洋工作的第一年 [ 包容性的文化， 83% 的人会投身于工作，]

just a year into my career at Virgin Atlantic

to be the first ever reverse mentor

就被要求成为首席官 [ 反之，则只有 60% 的人会更努力工作。]

to mentor CEO Craig Kreeger.

克雷格·柯里格（Craig Kreeger）的反向导师， 而且是公司的第一位反向导师。

I'd met Craig a few times

我见过克雷格几面，

and presented to him in meetings,

也在他面前做过报告，

but this, it was a whole different ball game.

但这次则是完全不同的情况。

克雷格向我透露，

Craig had revealed that he had no black women

他的核心社交圈里没有黑人女性，

in his inner circle

and he was keen to understand my perspective

他很想了解

我对如何在维珍建立 更具包容性文化的看法。

on how to build a more inclusive culture at Virgin Atlantic.

不要有压力。

No pressure.

下面是我学到的

Here's what I learned

关于如何让反向指导 发挥作用的知识。

about how to make reverse mentoring work.

第一点，慎重挑选与你匹配的人。

Lesson one, make your match thoughtfully.

Find someone who has a pulse

找一个对组织中

on the key spokespeople in the organization

关键发言人有了解的人

to help you make your match.

来帮你匹配。

This doesn't have to be someone in human resources,

这个人并非必须是 人力资源部的，

just someone who knows you and your teams well,

只要是了解你和 你的团队人就可以，

because chemistry really matters.

因为任何人之间微妙的 化学反应真的很重要。

The VP of people experience chose me

员工体验部的副总裁选择了我，

是因为我愿意分享我的想法

because I was open to sharing my ideas

and also my enthusiasm for leadership development.

和我对领导力培养的热情。

Also make sure

还要确保你的导师 不是你的直接下属

that your mentor isn't a direct report or part of your team,

或者你团队中的一员，

because it will be really difficult to elicit honest feedback

因为你很难从一个

你年底还要评估的人那里

from someone who you also have to review

得到真实的反馈。

at the end of the year.

If you're in finance,

如果你从事金融行业，

find someone creative in marketing,

找一个在市场营销方面 有创意的人，

如果你从事工程行业， 找一个客户服务部门的人。

or if you're in engineering, find someone in customer service.

这可以确保你跳出周边环境，

This will ensure that you develop perspectives

发展新的视角，

from outside of your immediate team

而且不同的视角 有助于培养更好的领导者。

and different perspectives make better leaders.

第二点，

Lesson two,

制定一些基本规则 让事情简单化。

to make things simple, set some ground rules.

第一次会面应该选在 一个中立的场合。

The first meeting should be offsite in a neutral location.

如果你是聆听者， 你应该制定议程。

If you're the mentee, you should set the agenda.

What is it that you really want to learn?

你真正想学的是什么？

Maybe you'd like to understand

或许你想要了解

你导师的职业生涯，

your mentor's career journey

or perhaps whether they've had any major obstacles

或者他们是否遇到了一些困难

they've had to overcome,

需要克服，

or maybe you'd like to understand

再或者，你想要了解

how specific company policies impact them

公司的政策

怎样直接或间接地影响他们。

either directly or indirectly.

Agree that your conversations together

要一致同意你们之间的谈话

will be confidential

是保密的，

and whether there are any topics which are off limits,

以及是否有任何禁止谈论的话题，

比如家庭生活

such as family life

或者一些对个人的具体评价。

or specific feedback on individuals.

Lesson three, start with an icebreaker.

第三点， 以活跃气氛的话题开始。

I like to think of this

我喜欢把它作为

as a long elevator pitch of your life stories.

你人生故事的一个 “电梯游说（elevator pitch）”。

Who are you?

你是谁？

Poignant moments in your life.

你人生中最痛苦的时刻。

What are your hopes and dreams?

你的希望和梦想是什么？

Pivot to seek differences and not similarities

寻找差异而不是相同点，

because that's the real power of reverse mentoring.

因为这才是反向指导 真正的力量所在。

Craig and I found

克雷格和我发现

that we had formative experiences in common.

我们有相似的成长经历。

Both of us immigrants,

我们都是移民，

him a second generation growing up in the US

他是在美国长大的第二代，

and myself first generation

而我是第一代，

arriving in the UK from Jamaica

在三岁的时候

从牙买加来到英国。

at the age of three.

但是从这里开始，

But from there,

我们的人生变得截然不同。

our stories are quite different.

第四点，小心角色逆转。

Lesson four, beware of role reversion.

There were a few times in our conversation

在我们的交谈中，

有几次克雷格忍不住 给我提供职业建议。

where Craig slipped into giving me career advice.

这时候我不得不提醒他， “克雷格，这真的很有趣，

And I had to say, "Craig this is really interesting

and I'd love to come back to this later,

我很乐意稍后回到这个话题，

but in our limited time together,

但是在我们有限的时间里，

你还有什么想 从我这里了解的吗？”

is there anything else you'd like to understand from me?"

这个真的很难做到，

Now this was quite hard,

但是你必须记住，

but you have to remember that as a mentor

作为在这很短时间里的导师，

for this very short period of time,

你的见解对组织更有价值。

your insights are actually more valuable to the organization.

Lesson five, make time for reflection.

第五点，抽出时间反思。

Agree the key takeaways from each of the sessions,

无论在会议结尾 还是通过后续邮件，

either at the end or through follow-up email

要对每次会议的 关键要点达成一致，

and schedule your sessions

然后安排好会议日程，

to allow time between for reflection.

留出反思的时间。

We found that three to four weeks provided a great rhythm.

我们发现三到四周的 时间节奏刚好。

And finally,

最后，

give credit where credit's due.

该表扬的就表扬。

In the traditional mentoring relationship

在传统的教导关系中，

the mentor isn't expected to be given credit.

导师不会期待被表扬。

However, in reverse mentoring

然而，在反向指导中，

where the mentee actually holds a lot of the power

被指导者实际上 拥有很大的权力，

accurate credit really counts.

准确的表扬真的很重要。

Forward-thinking organizations

具有前瞻性的组织

use reverse mentoring as one of the tools

将反向指导作为帮助他们建立

to help them build a more inclusive environment.

一个更具包容性的 环境的工具之一。

And studies have shown

研究表明，

that when organizations embrace reverse mentoring

当一个组织接受反向指导时，

members of those underrepresented groups

那些特殊群体的成员

feel more confident in sharing their perspectives.

会更自信地分享他们的观点。

And when accompanied by a comprehensive diversity

如果配合全面的 多元化和包容性战略

and inclusion strategy,

it leads to higher retention amongst these groups.

将提高这些群体的留存率。

Personally, I found

就个人而言，我发现

that my reverse mentoring relationship with Craig

我和克雷格的反向指导关系

enabled me to have a sense of ownership and leadership

让我在维珍建设 包容性文化的过程中

in building an inclusive culture at Virgin.

获得了了主人翁意识和领导力。

And for Craig, it showed

对克雷格来说，这表明

that even when you're at the pinnacle of your career,

即使你处于职业生涯顶峰，

there's still more you can learn.

仍然有很多东西需要学习。