Reversed mentorship is a concept that takes a twist on the traditional mentorship where more experienced people share their knowledge and support with a younger person. The key concept of reverse mentoring is exactly what it sounds like – reversed. The younger talent takes on the role as a mentor for the more senior person within an organization. The aim is to share experience and bring new perspectives and knowledge to decrease the gap between generations. It is an opportunity to learn from each other and share valuable experience between senior and junior people.
The first known example of reversed mentorship comes from General Motors in 1990, where this type of mentoring was used to get senior people in leading positions to learn about the internet from younger people within the company. This seemed to work well and it was later shown to also have a positive impact on strategic and cultural aspects in the company. Today, the concept has developed towards focusing more on leadership, innovative thinking and organizational perspectives, and there are several successful programs to be found within large companies, such as Saab and Cambio in Linköping. The programs are described as an important tool for the management to improve within various areas, while they simultaneously get to share experience and knowledge that they have acquired. All this, on a neutral playing field where good ideas can be shared informally.
