The expert mentioned the advantages of reverse coaching led by buzzers

Reverse coaching is becoming an important tool for businesses, significantly accelerating the adoption of new technologies and helping to retain valuable staff. Anastasia Gorelkina, an expert in the field of corporate governance and personnel training, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of JSC HC SDS, member of the Board of Directors of JSC Azot, told Izvestia on March 4.

According to the expert, reverse coaching has ceased to be a fashionable experiment — today it is a working tool, without which large businesses can no longer imagine digital transformation. The trend is also gaining popularity in Russia, especially in companies with a flexible corporate culture.

"It's not just about "young people teach their elders how to use messengers." Artificial intelligence, working with big data, and new advertising formats are currently in the foreground. A manager who does not know how to formulate prompta for a neural network or does not understand the mechanics of viral content simply loses effectiveness, and the experience of junior colleagues here is invaluable," the expert noted.

According to Gorelkina, the advantages of reverse coaching for business are obvious. Firstly, this is a significant acceleration of processes: Senior managers involved in reverse coaching learn new technologies 30% faster than those who rely on traditional training. Secondly, it helps to retain talent: for zoomers, the opportunity to influence strategy and train their "elders" becomes a powerful motivator. In companies where such programs have been implemented, they note an increase in the involvement of young professionals and a decrease in staff turnover.

In addition, reverse coaching contributes to the "reset" of the corporate culture: the hierarchy loses its rigidity, and managers, being in the position of students, become more accessible to their teams. However, as in any process, there are risks, and the main one is psychological. Not every top manager is ready to admit that a twenty-year-old intern understands a topic better than him. It requires personal courage and maturity, Gorelkina added.

"If you implement the program directively, without preparing the ground, you can get the opposite effect: sabotage from managers and stress from young mentors who are afraid to point out mistakes to the boss. Therefore, success depends on how easily such a format is integrated into the culture. It's easy if you have first—person support," the expert said.

For the successful implementation of reverse coaching, it is important that the highest leaders set a personal example. A clear methodology is also needed: young mentors need to be taught mentoring skills, given the right to honest feedback, and structured in the process. Then such a program will work efficiently and without failures, the specialist concluded.

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