Practice knowledge base
Mentoring circles
Mentoring circles help colleagues regularly exchange experience, discuss work-related issues, and support development without depending on a single mentor.
Documentation sections
What it is
A mentoring circle is a small group of colleagues that meets regularly and helps participants learn from real work cases. Participants bring questions, share experience, give feedback, and agree on next steps. This practice closes the gap that appears when development depends only on the manager or on occasional help from more experienced colleagues.
When it helps
- Employees have limited access to mentors, and development questions remain one-on-one with the manager.
- The experience of strong specialists is not transferred well within the team and gets lost in private messages.
- Colleagues rarely discuss work challenges openly and do not know whom to ask for advice.
- New or growing employees want to develop, but do not see a clear support format.
- The team wants to strengthen working relationships through shared discussion of real tasks.
How to start
- 1 Choose one group of 4–6 participants with similar tasks or related experience.
- 2 Appoint a facilitator who keeps track of time, the order of questions, and the final agreements.
- 3 Hold the first meeting around one real case from a participant, rather than around a general learning topic.
- 4 Set simple ground rules: confidentiality, respectful feedback, and one next step for the person who brought the question.
- 5 After a few meetings, check that participants are bringing work-related questions and using the advice in their tasks.
Expected effect
The team gets a faster exchange of practical experience: questions do not get stuck with a single manager, and participants can see whom they can turn to for advice. It also becomes easier for the manager to develop people through a regular format where colleagues help each other apply skills at work.
Common pitfalls
- Meetings turn into lectures from one expert, and participants stop bringing their own cases.
- There are no confidentiality rules, so people avoid difficult topics and speak only in safe generalities.
- The group is too large, and participants do not have enough time to discuss specific questions.
- The facilitator does not capture next steps, so discussions do not turn into work actions.
- The practice is launched as a replacement for the manager, even though managerial feedback is still needed.
Further reading
- Book: Etienne Wenger, Richard McDermott, William Snyder, Cultivating Communities of Practice
- Book: Lois J. Zachary, The Mentor's Guide
- Research: Kathy E. Kram, Mentoring at Work
- Article: Harvard Business Review, How to Build a Great Peer Mentoring Group
FAQ
Who should start a mentoring circle?
A team manager, HR, or an experienced specialist whom colleagues trust usually gets it started. It is important that the person responsible for the format does not lecture, but helps the group meet regularly and discuss real work-related questions.
Can you start without an external consultant?
Yes. To get started, it is enough to choose a small group, appoint a facilitator, and agree on the ground rules for the conversation. External help is needed only if there is already strong tension in the group or participants are not ready to speak openly.
How can you tell whether the practice is working?
Participants bring specific questions, receive practical advice, and come back with results from previous actions. Another sign is that people turn to each other more often for experience between meetings.
What should you do if participants stay silent?
Start with short, safe cases: what is currently getting in the way of a task, what advice is needed, and what next step the person is ready to try. If the silence continues, make the group smaller and clarify the confidentiality rules.