Why Mentoring Matters in a Hypercompetitive World

Professional services firms—including law and accounting firms, consultancies, marketing agencies, and universities—live and die by their intellectual capital. Yet young associates are leaving PSFs in record numbers. Law firms alone suffered a cumulative 19% attrition rate from 2004 through 2006.

Why the exodus? According to DeLong, Gabarro, and Lees, hypercompetition has forced PSF partners to focus so much on satisfying clients that they’ve lost the art of developing talent. Frustrated by the neglect, associates are leaving for choicer opportunities—taking vital knowledge with them and leaving behind empty desks that will be costly to fill.

To stanch the talent hemorrhage in your PSF, you need a mentoring strategy tailored to today’s young professionals. Fiercely independent, achievement-driven associates distrust anything that smacks of bureaucracy. So, instead of a formal mentoring system, provide hands-on, individualized feedback. And don’t mentor only your star performers; include your “solid citizen” B players. They make up most of your workforce, and your firm’s success rests on them.

The Idea in Practice

DeLong, Gabarro, and Lees recommend four principles for mentoring your professional staff:

Make Mentoring Personal

Associates at PSFs want individualized attention from senior professionals who take a personal interest in their careers. And they demand continuous feedback on how they’re doing. To mentor them, go out of your way to acknowledge appreciation for their contributions. And demonstrate your investment in their success by asking what kinds of work they want to do, where their passions lie, and what skills they want to develop.

Include Your B Players

You may be tempted to mentor only your A players, especially if you identify with them. But B players bring important forms of value that your firm will lose if you ignore these “solid citizens.” For example, they stay on staff longer, accumulating institutional knowledge that’s especially valuable during major transitions such as mergers and expansions. And they put organizational goals over personal ones because they value stability for themselves and the company.

To mentor them, assign them to firmwide, cross-functional committees where they can interact with high fliers and demonstrate their capabilities. And monitor your interactions to ensure you don’t neglect them.

Assign Projects Judiciously

There are never as many plum assignments as there are associates who want them. And when juicy projects aren’t available, associates conclude the firm isn’t interested in their career development. To combat this perception:

• Let associates shadow you on assignments where you share your insight and expertise with them.

• Give them projects that aren’t client related. Research projects, for instance, enable associates to delve more deeply into a field of interest.

• Let them do worthy, high-profile pro bono work. That gives your firm good PR and keeps associates stimulated.

Encourage Associates to Find Mentors

Senior partners are stretched too thin to form a relationship with everyone who needs to be mentored. Thus, associates can no longer expect just to be assigned a mentor; they also have to attract mentors themselves. Encourage them to keep an eye out for professionals at all levels who are particularly gifted at mentoring. Example: 

McKinsey & Company encourages associates to “build their own McKinsey” by seeking out subordinates, peers, and partners with whom they share mutual chemistry, interests, and goals. These individuals eventually form a “personal advisory board”—a core group of people invested in associates’ development.