Peer Mentoring at Work

What is peer mentoring?

Peer mentoring is a mentoring relationship between colleagues at a similar level, where both people share experience and neither is the senior partner. It can run as a pair or as a small group. Peers help each other with skills, role changes and workplace questions. The difference from traditional mentoring is that no one is the designated mentor.

When should you choose peer mentoring?

Choose peer mentoring when the people you want to connect face the same kind of problem at the same time. Four common cases:

• New managers who are learning the role together.
• Employee resource group members who want a regular place to compare notes.
• Cross-functional colleagues who rarely work together but share a goal.
• Programs with too few senior mentors for the number of people who want one.

Choose one-to-one mentoring instead when a person needs a specific skill, career path or introduction that a peer cannot give. See circles versus group mentoring for the group formats, and mentoring versus coaching if you are unsure which kind of support you need.

How do you set up a peer mentoring program?

Use five steps.

1. Name the shared goal. Write one sentence about what the peers want from each other. "Learn the new manager role together" is clear. "Network" is not.
2. Choose pairs or circles. A pair suits two people with one shared goal. A circle suits a community or a team of up to 20 members.
3. Match on the shared situation. Match on skills, goals and availability. Do not match on assumptions about who people are.
4. Agree the rules at the first meeting. Use the mentor and mentee agreement and the first mentor meeting agenda. Both work for peers. Replace "mentor" and "mentee" with "peer".
5. Set an end date. A defined end gives both people a graceful exit. Continuing past it is a choice, not a default.

How often should peers meet?

Choose a cadence that both people can sustain. Monthly meetings are a practical minimum to test, and every two weeks can be a useful starting point when schedules allow. For peer pairs, decide at the first meeting who books the next session. Rotate the task if you like.

Cohort length and pair term can differ. The cohort is the program's time box, and the agreement a pair signs sets its own term.

What goes wrong in peer mentoring?

Three failure modes are common.

• No one leads. Without a mentor, sessions turn into a chat. Give every session a topic, or name a facilitator.
• Scheduling drifts. Two cancelled sessions in a row, and most pairs stop. Book the next session before the current one ends.
• Advice replaces questions. Peers often swap opinions. Ask each other what they want to try next, and check in on it at the next meeting.

The mentor training checklist covers these failure modes in more detail. Peers can read it too.

How does MentorStack support peer mentoring?

MentorStack supports peer groups through the Circles format. A circle has no designated mentor. Members share messaging and meeting scheduling. An admin can add 2 to 20 members to a circle. A circle can have a facilitator, who keeps sessions on track. The role can stay fixed, pass by hand, or rotate weekly, biweekly or monthly.

All four formats are included on every plan. A Free Pilot supports up to 10 participants. See the mentoring formats page for the other formats.