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The Art of Strategic Mentoring - Developing People for Better Workplace Performance

Today's organisations operate in an increasingly complex and fast-changing environment shaped by Artificial Intelligence (AI), digital transformation, global competition and evolving workforce expectations. To remain competitive and resilient, organisations need employees who can learn continuously, adapt quickly and consistently perform at a higher level. Developing people for better workplace performance has therefore become a strategic priority for every organisation.

Strategic mentoring is one of the most effective ways to achieve this. Beyond transferring knowledge and experience, it enables managers and experienced professionals to guide employees in applying what they have learned, strengthening their competence, building confidence and continuously improving their performance. At the organisational level, strategic mentoring accelerates people development, strengthens workplace capability, reinforces a culture of continuous learning, and contributes to sustained organisational growth and success.

The Art of Strategic Mentoring is a highly practical one-day executive programme designed to help organisations build a strong team of workplace mentors who can develop people for better workplace performance. Built around the M.A.P.S. Strategic Mentoring Framework, participants will learn practical strategies to Map the mentoring journey, Accelerate learning and performance, Partner mentees for success, and Sustain continuous growth. Drawing practical insights from Confucian philosophy, Socratic questioning, Aristotle's concept of excellence, and Kaizen's principle, the programme equips participants with a practical and systematic approach to mentoring that creates lasting value for both people and organisations.

Objective

At the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Understand the role of strategic mentoring in developing people for better workplace performance and organisational growth.
• Apply the M.A.P.S. Strategic Mentoring Framework to guide employees in applying learning, improving performance and achieving sustained development at work.
• Plan and conduct structured mentoring conversations that support workplace learning, performance improvement and continuous development.
• Apply appropriate mentoring approaches to build effective mentoring relationships with professionalism, trust and ethical practice.
• Develop a practical Strategic Mentoring Implementation Blueprint to establish and strengthen workplace mentoring within their teams and organisation.

Outline

Introduction: Why Strategic Mentoring Has Become the New Organisational Advantage

Module 1. Building the Foundation for Strategic Mentoring

1.1 The changing world of work and strategic mentoring
1.2 Why mentoring is becoming a strategic organisational advantage
1.3 From Managing Performance to Developing Potential
1.4 Introducing the M.A.P.S. Strategic Mentoring Framework

Module 2. M.A. – Map the Journey and Accelerate Growth

2.1 Mapping the mentoring journey through aspirations, strengths, and goals
2.2 Building trust and psychological safety through purposeful mentoring relationships
2.3 Applying Confucian philosophy and Socratic questioning to facilitate growth
2.4 Accelerating capability development through feedback and workplace learning
2.5 Mentoring Practical: Conducting an effective workplace mentoring conversation

Module 3. P. – Partner for Success

3.1 Establishing an effective workplace mentoring model, including one-to-one, peer, group, reverse and cross-functional mentoring
3.2 Transferring organisational knowledge, professional judgement and experience
3.3 Applying Aristotle's philosophy of excellence to develop professional mastery
3.4 Opening opportunities through networks, assignments and workplace exposure
3.5 Managing mentoring relationships with professionalism, ethics and boundaries
3.6 Mentoring Challenge: Developing a mentoring strategy for workplace development

Module 4. S. – Sustain Progress for Organisational Success

4.1 Embedding mentoring into talent development and workforce capability
4.2 Building a mentoring culture that strengthens organisational learning through Kaizen
4.3 Leveraging AI to enhance mentoring, reflective practice and knowledge sharing
4.4 Measuring mentoring effectiveness and organisational outcomes
4.5 Developing My Strategic Mentoring Implementation Blueprint

Conclusion - Journey Towards Becoming a Strategic Mentor

Who should attend

Managers, Assistant Managers, Supervisors, Team Leaders, Project Leaders, Project Managers, Human Resource Professionals, Learning & Development Professionals, Workplace Learning Professionals, Subject Matter Experts, Experienced Executives, Professionals and anyone responsible for developing talent, transferring knowledge, mentoring employees or strengthening organisational capability.

Methodology

Mini-lectures, mentoring self-assessments, workplace case studies, mentoring simulations, group discussions, experiential learning, peer sharing, and Personal Strategic Mentoring Implementation Blueprint.

Profile of Steven Koh

Steven Koh is a corporate trainer, learning facilitator, curriculum designer, business consultant, workplace learning specialist and community builder with over 33 years of industrial and management experience in leadership development, workplace learning and organisational capability development. He has designed and delivered more than 50 customised training programmes for government agencies, multinational corporations, local enterprises, educational institutions, professional bodies and non-profit organisations across diverse industries. More than 50,000 leaders, managers, executives and professionals have benefited from his programmes.

Steven specialises in helping organisations build future-ready leaders, strengthen workplace collaboration, develop strategic mentoring capabilities and create high-performing learning cultures. His flagship programmes include New Leadership for New Leaders in a New Era, The Art of Strategic Collaboration, The Art of Strategic Mentoring, together with customised programmes tailored to organisational needs.

Beyond corporate training, Steven provides consultancy and advisory services in:

• Talks & Executive Speaker Series
• Lifelong Learning Seminar Design and Facilitation
• Workplace Learning Design & Implementation
• Training Needs Analysis
• Training Grants & Funding
• Building Workplace Learning Communities & Special Interest Groups (SIGs)
• Executive Coaching & Strategic Mentoring
• AI-enabled Workplace Learning and Workforce Transformation

Steven serves as an adjunct faculty member with a leading university, and has also contributed to Singapore's national institute for adult learning as an adult educator mentor, adjunct trainer, curriculum developer and Special Interest Group leader. He has mentored over 120 adult educators and corporate trainers, organised numerous professional learning events, and guided organisations in strengthening workplace learning capability.

A passionate advocate of lifelong learning, Steven founded a professional lifelong learning community that has grown to over 5,000 leaders and professionals from more than 99 cities worldwide. He also led a global technology company's community leadership programme in Singapore, bringing community leaders together to learn, share and collaborate for greater impact.

Steven holds a Bachelor of Science (Computer Science & Information Systems) from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and a Master of Business from RMIT University, Australia. He is a Fellow of The Institute of Training and Occupational Learning (ITOL), UK, a Specialist Adult Educator (Curriculum Development), a Certified Workplace Learning Specialist (CWLS), and holds the Diploma in Adult and Continuing Education (DACE) and Advanced Certificate in Training and Assessment (ACTA).