Traditionally, mentorship is a formalized routine whereby people are put into uncomfortable "blind date" situations. They are provided a topic list (and if they're lucky, a book!), told to meet once a month, drink coffee and discuss. It's likely you have been through a program similar to the one I described. Now please, don't get me wrong – the formalization of a mentorship program can be very beneficial to both the mentor and mentee. However, we have an opportunity to change our mindset in the way we view the process of how mentorship is conducted. Young adults are looking for real and authentic relationships, not forced ones.

Think about a time when you were put into a blind date situation, either personally or professionally. Maybe you knew very little about the person or were given a loose topic to explore. How comfortable were you? Likely, not very. Now think back to the best mentor relationships through your life and career. Did you meet through some sort of forced situation and told to "get on with it"? I'm thinking that's unlikely. The best mentors we have in our careers are usually born organically, through shared experience and the development of trust. Our strongest mentors are like our best high school friends – we might not sit down once a month to talk and drink coffee, but when we need them, they're there.

In addition, the concept of an informal approach firmly places the responsibility on the mentee to actively reach out to their mentors. The Harvard Business Review found 95% of men and 93% of women say they find it easiest to give and receive [professional] guidance in a one-on-one setting. So, the question then becomes: "How do we formalize organic relationships, informal approaches and shared experience?"

The answer? Well, there's no silver bullet. However, human behavior dictates that even the most introverted of us search for human connection. Allow your staff to develop their own connections, then encourage them to create a formal relationship. That ownership of discovery and development of their own mentorship relationship can be a key driver to success.

But how does the credit union facilitate the development of organic relationship building? Cross-functional projects are a great start. Build time for your employees to take part in tasks that need completing outside of their normal job function, allowing them the opportunity to connect with other areas and people within your organization.

Just like the wide world of dating, there is a lot to discuss around the topic of mentorship. Consider sponsorship in the workplace. Sponsorship is a very different concept from mentorship. A sponsor may still guide and give advice, but will also "go to bat" for you in a boardroom or elsewhere.

Whether you are looking to find a sponsor or develop a mentorship relationship, in my view, they develop from the same place: Organic, personal connections that are encouraged in the workplace and later formalized for optimum benefit for both the mentors and mentees. If you're hesitant about this approach, think about online dating. No one thought that would work either.

James Marshall is manager, The Cooperative Trust at the Filene Research Institute. He can be reached at 608-661-3763 or [email protected].