OCTOBER 2020HR TECH OUTLOOK9programme so that participants can pick up relevant skills and apply them immediately. There is also a `lifeline' in the form of two contact people who provide support to mentor and protégé. Such just-in-time support has been well-documented as having a significant impact on the quality and depth of learning. Creating a positive cycle for the futureMentoring is an investment in terms of time ­ but its sustained value far outweighs any initial outlay in organizational commitment, for mentoring programmes create a virtuous cycle of "leaders building leaders".In the past, many mentors in the programme were themselves the beneficiaries of great mentorship. The opportunity to "give back" was cited as a deep motivating factor as to why they joined the programme. Having been through the programme, many protégés have an eye on mentoring protégés of their own in time to come. With millennials becoming a larger part of the workforce, Group Human Resources is thus open to exploring new types of models for mentoring, such as `reverse mentoring'. As the workforce becomes more diverse in response to disruption in both business models and the talent landscape, we will also see more of peer-to-peer mentoring and other networked communities of learning, many of which will cross geographical and industry boundaries. To me, a great mentoring culture is simply one that allows individuals to be their best selves. That is what the bank strives to do ­ to create an environment in which this is so.The overwhelming response to mentoring programmes here at the bank tells me that in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, we are seeing a much-needed return to our roots ­ what it means to be human and what it really takes to be a leader to other humans.As Steven Spielberg said: "The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves". "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Isaac Newton.
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