HR leaders can reposition mentoring, internal mobility as core succession infrastructure in an age of rapid, constant transformation: experts
More than six in 10 organizations have adopted or are testing AI in their learning and development (L&D) strategies, yet only 11 per cent feel extremely confident in their future skills‑building strategy, according to a report by Absorb Software.
At the same time, more than three-quarters of HR and L&D leaders say formal mentorship will be critical for employee development in 2026, the report found. This underscores the point that human connection remains central to building leadership and succession pipelines in an AI‑enabled workplace, according to talent strategist Tamara ElSahyouni.
That tension is already visible in decisions about whether to grow leaders from within or hire externally. ElSahyouni says the answer depends on the kind of skills and position, but internal mobility and mentoring works as a succession strategy when the organization is prepared to back it. “If the skills already exist in the organization, they’re available for coaching and supporting,” she says.
Where she sees internal promotions fail is when strong individual contributors are moved into stretch roles with no support. “The biggest mistakes that keep being repeated over and over is when an individual contributor who's strong in what they and should drive an initiative, gets assigned to launch a new product, a new venture, or a new team, but then they don’t have the support needed to do that,” she says. “We're not setting them up for success, they’re failing even though the person is there.”
ElSahyouni adds that HR and their organizations need to invest in training and developing talent if they’re willing to consider them for leadership roles, and that includes mentors and coaches.
“I'm a huge believer in, in coaching and sometimes having professional coaches, especially for growing or new leaders — or even sometimes well-established leaders,” she says. “The right leader knows they that they don't know everything and they know that they need this confidant who's ready to challenge them without fear and without any prejudgment on thoughts and ideas, and call them out sometimes on what they're doing versus just waiting on their team members or relying on an HR person to do it.”
She warns against assuming HR can always fill that coaching role. “A lot of times there are expectations for the HR leader in the organization to provide some coaching to the leadership, team” she says. “Which is fine for some leaders who have this coaching background, but if you don't, then it's not fair and it doesn't set up anyone for success.”
Mentoring as core leadership infrastructure
Heather Ancliffe, workplace mentoring lead at Mentor Canada, believes that mentoring should be treated as essential to the leadership pipeline, not as an add‑on.
“If I were designing a leadership pipeline from scratch, I would position formal mentoring as core leadership infrastructure rather than a side program,” says Ancliffe. “Mentoring would be embedded at key transition points, such as early career, first leadership role, and senior readiness, because this is where people build leadership capability: confidence, skills, networks, and organizational insight — it wouldn’t sit alongside succession planning; it would feed it.”
For groups who traditionally face more obstacles to leadership, Ancliffe emphasizes that mentoring must be paired with active advocacy, including structured, inclusive mentoring frameworks that contain specific support for previously-sidelined groups. “Mentoring on its own is often not enough, especially for women and equity-deserving individuals — that’s where sponsorship becomes essential, not as a replacement for mentoring, but as an extension of it,” Ancliffe says. “Strong mentoring builds readiness, and sponsorship ensures that readiness is visible and translates into real opportunities.”
Measuring whether mentoring is moving talent internally
Behavioural and performance shifts can be early signals that coaching and mentoring are working, according to ElSahyouni, while Ancliffe believes that impact shows up most clearly in movement and momentum. “To really understand whether mentoring is making a difference, you must look past sign-ups and attendance,” says Ancliffe, who prefers data showing whether mentored employees are moving into new roles faster, getting promoted sooner, or making more internal moves, including lateral ones that build leadership readiness.
“It also shows up in less formal but just as important signals, like increases in confidence, sense of belonging, leadership identity, and skill growth, which are all strongly linked to mentoring,” adds Ancliffe. “Also, mentoring is working when it actually narrows opportunity gaps, when underrepresented or previously stalled talent starts advancing at rates closer to their peers.”
ElSahyouni suggests tools such as performance appraisals, performance reviews, team productivity, and “anecdotal change in behaviours” as touchpoints to see how leaders are developing.
Governance and incentives play a key role, particularly where managers are reluctant to lose high performers moving up the ladder, says Ancliffe. “What I’ve seen work is when managers are encouraged to see organizational goals as part of their department’s goals, not in competition with them,” she says. “When leaders understand that their own success is directly tied to the success of the organization, talent sharing stops feeling like a loss and starts feeling like a contribution — the biggest shift happens when leaders are rewarded for exporting talent, not penalized for losing high performers.”
Human connection at the centre of AI‑driven mobility
ElSahyouni says she’s already seen AI‑powered coaching enter the market. “Last year at one of the conferences I saw there was a program launch for AI coaching,” she says. “So AI is leveraged now for one-on-one coaching for leaders and helping with internal mobility.”
She believes that HR leaders are well-positioned to explore new options like this to enhance their organization’s training and development for future leaders and all employees. “I’m a big proponent of seeing the tools out there that can help and expedite processes, as long as we keep the human touch and keep judgment with individuals and not with just relying on AI,” says ElSahyouni.
Ancliffe sees a similar balance ahead. “AI and skills marketplaces can be really useful, but only if they support human connection instead of replacing it,” she says. “Tools can help show people what roles, projects, or opportunities exist, especially ones they might not have known about, but mentoring is what helps people understand those options, decide what’s realistic for them, and build the confidence to step into something new.”
For CHROs designing the pipelines for the next generation of leadership, there are plenty of opportunities to develop future leaders with technological tools, but mentoring remains a key factor. “AI can point to opportunities, but it’s mentoring relationships that develop leaders, especially for those who haven’t always had equal access or visibility,” says Ancliffe.
This article is part of our Monthly Spotlight series, which in April focuses on training and development. Full coverage can be found here.
