Introducing The Bolt Mentorship Program

At <a href="https://bolt.com">Bolt</a>, we put a premium on career growth. Yes, working at Bolt is someone’s “job.” But it’s an integral part of a lifetime of career building. We want people to look back at their time at Bolt as a moment that laid the foundation for a successful career.That foundation-building cannot be done alone. That’s why we’ve created a Bolt mentorship program that cuts across our entire organization.We want to provide Bolters with access to the coaching support and development needed for long-term career growth. To do that, we’ll be pairing people up in our organization, on the basis of shared goals, experiences, communication styles, and more.We’re also going to take this opportunity to mix up team members. Too often, organizations build silos by accident—and that can happen even more when we’re all working remotely and not in face-to-face contact. Programs like this are a way to break through those divisions. Go-to-market team members may be paired with engineering; talent can be paired with sales. The hope is that these collisions offer fresh perspectives and facilitate cross-team collaboration.<h2>The Bolt Mentorship Program</h2>The program runs over six months and is made up of three phases:<ol><li>Groundwork: Focusing on creating the foundation and expectations for the relationship.</li><li>Action: Focusing on executing the goals and skills development that were discussed during the groundwork phase.</li><li>Review: Focusing on analysis of what’s working and pivoting to creating solutions that will help achieve goals.</li></ol>For any mentor/mentee relationship to function well, both sides have to feel like they’re benefitting. The mentee shouldn’t feel like they’re getting knowledge from on high; and the mentor should feel free to get advice, too. The mentorship program connects two people who can learn from one another—it’s not solely focused on helping the mentee progress.Bolt’s mentoring relationships have the following components:<ul><li>Confidentiality: Both parties set and agree on boundaries and respect all interactions. Issues discussed during the 1:1 sessions are confidential and not shared with other parties, unless agreed upon.</li><li>Communication: Each party practices active listening when the other is sharing and communicates in a manner that helps to build trust and create a safe space for honest discussions.</li><li>Commitment: Both the mentor and mentee have a commitment to the relationship. This includes respecting each other's time and a willingness to meet for the full duration of the program.</li><li>Structure: The relationship will have up to three specific goals that it aims to achieve over the duration of the program. The 1:1 meetings will have an agenda and the mentee should be prepared to provide updates/insights that will be shared with the mentor.</li></ul>Bolt will create the space for mentors and mentees to talk about career development and personal growth. But it’s up to the partners to drive success.<ul><li>Impactful mentors take on the role of supporter, thought-partner, and capability developer.</li><li>Mentees assume the majority of the responsibility of making sure that the relationship is successful and meets their expectations.</li></ul>Bolt will carefully consider candidates on both individual merit and partnership potential, so that mentors and mentees are set up for success.This is one way in which we’re trying to build a culture that empowers our people and ensures that Bolt is more than a line on a resume. Check out <a href="https://conscious.org/">Consious.org</a> to read more about what we’re doing here at Bolt to improve our internal culture.