Mentorship is a cornerstone of the JuntoExperience, and we take it seriously. Leaders and their companies put their faith in the hands of seasoned professionals to accelerate their learning curve, make better decisions, and reduce mistakes. That's not too different from the hopes and expectations that most people have when they enter into a mentoring relationship, especially through a program.

So we continue to marvel at how many mentorship "programs" really aren't. They lack structure, process, standards, oversight, accountability, or strategy. Is it because few people have experience being a part of an organized mentorship program and, therefore, they don't know how to build one? Or perhaps because we believe that much of mentorship - like most relationships in life - is a result of the right "chemistry" between people that no one can really forecast or create? Or do we take mentorship lightly because it's so hard to think of how to do it right?

According to Wikipedia, mentorship:

This sounds serious. After all, consider the words - Personal. Developmental. Relationship. Guide. Experienced. Knowledgeable. Expertise. Learning. Partnership. Wants.

As a result, we take mentorship seriously at Junto. We've spent dozens of hours designing our mentorship program, trying to find effective approaches that would create positive results in the short-term and consistent outcomes over time. It's a significant part of our nine-month curriculum and, after two successful cohorts, we've realized that much of the learning that occurs for JuntoApprentices is due to the strength of that mentorship program. For JuntoIII, our current cohort, we have 30 Mentors who are deeply involved in one of the following ways. So what do we do with our mentorship program that makes it an effective learning vehicle?

There you have it - a taste of our "secret sauce" in making our mentorship program a compelling part of the JuntoCurriculum. But don't take our word for it.

JuntoAlumni have told us the mentorship program is one of the strongest parts of the curriculum. Furthermore, we have over 90% retention of Mentors, which is no small feat considering how many other options and offers they have to mentor, and how much of a time commitment our program requires.

We believe that the biggest reason for all this is because we take mentorship so seriously. And, as a result, so do they.
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