Mentoring Program Attracts High-Flying Alumni

AUTHOR: Sarah Mills   DATE: 01.09.05   ISSUE 2, 2005

The AGSM Alumni Mentoring Program was introduced in 2002 to guide Executive Year (EY) students through the pitfalls inherent in the team component of their final year. It was developed from a research project providing fascinating insights into organisational team management and behaviour, and has grown exponentially. That former EY students, armed with the team skills and experience acquired in their MBA, have returned in droves to contribute to the program, is testimony to a burning intellectual curiosity among their ranks about the mechanics of team behaviour.

“We have been very fortunate that so many former EY students have chosen to come on board as mentors."

PHOTO: Taek Yang (Denise Weinreis)

Denise Weinreis, a former international professional basketball player with a Masters degree in International Studies specialising in building culturally diverse teams, was recruited in 2003 to leverage the strong Alumni response.

“I am involved with supporting students via the mentoring program and other inititiatives so their syndicate experience is one of learning and not agony,” says Weinreis. “We have been very fortunate that so many former EY students have chosen to come on board as mentors. Thanks to their efforts, the program has really gained traction and we have been receiving very positive results, both from an educational and research perspective.”

A 'syndicate' is a group of four-to-six students who study for their EY and produce six assignments collectively. It aims to replicate an 'executive team' typical of the workplace and gives students an opportunity to work with a group of other high achievers while learning team skills.

Since its inception in 2002, the number of Alumni volunteering their time to mentor these syndicates has grown exponentially from just 20 ‘coaches’ (as they were called) to 74 mentors in 2004. These 74 mentors supported 56 syndicates for 336 students. Their numbers include eight mentor advisers – mentors to the mentors.

But what is it that motivates senior managers of so many of Australia’s largest organisations volunteer their time?

Some join the program because they had a less-than-satisfactory experience in their own teams and felt they could contribute to improvement. Others enjoyed their Executive Year so much that they just weren’t ready to let go. Most found the demands on their time easy to juggle. Two briefing meetings followed by four two-hour meetings is the base requirement, and the mentor may be asked to contribute another two or three evenings during the year.

The one thing all mentors agree on is that the program reinforced many of the “harder” skills they learnt during their Executive Year and many found it very useful in their careers.

"As a manager you have to do a lot of mentoring and facilitating to be successful, gone are the days where you (employees) do as you are told." Rudy Van der Korput

Rudy Van der Korput finished his executive year in 2003 and returned to mentor a number of syndicates, earning the title of ‘Mentor of the Year’ in 2004.

Van der Korput previously managed several hundred people at Dairy Farmers and now his role is one of an internal consultant. His scope covers every step in the company’s supply chain – a hefty task given Dairy Farmers manufactures 1800 products involving 5000 different materials. He has no direct reports and so has to use his powers of persuasion to facilitate progress across the group. His influence extends to the shop floors of 13 factories, sales and marketing divisions, suppliers and major retailers such as Coles.

“With the Alumni Mentoring Program there was a whole stream of parallel learning going on and I wanted to learn something about that, by bringing in teams from different backgrounds to see how they coped with the challenges,” says Van der Korput. “It is self development. As a manager you have to do a lot of mentoring and facilitating to be successful, gone are the days where you (employees) do as you are told.

“It was also the one way I thought I could give something back to AGSM because the EY is very difficult and if you have someone to help you, it makes it a much more rewarding year and helps you avoid the pitfalls. It is a good way to network as well of course, but that is pretty minor.

“For me the highs are not related to the result of the team but to how well the teams felt about what they achieved.

“I worked with four teams but spent more time with one because they saw more value in what we were doing. Another high was the teams’ appreciation of my support through the year. That makes you feel really good.”

Chris Foote, EDS Asia Pacific Regional Capacity Executive (MBA Executive 2003), says that while his motivation to join the program stemmed from his desire to improve on his personal EY experience and to contribute to the program’s development, he has found mentoring very rewarding.

“Negotiating is a skill and an art form,” says Foote. “Mentoring teaches me to listen, to understand and to ask the right question to get a ‘yes’. It also helps me bring other people to a level of understanding. Sometimes people have difficulty articulating their vision but if you are listening well, then it becomes easy to draw them out.”

Ben Maguire, Manager Energy Shop Channel AGL (MBA Executive 2003), became a mentor in 2004 and is a mentor advisor, helping mentors manage their syndicates.

“I had a really positive year in my EY thanks to our mentor and I wanted to continue to give back as an Alumni member and add to the development of the program,” says Ben. “Being a mentor gave me an opportunity to stay in contact with AGSM and to invest in the AGSM brand.

“In terms of the highs, for me it was the feedback that you get from the syndicate in appreciation of your being there … giving them tips and encouraging them to become an effective team is very rewarding.

“I have used a lot of the mentoring techniques that I learnt in my EY and have been practising them since, at AGL. The mentoring has been great because by listening and practising the group technique more often, it has become part of my natural tool kit at work.”

"I think I became a much better manager because of the degree.” Tracey Hamilton

Tracey Hamilton, National Marketing and Category Manager Australia for Starbucks, says she found mentoring a good way of reinforcing the skills she acquired during her MBA.

“My groups were really easy,” says Tracey. “I found my final year a really good experience and I just thought I would like to help others in their final year. I get a lot of satisfaction out of helping people develop.

“It also helps complement skills that I gained from the MBA – mainly the subjects in soft skills – teams. I think I became a much better manager because of the degree.”

Mentoring is a real skill. Adopting the Sherlock Holmes adage, “You know my methods apply them”, AGSM arms mentors with a set of strict rules around syndicate management before sending them into the fray.

The focus of a mentor is solely on the process, not the content. For example, syndicate members cannot approach their mentor with an assignment and ask for feedback. Mentors can only facilitate - to help their syndicates work as a team and set up processes that they can fall back on should the team or individual team members fail to perform.


The AGSM Alumni Mentoring Program was introduced in 2002 to guide Executive Year (EY) students through the pitfalls inherent in the team component of their final year.
ILLUSTRATION: Gregory Baldwin

Van der Korput describes some of the challenges arising from the strict limits on mentoring activity.

“I learnt a lot about sitting back, observing a team and not interfering,” says Van der Korput. “Sometimes you have to learn to let people make mistakes so that they can learn.

“It also taught me other skills such as active listening and how to offer solutions to people without becoming a crutch, and that it is important not to interfere as it is easy to become too critical.

“I also learnt a lot about team dynamics. How different people interact. Where they are coming from and how different groups of people deal with that. Some do and some don’t.

“The most important thing that can help with this side of things is setting goals and guidelines up front.

“For example, the EY teams establish rules about decision-making. Some decide to use a consensus, others a simple majority, and in others the team leader has the final say. It doesn’t matter what the rules are, there just needs to be an agreement on processes up-front so that if the syndicate experiences difficulties, in the heat of emotion, the members have something to fall back on.”

Chris Foote refers to AGSM’s operating framework as the mentor/coach distinction.

“The mentor gives prompts to help their students draw their own insights as opposed to showing them the way,” says Foote. “As a mentor, you never solve a problem, you use anecdotes. Another avenue is to have discussions and facilitate discussions within the team.

“Of course sometimes you can’t avoid giving a direct answer but generally most students have insights about how they think something should be done and are seeking agreement. You get them to rationalise through it so they can own the decision. It is almost like consulting – you have the power to recommend, none to implement.”

Van der Korput agrees: “At the end of the day, I have no authority over these people (at Dairyfarmers). I can only help them to recognise the bigger picture. Similarly, you have no authority or power over syndicates.

“It is about being open and sharing your experiences. It’s not a matter of telling them what to do but saying ‘this is how it worked for me’. By giving anecdotes and listening as you talk it through, hopefully the mentor helps you come to your own conclusions.

“Another avenue is to play Devil’s Advocate as it is always good to really challenge the fundamentals of their (the student’s) thinking. People are creatures of habit so you have to change their habits, try to challenge why they are doing things.”

Paradoxically, the end game of the Alumni Mentoring Program is to make the role of mentor redundant.

“I believe if you mentor well, you do yourself out of a job,” says Van der Korput. “Which is not a bad thing because at the end of the day, you are there as a lifeline. You are an external link. You help the students learn to manage their own challenges and develop their own solutions.”