Investing in a mentoring relationship can have a powerful career impact, but is it worth the time and effort? After all, mentoring is time consuming, mentees can resist advice, and even worse, some who consider themselves mentors do not have a full appreciation of what it takes to be a successful mentor. But if done well, with someone who is both skilled and really cares about being a mentor, the answer is it is absolutely worth the time and effort!   

While the primary goal of the relationship is career development of the mentee, mentoring goes beyond simply offering career advice. It is not a one-time or short-term fix. Mentoring is an investment in an ongoing relationship designed to guide, support, and expand an individual’s growth. 

Mentoring fuels professional goals, engaging regular and periodic “face time,” whether virtual or in-person, to delve deeper into the mentee’s aspirations. This ongoing dialogue allows the mentor to address specific challenges and opportunities, while adapting to changes in roles and professional environments. 

The value for the mentee is in gaining guidance, insights, and encouragement from an experienced leader who they admire as their career progresses. The value for the mentor is in the satisfaction of helping someone else grow, learn, and succeed while further solidifying their leadership skills. 

Guidelines for Getting Started  

When commencing a mentoring relationship, first establish two critical ground rules:  

1. A mentor should never assume the role of a supervisor. Performance evaluations hinder mentoring dialogue. Sessions are not something done once a quarter over lunch or video with an assigned mentee. 

2. The mentor and mentee should have their motivations aligned. They must have a clear understanding of goals and desired outcomes: is the mentee hesitant to take on a new project, considering a different career path, trying to get promoted?  It is imperative that the mentor fosters a safe space to brainstorm, identify gaps in skills, and explore potential solutions and paths forward. 

Attributes of a Successful Mentor  

A great mentor is motivated to cultivate a relationship that empowers the mentee to grow and achieve.   

Mentors focus on leveraging strengths with genuine enthusiasm in sharing knowledge and expertise.  A mentor who is reluctantly forced into the role as a job responsibility and who lacks this desire to help others almost always does a poor job. 

Great mentors celebrate the wins and consider lessons learned when providing constructive feedback and encouragement when setbacks or disappointments occur, creating a safe space along the way. Most people consider feedback a valuable gift, but it needs to be delivered constructively and with care. 

Adapting one’s style shows respect for the mentee’s individuality and sets the stage for a successful and rewarding relationship. Mentoring is never a one-size-fits-all approach. Although mentoring is a collaborative effort, it is incumbent on the mentor to take responsibility for ensuring goal alignment.  

Active listening and communicating for understanding are key. Trust and openness will be established in the relationship when the mentee feels listened to and understood. A mentor guides but does not direct.    

The mentor should stay alert to external influences which can impact the mentee’s trajectory. In today’s competitive landscape, a career journey can detour as unanticipated complexities increase. Focus on situational changes including leadership transitions, re-organization, and the creeping impact of workplace politics. 

Elements of a Successful Mentoring Program 

Mentoring fosters invaluable guidance and support.  There are several essential principles to consider that will cultivate an impactful relationship:   

1. Mentors should be selected by the mentee, and never assigned. 

2. Mentoring is collaborative and requires equal investment between the mentor and mentee.  Both should always be well prepared, be open, and commit to follow-through. 

3. A great mentor will help the mentee navigate company politics. Whether or not one agrees with certain company initiatives, this is an essential career skill. 

4. Relationships that embrace Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging also tend to be successful for the mentee and the mentor and can have a positive impact on company culture. Diversity can be cross generational, ethnic, gender, demographic and other differences or preferences which embody inclusivity.    

5. Mentoring relationships developed outside one’s department or company can be very valuable. Mentees will benefit from different points of view that offer fresh perspectives. 

6. Building and expanding one’s network also has far reaching impact. The mentee will be guided to other networks of professional contacts throughout the industry, both internal and external to the company. Mentees should be encouraged to use LinkedIn to connect with potential mentors and expand professional networks. 

Importance of Self Awareness 

Self-awareness is equally important for both the mentor and mentee. To cultivate self-awareness, the mentor and mentee must embrace open communications and vulnerability. Being open, honest, and direct in discussions is key. This fosters trust and allows for a deeper understanding of each other’s perspectives. 

It is essential to determine the self-awareness of the mentee. Those who are keenly self-aware own their strengths and weaknesses, seek others’ perspectives, and embrace constructive feedback. They are adaptable, accountable and have comfortable, realistic self-confidence.  Those who trend low in self-awareness are often defensive, assign blame, challenge feedback, and tend to be inflexible. 

Self-awareness is crucial for navigating one’s career path effectively. This provides an open and clear path to successful mentoring which will enable tangible results. When individuals are self-aware and are clear on their values, they are better equipped to navigate career goals.   

Interestingly, keen self-awareness helps boost one’s self-confidence. This leads to comfortable openness in refining one’s skill set. 

Reverse Mentoring 

Consider reverse mentoring, where the relationship is flipped for a specific skill. The mentee with more experience in a selected area guides the more senior employee, often a leader.  Reverse mentoring has been around for decades and can be very valuable. Mentors who set aside egos will be welcoming of reverse mentoring and be that much more successful.   

Not surprisingly, reverse mentoring often centers around technology, use of social media and other digital platforms including Gen AI.   Reverse mentoring can provide the mentor with deep insights into company/department culture from an avenue they may not directly access regularly.  Perspectives represented from the “front lines” can be particularly insightful in supplementing the leadership team points of view.  Reverse mentoring further fosters trust in the mentor/mentee relationship and enhances leadership skills for the mentee.  And it’s fun.   

Why Do Mentoring Relationships Fail? 

Keep in mind factors that can lead to a failed mentoring relationship, including the lack of alignment and understanding of goals. Without clear objectives, the relationship will struggle. 

Be sure that the mentee is fully comfortable with and confident in the mentor’s approach. It is better to cancel the program and re-direct to help the mentee find the right mentor early on. If one of you does not feel the relationship is a good fit, it will not work and should be terminated. 

A mentor who is motivated by money or self-interest, (e.g., “checking a box”) in their leadership track will fail. And remember, the mentor’s primary role is to develop, not supervise. Performance evaluation can hinder progress. 

A mentor who embodies these qualities can become a powerful force in the mentee’s life, helping them achieve their full potential. With the investment of time and ownership in a well-structured mentoring partnership, both mentors and mentees will reap significant rewards throughout their careers.  Is mentoring worth the time and effort?  Absolutely!

About the author

A couple of weeks ago, I met with twelve outstanding #LegalOperationsProfessionals as part of the #CLOC Mentorship Monday program. Thank you Betsi Roach, Janice Carroll, and Nicole Zafian for considering me and for the perfect orchestration of that day. 
 
The day went by very quickly and was an incredibly enriching experience! I was impressed by how well the participants were prepared for the sessions and surprised to conclude that all twelve discussions were quintessentially around the same three questions: 
 
(1)   How can I become an effective #ChangeAgent 
(2) How much risk shall I take driving driving #change? 
(3)   Why is the person who hired me [GC / CLO] not supporting me more? 
 
For those who are returning from #CGI2022 Las Vegas these questions likely sound familiar. Especially to those who were strong enough, and there were many, to attend the excellent closing session moderated by Jason Barnwell and with the fabulous Aine Lyons, Laura Richardson, and Wendy Rubas. 
 
So here my learning from the mentorship sessions: When I became the operations person for #Novartis, I was so happy that I finally got the position that I always wanted, that stopped taking any risks. I was afraid that I could lose the position that I fought for so hard. Needless to say, that this did not work out well. Ideas, processes, and systems that I implemented were broadly ignored by the legal professionals that I tried to serve. An effective change agent needs to be bold, needs to inspire, needs to feel comfortable being wrong. And all that takes courage and at times it is risky. But hey, what is the worst that can happen? As long as you’ve prepared diligently, and gave it your best, I suggest not that much. That at least is my conclusion after being a #LegalOperator for over fifteen years. And yes, I started taking risks eventually and the reward has been spectacular. A big shout out to Shannon Thyme Klinger who taught me so much about leading change and who always encouraged me to be curious and bold, and who motivated me to be the best version of myself every day. 
 
And what do we do with our GCs and CLOs that are not always supporting us? Remember, they hired us to improve and reimagine how legal services are provided, likely because they acknowledge that this is out of their comfort zone. So, it is on us to inspire them, educate them, and help them to be the convincing sponsor that we need on our side to be an effective change agent. 
 
Thank you, dear mentees from the bottom of my heart for helping me to see clearer on the highly relevant topics that you raised during our sessions! Continue to be curious and bold…, and be kind. Then always remember, we are bringing new ideas and change to one of the oldest profession in the world, and there has been very little change for the last 2000 years about how we work. Change can be hard for those who are asked to adjust the way they work. 

Author: Maurus Schreyvogel, Chief Legal Innovation Officer at Novartis International AG.

Alex Su did everything right.

He went to the right law school. Northwestern. He worked hard and became an editor of law review.

He made sure he knew what was expected of him and kept at it to land his dream job, an associate position at a swanky firm like the ones he read about growing up in Brooklyn reading John Grisham novels.

Once he arrived at Big Law, it didn’t take long for Alex to realize that the path he had chosen was not what he expected.

He thought Small Law would be better, but not only did the work seem disconnected to real value to the client, someone else always determined Alex’s value.

By the hour.

What happens when someone else decides your value?

If you don’t like it, they’ll swap you out for someone willing to do the same work better than you.

And by better, they mean cheaper and more hours.

Without exception, this kind of puppet-string fate is not true for those who carve out a reputation for themselves.

Without exception, these same people are far from perfect.

They have been hired. And fired.

They’ve auditioned and been asked to leave the stage before they play the third note.

They’ve risked everything. And failed.

But there’s one thing they all have in common: they put themselves out there in hopes of finding a few others to connect with over a shared belief, leader, or idea.

Seth Godin calls them Tribes. A favorite writer of mine, CS Lewis, expressed the feeling of finding your tribe like this: “What? You too? I thought I was the only one!”

The moment you create a tribe? A brand is born.

The moment a brand is born? You’ve stopped following someone else’s map.

It’s a hard pill to swallow when you realize that your whole life you’ve been doing everything possible to follow a map or plan perfectly, only to realize that the least valued skill in our culture is exactly that.

Have I memorized perfectly exactly what is on the test?

Am I writing this exactly the way the professor wants me to do it?

Regardless of what your partners, professors, or even parents tell you with the best of intentions, the least valued skill in our culture is the ability to follow a map made by someone else.

Why does this matter?

It’s a great time to be a little brand with a powerful product in the legal world charting your own course.

A brief history lesson helps give context to why.

Since the end of World War II, legal has mimicked business in how it creates shareholder value. The fact that legal declared itself an industry and created a system that could turn out mass-produced products with interchangeable parts has to be the ultimate nod of servitude to the behemoth corporate clients that arose from the Industrial Revolution.

But this kind of gangster algorithm, as NYU Marketing Professor and CNN+ Commentator Scott Galloway would call it, no longer works.

Why not? Two reasons.

First, fast forward to March 2020 and Anthony Klotz. Klotz is the business school professor at Texas A&M who unleashed the phrase “The Great Resignation” now heard around the world and applied to any current business problem.

I wish I could put Anthony in the Wayback Machine and change the phrase he will undoubtedly be remembered for to “The Great Awakening” to better describe the deep hunger millions of people woke up to during COVID. A hunger for purpose, for meaningful work. Basically #whatthehellamidoinghere.

Second, this Great Awakening opened our eyes to the artificial constraints of our old systems:

Geography.

Hierarchy.

Size.

And on and on.

To sum it up, The Great Awakening means with today’s technology, a little brand and a powerful product can get from unknown to known faster than ever.

Just ask Keith Gill. AKA Roaring Kitty. (It doesn’t matter if you don’t recognize his brand. His tribe knows. Then so did the crashing stock market.)

Or Alex Su.

How did he land his position as Head of Community Development at Ironclad Digital Contracts?

He did the hard work, day in and day out, not unlike Keith Gill although I don’t think Alex was still in his mom’s basement.

Gradually, Alex’s tribe began to find him.

And then Ironclad began to pursue Alex not because of who he was on paper, but how he showed up in real life.

During The Great Awakening, Alex Su started to unwittingly build his brand day in and day out by caring enough to learn to speak in the new language he saw being birthed with The Great Awakening. A language that was raw, real, and human―and straight to our social feeds when we were hungry for it most.

Risky? Yes.

Could his performances have flopped? Yes.

Did he know where it was leading? All caps NO.

The best part? Ironclad just knew they wanted him.

Come, they said. We’ll figure out those formal roles and responsibilities HR requires as we go along.

Alex and Ironclad started with a white board to create the position that honored Alex’s gifts and talents and how it intertwines with the Ironclad community.

Alex Su has joined the few that knows how it feels to make your own map.

So, as it turns out, Alex Su has a story to tell, but it isn’t the one you’ve heard about him before: Boy goes to Big Law. Leaves it for legal tech. Makes memes. You should too!

It’s risky. It’s not for those who play finite games or who need to keep score.

It’s the story of being true.

As Alex said when I had the pleasure of speaking with him, “Brand is what people say and think about you when you aren’t around.”

As it turns out, that is all that building a brand is.

Being true to you. In your own skin. Wherever life takes you.

What a relief.

To learn more about ways to build your brand, visit the Career Center at the CLOC Global Institute.

 

Lisa Konie discusses how to create an internship program at your organization by using a step-by-step process developed through her personal experience at Adobe Inc. By utilizing these steps and guidelines you will be well on your way to developing your own successful internship program at your organization.

Setting Up an Internship Program – Tips for Success

Creating an internship program requires thoughtful effort. Interns take a lot of work and you shouldn’t just create an intern program lightly. There are a number of components to consider before starting a program, especially for legal interns.

For example, many interns do not have practical experience, or knowledge, and will require a considerable amount of guidance. Throughout the program, the interns will need to have frequent check ins, access to systems and tools, schedule of activities, and complete training programs before they can begin working on projects. In order to have a successful program, it will require dedicated support.

Keep in mind that these young adults come with their own set of ideals and priorities. It’s important to ensure your intern fits into your corporate culture, but also demonstrates their curiosity to learn more about how your organization operates. Before starting an internship program, it’s critical to evaluate whether you have sufficient time to mentor, monitor and train your interns. Without this component your interns and your program will not be set up for success.

Getting Started

Why do you want to implement an internship program?

What are you trying to accomplish with your program? Although internship programs can offer a tremendous benefit to your business, and help with your recruiting and staffing needs, you need to have a plan in place before you start. A well crafted, structured and robust internship program will increase your chances of success and keep you on track to meet your goals.

What are you hoping to gain from an internship program?

1. Do you just need help with projects?
2. Are you looking to pay it forward?
3. Is there a diversity component?
4. Are you looking to create a pipeline of talent and hire as full time employees (FTE’s)?
5. Do you want an infusion of eager minds with a new point of view?

Once you’ve come to an alignment within your organization on why you want to bring on an intern, consider what characteristics you are targeting. Are you looking for 1L’s, 2L’s, 3L’s, MBA candidates, areas of interest, etc?

Is your organization ready for an internship program?

It’s up to you to make sure that your intern fits into your organization and that they have a great experience. Keep in mind that interns are a marketing vehicle for your company. You want the intern to return to their school and tell all their classmates that they had an amazing experience at your company. Take some time to answer the following to consider whether your company is ready to implement an internship program.

• Has your company bought into the concept of the internship program? Without buy-in from all levels of the organization, especially at the executive levels, the intern won’t feel welcome.
• Do you have someone who can oversee the intern throughout the entire period of the internship?
• Can you assign a buddy for the intern, someone that is “safe” for their questions?
• Does your organization have a general internship program at the corporate level? Can you tap into that resource and combine your efforts with theirs?
• Will your intern fit into your company culture? Keep in mind there are likely to be age differences between your interns and the general internship pool. Lots of corporate intern programs are focused on college interns and your law students might feel differentiated and out of place.
• Consider your brand. Can you afford to bring on interns without hiring them at the end of the internship?
• Will the work they are assigned to be challenging and insightful, rather than just repetitive busy work? Interns are willing to step out of their comfort zone and learn practical concepts that they haven’t experienced or learned about. Give them an opportunity to demonstrate their abilities.

When should you start?

Find out your own organization’s H.R. hiring schedule. H.R. schedules are typically not in sync with law schools.

It’s important to know key dates for campus recruitment. Schools are usually soliciting participation at on campus interviews (OCIs) in late spring and in early summer. Top law students are getting recruited by law firms in early fall. Create a plan for recruiting and set appropriate expectations internally, as well as with your intern.

Since campus interview season starts in August, you may miss some great talent if you start interviewing in January or February. If you’re targeting certain schools, reach out to the career development center at those schools to understand the time table for their OCIs.

Keep in mind that 1L students cannot be recruited until December 1st, as opposed to the typical August timeframe with 2Ls. There is less expectation for a 1L to receive a returning offer since they aren’t in as high a demand as 2L candidates, so this may be an option if you miss the key recruiting window or don’t anticipate hiring as a FTE. By considering a 1L for your internship, you can still get top talent well into the beginning of the year to help source your internship program for that summer.

Design Your Program

Develop the Structure.

A comprehensive and robust internship program should include information on learning objectives and goals, daily responsibilities, short and long-term projects, supervisor assignments, evaluation procedures, policies and expectations, orientation and off-boarding processes, just to name the basics. What will the intern do and what are they expected to accomplish? Will they have daily tasks, or will they be working on special projects? What is the reporting structure?

Secure budget and establish compensation.

Ensure that you have enough budget and whether it’s going to cover relocation or housing while your intern is on-site at your location. You’ll also need to determine compensation for the individual during the timeframe that you will have them on board.

Develop a job description, open a job requisition and get ready to post the position.

Make sure your job descriptions are all in order well before you post your internships. Open a job requisition, if that’s something that your company requires. Also, determine whether you’ll have recruiting support from your H.R team.

There are a number of recruiting platforms that many schools are tied into, so don’t lose hope if you don’t have support from your H.R. organization. You can still post intern job openings directly with school career development organizations.

You don’t have to be a large corporation with lots of bodies and resources to have a great program. You can recruit on your own through phone screening, or by leveraging job boards directly at law schools.

Plan your projects in advance.

Make sure that you have a sufficient amount of work for the intern to do. Sitting idly with nothing to do is a horrible experience. It’s critical to make sure that your interns always have enough to do, but are not completely overwhelmed. You don’t want them to feel like they have to put in a 60-hour work week, but at the same time, you want to make sure that they have enough interesting work to do.

Pay attention to the projects and the work that you have scoped out for your interns. You do not want your interns to go through an experience where they do not have enough to do. You also need to recognize that sometimes interns might be a little reluctant to put their hand up and say that they’re not busy enough because they don’t want to draw attention to themselves. It’s up to you, or the person who is overseeing your intern program, to make sure that you’ve got consistent touch points and that you know that your intern is busy to the appropriate level.

Onboarding, Orientation and Evaluation

1. Assign a mentorAssigning a buddy is a great way to allow the intern to have a connection with your department that is beyond just the manager. It also gives them a “safe” way to ask questions and get training.
   1. Identify people across your legal and organization that want to mentor and enlist their support. You may also need their support in interviewing or in assisting the intern throughout the summer.
   2. There are many ways for people across your organization to get involved. It’s up to you to make sure that you have lined up those resources in advance and that they understand their role. This will help ensure that your intern has a valuable summer and becomes part of the team.
2. Set the tone for the intern on arrival.You may need to do things differently for your intern than you do for your usual FTE’s. For some of them, this may be their first exposure to a “corporate” position.
   1. Welcome the intern and introduce them to the team in which they will reside and to the organization. This will help integrate them more quickly and help them adjust to the social and performance aspects of their projects and their internship so that they can be successful.
   2. Take your intern to lunch, walk them around your department, send out an email communication about their arrival to your department.
   3. Make the intern feel included in all things. This is the theme that you will need to continue throughout the summer to ensure that your intern has an amazing experience.
3. Schedule meet and greets.Scheduling meet and greets between your intern and your key leadership team allows your interns to get a better understanding of what happens across the entire legal department at the beginning of their internship. This gives them the confidence to reach out to their managers to provide input about certain areas, tasks or kinds of work that may be of interest to them. It will also help them determine if they are a good fit for a full time role, if offered.
4. Plan a team building and networking event.It’s important for your intern to realize how valuable this experience is and to gather information about what the practice of law is really like, and to meet the people who work in the industry.
   1. Early team building events will integrate the intern quickly into the organization. This can be just a fun activity that takes place during the summer, or if you want to partner with other people at different companies, you can pull all of your interns together and have a broader and more inclusive experience.
   2. Using defined touch points, interns will better understand how to leverage their time with your organization to “fine tune” the remainder of their law school education. They will also better understand what they want to do in the future and how to map out their career.
5. Set up frequent check-ins.Ensure that you meet with the intern on a regular basis and have formal midpoint and endpoint evaluations. Discuss how the intern is contributing, strengths and areas that need growth, and any other feedback for the intern. Invite the intern to report on project statuses and ask questions to better understand their role, project and your organization.
6. Don’t spread the interns out too thinly.Co-located interns are much easier to oversee and you will be able to create a more inclusive experience for those interns. Remember, if you do not have co-located interns, team building becomes even more critical. You will need to work harder to integrate those interns who are not co-located. Team building outings, or exercises, will help to connect your interns not only to the teams with whom they are embedded, but also to other interns.
7. Send out an after internship survey.Gather feedback about what worked and what you can do differently from the interns. Integrate that feedback into the program design for the following year.
8. Prepare to hire outstanding candidates.Make sure you have budget allocated and the paperwork underway so that your internal processed doesn’t delay your ability to make an offer. If you want to extend an offer at the end of summer, prepare early so that your interns are not left hanging wondering whether they’re going to get a job offer. Early planning ensures that you won’t miss out on hiring top talent that you have invested in.

Key Takeaways

• Just Start. Don’t make this a tools problem. Go through the exercises and develop a strong foundation.
• Prepare. Start with process definition. Determine what matters to your organization and drive toward measurable results.
• Make it a Amazing for Your Intern, Your Team and Yourself. Keep in mind that these students are all looking for an experience that will build their career and help them refine their focus. Make sure at every turn you have created an outstanding experience for them during their summer. Whether it’s filled with cool transactional work,interesting meetings with different individuals across your organization, or even informational interviews, take the time and effort to exceed expectations.
• Stand Out From the Crowd Think about all of the little nuances that will allow your intern program to stand out and be something different from all the other intern programs out there. This will ensure that your program will be a success.

The above information is based on a podcast that is accessible to members only. Listen to the Podcast. For detailed documentation on intern programs, including sample generic job descriptions, and more details on key dates, access the Internship Initiative on CLOC.org.

Attend a CLOC Institute to learn more about this, and many other topics of interest to legal operations professionals. Are you an in-house legal professional? Join CLOC as a member and be part of the discussion!