Creating a Collaborative Culture

Creating a Collaborative Culture Through Mentoring

A global aerospace corporation had a serious strategic goal, which was to create a culture of collaboration across their international divisions in order to remain a world leader in their field.

They had set up yearly mentoring programmes focused on developing better communication, collaboration and transparency across different levels and divisions throughout the organisation.

However, they were facing a recurring challenge:

“We run a mentoring programme every year, and every year we struggle to get the mentors to attend our kick-off events and to actually schedule — and stick to — mentoring appointments.”  – HR Director

Traditional mentoring methods were not achieving these outcomes. The missing ingredient was engagement — particularly from senior leaders.

A new and innovative mentoring approach was needed. The Blue Ocean Company was chosen because it offered a highly unusual methodology: it focused as much on what mentors gain and what mentees gain, creating high engagement on both sides.  Instead of positioning mentors as “givers” and mentees as “receivers,” the programme was built on true reciprocity — a mutual learning process for both parties.

This state-of-the-art mentor and mentee approach came complete with innovative, engaging and robust tools that had proved their value globally.

The Blue Ocean Company’s approach created a breakthrough shift: mentors became motivated, engaged contributors who saw the programme as an investment in their own growth, not an obligation to help someone else get ahead.

Maximising Engagement and Learning

The mentoring workshops were built around a dynamic, experiential methodology. Instead of relying on theoretical mentoring models, participants used a unique mentoring card game that expanded the understanding of what a mentor truly is.

Rather than defaulting to the classic roles of “advisor,” “coach,” or “sponsor,” mentors explored a much wider set of roles — each supporting the mentee in different ways and developing different leadership behaviours in the mentor.

Mentors learned how to choose the role that would best support the mentee’s specific challenge. Mentees learned how to request the role they needed most.

This practical, interactive approach made the learning highly memorable and immediately actionable. Participants left not just with concepts, but with a shared language and concrete tools they could use the very next day.

Ownership

One of the most distinctive features was how much ownership mentors were given in shaping the learning culture.

Mentors discovered how much they benefited by:

• Developing deeper listening and questioning skills
• Learning to influence without formal authority
• Becoming more aware of their own professional strengths
• Expanding their networks
• Gaining fresh perspectives on career pathways, motivations and organisational culture

Mentees benefited equally — but the surprise was how much the mentors grew.

By positioning the relationship as a mutual learning journey, the programme transformed mentor engagement. Mentors became ambassadors for the organisation’s leadership culture and strategy, modelling the very behaviours the organisation wanted to scale.

Impact

Over a period of three years, The Blue Ocean Company designed and delivered multiple mentoring workshops across the organisation for groups ranging from 12 to 200 participants. More than 450 mentors and mentees experienced consistent training, tools and a shared mentoring philosophy.

The impact was felt on multiple levels:

• A common approach to mentoring across functions and countries
• Stronger networks between experienced and less experienced leaders
• Higher mentor engagement, driven by personal benefit and reciprocity
• Increased retention and loyalty, as employees felt seen, supported and connected
• Role-model leadership behaviours, aligned with the organisation’s culture and values

Mentoring evolved from a “programme” to a strategic lever for cultural transformation — strengthening communication, transparency and collaboration across the organisation.

In a fast-moving global industry, the programme helped leaders not only learn from one another, but build the kind of organisational culture where everyone takes responsibility for learning, growth and mutual success.