The following article was provided by Erik Thompson via the Journal of Accountancy:

A mentor’s job is to foster one-to-one relationships that challenge people to rise to higher levels of competence and responsibility. This article discusses three key characteristics of an effective mentor:

1. An effective mentor asks challenging questions that help people expand their scope of responsibilities.

2. An effective mentor is highly connected to the person being mentored.

3. An effective mentor challenges others with penetrating insights.

THE BENEFITS OF MENTORING

Most firm and organizational leaders see the value of mentoring. But mentoring is often narrowly viewed as supportive or educational rather than as a vehicle for delivering accountability and driving performance. The idea, for example, that mentoring is a way to challenge a young estate tax expert to grow into someone who brings in new clients is not well understood. Mentoring is commonly tepid and sparse, making brief appearances during reviews that are predictable if not superficial. But with practice, effective mentoring can become a strong foundation for every firm’s growth and success.

When Kevin Corcoran stepped into his role as CFO of VWR Education LLC, a scientific education products company based in Rochester, N.Y., he did not know anyone on his management team, including his own boss. He needed to be able to connect with his team quickly, and they with him, in order to become, and execute as, a strong leadership team. Fortunately for Corcoran, the senior management team had recently implemented a program to help its leaders become better mentors. The immediate goal was to improve communication and strengthen the connection among the leadership team members. Two years later, stronger mentoring has delivered much more. It has become part of a culture of accelerated professional growth where leaders challenge their top talent in regularly scheduled coaching sessions that are based on open discussions and yield tangible results.

The notion that mentoring wastes time is false. It is a productivity accelerator. Effective mentoring grows responsible employees and frees up the mentor to perform higher-order duties, such as developing new business. “I don’t have time to mentor” is usually a cover for “I don’t know how.” The leader who allows this mentality to prevail is choosing comfort over progress.

Firm leaders should determine which of their tasks bring the most value to the business and draft a “stop doing” list, which includes responsibilities that will be transferred via mentoring. The road to a stagnant firm is paved with the phrase “It’s easier if I just do it myself.”

SKILL 1: MENTORING QUESTIONS

One of the most important elements to a strong mentoring relationship is not giving people answers. Exceptional mentoring is more concerned with teaching people how to think rather than telling them what to think.

“You don’t realize how good some professionals are until you put yourself in a conversation where you’re discussing weaknesses and deficiencies. Voluntarily walking into your boss’s office to openly discuss your shortcomings seems counter- intuitive but it can lead to an incredible depth of learning and understanding,” Corcoran said.

The “answer guy,” who knows the business top to bottom, spending all day dispensing water from a well of technical expertise, is the antithesis of a mentor. No one has to do any thinking in his presence. He complains that people are too dependent on him for answers, without seeing that he keeps it that way. He suffers from the “I know” syndrome.

The best cure for the “I know” syndrome is to practice the art of “mentoring questions.” Mentoring questions make people think. For example, when asked about how to respond to a demanding e-mail from an important client, a mentor might ask, “What do you think is the best way to handle this?” The question is not rhetorical, or a pop quiz with one right answer. The mentor is genuinely interested in the other’s thinking. Such questions send an important accountability signal: You own this problem.

“I can have direct and candid conversations with my boss, and I’m not worrying about his motivation when we’re having a ‘mentoring’ conversation. He puts new challenges in front of me to consider, but he doesn’t make the decision for me. That is my responsibility. I’m also encouraged to offer new ideas to improve the business. It is all about trust,” Corcoran said.

Here are some other examples of mentoring questions:

• “Are you interested in carrying the ball on something new?”
• “Do you believe you have a sufficient grasp of the regulatory environment in this situation?”
• “How would you evaluate your options?”
• “Is there a better way to do this that we haven’t considered?”