Leaders become great not because of their power but, because of their ability to empower others. There can be great managers in an organisation but being a great leader is imperative for business. The great leaders are lifelong learners and they take responsibilities of the management for continuous improvement. New age human resource management encourages managers with leadership capabilities as they are the one who will polish the talents of the workforce and help them increase their productivity. In 70-20-10 employee learning method, 20% of the learning comes from coaching and mentoring at the workplace. Philosophy says that a person learns faster when they a get a guidance from a learned person and it also helps them to boost their morale. A good leader creates a preferable working environment for employees by eliminating biasness and bossy attitude. Every individual has a self respect and no one likes when it gets smashed, so to lead does not mean to rule.

It is a common practice that an employee having a great performance gets promoted to a higher level or a manager level, but just performing good does not make you a leader. He/she should have the skills to lead, coach and inspire others to achieve and be a team player. These help the company to improve their level of engagement as employees are well assigned to their jobs and a leader is always there to correct rather criticise them for their mistakes. A good leader sets the tone of the company’s culture and values. They should be a coach instead of being a commander because leadership is empowering people with their consent and not by fear. As a leader, they should know the needs and wants of their employees and what motivates them to perform their best. They should have the ability to communicate well with the employees to know each of them. This creates a sense of belongingness among employees who can go extra for the growth of the company thus increasing loyalty and responsibility.

Mentoring helps the organisation to cut the cost of training thus providing more return on investment. According to a survey, 87% of these trainings become futile as the employees are unable to retain the knowledge for more than 30 days. This happens because the trainings are provided just for a formality and not with a real intention of educating employees and the employees also takes it casually because of the learning method. Also, companies incur huge resources and time in these training processes which turns out to be a sheer waste. Whereas, mentoring does not require extra time to learn, the employees learn while working and also does not require extra cost of infrastructure, trainers etc., therefore making it crucial for a business. It creates a shield for the employees as leaders take the accountability of the team’s failure and always encouraging team members to work hard. A good leader will share the credits and praises down the channel thus inspiring the teammates for their good work. As discussed earlier, a leader sets the mood for the team and everyone act according to that which means a good mentor will lead his team towards more productivity and better organizational behavior.

A mentoring culture not only helps the company to grow but also helps an individual to grow as a person and develop his/her interpersonal skills. In the era of millennial, this is the biggest motivating factor which improves their morale and engagement. An engaged employee will never think of making a shift until something unexpected happens thus, reducing the cost of employee turnovers. Mentoring culture makes the most out of the employees by better utilization of resources and leveraging the energy of the workforce. The great leaders enable an environment where every member irrespective of their rank can put forward their opinions and ideas which create transparency and provide best learning culture.

These are the reasons why mentoring is a strategic business imperative which helps the organization to improve its performance and profitability. It strengthens the relationship skills throughout the organization making people feel more connected and committed towards the company. Mentoring is guidance not criticism.