Jump directly to the Content

Reverse Mentoring

The new learning curve is from the bottom up.

When General Electric head Jack Welch realized that GE was falling far behind other companies in its use of the internet as a business tool, he knew he needed help. But who could he ask? Welch himself rarely surfed the Web, finding it overwhelming, but he realized that understanding and embracing online technology was critical to GE's long-term success.

To catch up, Welch instituted a "reverse mentoring" program at GE. He required more than 500 of his top executives to find a younger, tech-savvy "Web mentor" to teach them how to use the web and understand e-business. Following Welch's lead, over the past few years, a growing number of organizations, from Proctor and Gamble to the Seattle Public Schools, have implemented reverse mentoring programs to help them understand technology, business trends, and pop culture.

Reverse mentoring can take place either formally or informally. Wharton School of Business requires older MBA candidates with long resumes to partner with younger, full-time ...

March
Support Our Work

Subscribe to CT for less than $4.25/month

Homepage Subscription Panel

Read These Next

Related
I Voted Clinton. He Voted Trump. We Still Do Ministry Together.
I Voted Clinton. He Voted Trump. We Still Do Ministry Together.
How my right-hand man and I reconciled our political differences for the sake of our church.
From the Magazine
Should the Bible Sound Like the Language in the Streets?
Should the Bible Sound Like the Language in the Streets?
Controversy over Bibles in Jamaica, the Philippines, and Germany reveal the divide between the sacred and the relatable.
Editor's Pick
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
Understanding God and our world needs more than bare reason and experience.
close