A recent survey of Fortune 500 business leaders indicates that 96% of all respondents agree that mentoring is an important part of professional development.

Unfortunately, workplace mentoring programs often fall flat because the mentor/mentee relationship loses its momentum, the participants flounder without structure and goals in place, the “lessons learned” are too conceptual to put into practice or the program’s moderators get overwhelmed by the time investment it takes to administrate a successful program.

That’s why we introduced a new approach, created specifically for law firms, that we call Results Mentoring. Through this program, a mentor and mentee work together for a short period of time—usually one hour per month for six months—under the facilitation of a certified professional coach. The coach works closely with the pair to identify desired goals and outcomes of the mentoring relationship and the coach assumes responsibility for setting the agendas for each session, guiding the discussion, assigning “homework” and mid-session activities, and providing a mid-point and end of engagement summary of activities and results.

For attorneys:
Our unique Results Mentoring model offers many advantages to the attorneys who participate:

• Mentors and mentees both benefit from sharing knowledge and experiences.
• The mentor immediately puts learning into practice through specific exercises guided by the coach and with real-time feedback from the mentor.
• Mentors are more likely to want to participate because they are free from the burdensome time commitment of administrating sessions and developing practice materials. Attorneys focus on doing the work; we focus on the administration, preparation and follow-up.

For law firms:
Law firm managers also stand to benefit from Results Mentoring because:

• It’s a real-time approach to professional development. Studies repeatedly show that learning “sticks” when it is practiced and applied to real-time situations.
• Resulting Mentoring is cost-effective and time sensitive, with a beginning and an ending. Most participants are amazed to discover how much can get done in just one hour every three or four weeks for six months.
• Sessions are facilitated by a certified coach who not only understands successful mentoring but also the unique culture of, and business issues facing, law firms today.
• Firm management is kept appraised through all phases of the engagement, including a midpoint progress report and an end-of-engagement summary.

Paleen Consulting has used the Results Mentoring process with small, mid-sized and AmLaw 100 firms, harnessing the experience of mentors to help mentees through challenges and build skills in:

• Keeping clients through mergers, restructuring or increasing competition
• Having critical conversations (with clients, colleagues, etc.)
• Building—and keeping—a book of business
• Making the transition successfully from associate to partner