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To the Mentor: Learning the Ropes


My old boss is an anthropologist. I liked the way he took ownership in his part of a mistake we made together once.

It went something like this: "You're right! You are so right!" he exclaimed to me as he remembered a gem from his profession. He said, "The old-timers see nothing and assume everything…the newcomer assumes nothing, but sees everything…"

I had worn a turtleneck sweater and suit jacket to a faculty meeting that required neckties and suit jackets. I was the new kid and I didn't know. He was the old timer, and it didn't occur to him to make this organizational culture nuance clear to me.

We laughed about it. In reality, it wasn't really a mistake. It's the kind of thing that happens to newcomers all the time when they join organizations. Most organizations are so comfortable with what they do and assume it's obviously the right way to do it that they give little attention to the steep learning curve new people have when they come aboard.

And whereas my boss and I could laugh, since both of us are students of culture and communication, on boarding a new team member is not always a laughing matter (especially if supervisors lack a sense of humor or shift the blame to the newest member of the team).

One of the ways to close the gap between what old-timers know and have forgotten and what newcomers see but can't assume is to appoint mentors to the new arrivals.

Perhaps you've heard the phrase "learning the ropes," it comes from our country's nautical past. It describes the challenge of knowing which line to pull on command on tall ships where there are so many lines running in every direction and so many grand sails that can be affected by a single line. The older, more experience able-bodied seamen, teach new recruits, which do not yet have their see legs or know how to tie all the knots, which ropes to pull and on what commands. This was the process of "on boarding."

Every organization has "ropes." However, not all organizations have been thoughtful about which ropes to pull when and what constitutes an able-bodied participant inside their organizations. But how do you get past the old-timers’ mindset that assumes everyone knows the same things and doesn't see life like a newcomer any longer?

Let me offer a few starting discovery questions that can help mentors discover some of their organizational culture and how they can help new arrivals learn the ropes. Consider your organization’s answers to these questions:

  • How do you get in trouble around here?

  • How do you win around here?

  • Who are some of the organization’s heroes, especially ones from the last year? (Also, the same question in reverse: Can you tell me a story about it's villains?)

  • Are there any secret rituals, special handshakes, inside jokes, or dress codes, I need to know about?

  • Who knows where the dead bodies are buried?

These questions may seem a little silly when we read them in a list like this. However, they are no joking matter to the newbie in an organization. The new arrival is desperate to fit in, to belong, and to pull their own weight as soon as possible, in most cases. Smart organizations will give some thought to what it's like to be new and will appoint mentors to assist the newest recruits into the organization’s daily workflow. Mentors can teach them the ropes.

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