A recent event had me anchoring a speed mentoring segment. What participants probably did not expect was the reverse mentorship component.
The conversations were fascinating. But one insight kept surfacing: many older leaders are struggling to understand and navigate their relationships with younger people, particularly Gen Z.
It was not simply about technology or social media. It was about communication, expectations, workplace culture, authority, values, and even how different generations understand respect. And as I listened, I realised that some of the answers were sitting in the room, with the very young people many institutions are struggling to understand. That is the opportunity of reverse mentorship.
We often think of mentorship as knowledge flowing in one direction: the senior person teaches, the younger person learns. But organisations are increasingly operating in environments where experience is not the only form of expertise. A young professional may understand emerging consumer behaviour, digital culture, new workplace expectations or the perspectives of a generation far better than someone who has spent decades at the top of an organisation.
The challenge is that reverse mentorship requires something many institutions are not particularly good at creating: psychological safety across hierarchy.
