What is Mentoring?
Mentoring is a confidential partnership between two people, based on understanding
and trust. Its main aim is to build capability and self-reliance in the mentee.
Mentoring is a positive developmental relationship, which is driven primarily by the
mentee, and through which the mentee can take responsibility for their development.
Nevertheless, mentoring can also be described as a two-way learning relationship
providing opportunities for the mentor to learn - and for the organisation to benefit.
Mentoring can be formal, informal or peer.
Informal mentoring is when a partnership forms between a senior member of staff
and a junior member of staff / an experienced member of staff with a less
experienced one without intervention, planning or management from the institution.
The aim of the mentoring arrangement is to assist the less experienced / junior
member of staff in developing work and/or career-relevant skills through exposure to
work and learning opportunities.
Formal mentoring is when the organisation recruits participants to a mentoring
programme, with varying degrees of support for the partnership in terms of
management and training. In some mentoring schemes the organisation assigns
mentors while in others the mentee makes the selection. In some formal schemes
guidance may be provided about the location, duration and frequency of meetings.
Peer mentoring is where the mentor and the mentee work at the same level and the
mentor supports a new employee, or student, either in a formal or informal capacity.
The lack of hierarchy in peer mentoring has been found to support communication
and collaboration for effective learning, information sharing, emotional support and
friendship. This approach is commonly used in Higher Education.
What a mentor does is:
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Help the mentee, as a new employee, researcher or student, to settle in to an
organisation
Help and support the mentee through a development programme, by talking
issues through to help the individual get a clearer picture of themselves and
how they are progressing
Provide help and support to the mentee in identifying the opportunities that
will help the individual grow as an individual and a professional
Help the individual develop the confidence to tackle the problems and issues
they will encounter in their working life.
(From “Developing People Through Mentoring”, G Wilcox and S Morris, FT Professional, 1998)
Mentoring is effective for:
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Knowledge development and sharing
Managing additional or new roles and projects
Exploring and developing individual career potential
Developing leadership skills
Providing a safe place for reflection
A source of information, knowledge, expertise and experience
Development of effective learning environments
Supporting individuals through change
Problem-solving skills development
Some of the ways in which mentoring is currently used within Keele University are
shown below:
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For the orientation of new undergraduates through a range of peer mentoring
initiatives, including peer e-mentoring
supporting the induction of new staff through the assignment of a mentor or
‘induction buddy’
within teaching, research, professional and support areas mentoring is used
for the assimilation / on-going development of staff to new projects,
assignments or roles
Within specific initiatives, for example, the mentoring of women within the
Athena Swan programme
To provide individual developmental support within a qualification or
accreditation programme
To offer support for individuals within Change Projects
To assist in identifying and supporting potential for career progression
To enhance leadership skills for those who have assumed leadership
responsibilities.
Mentoring defined
The following definitions capture the variation in models and approaches to
mentoring.
“Off-line help, by one person to another, in making significant transitions in
knowledge, work or thinking.”
Megginson and Clutterbuck
“Mentoring is to support and encourage people to manage their own learning
in order that they may maximise their potential, develop their skills, improve
their performance and become the person they want to be.”
Eric Parsloe, Oxford School of Coaching and Mentoring
“Mentoring is a long term relationship that meets a developmental need,
helps develop full potential, and benefits all partners, mentor, mentee and the
organisation.”
Suzanne Faure
Mentoring is a partnership between two people built on trust. It is a process
in which the mentor offers on-going support and developmental opportunities
to the mentee. Addressing issues and blockages identified by the mentee,
the mentor offers guidance, counselling and support in the form of pragmatic
and objective assistance. Both share a common purpose of developing a
strong two-way learning relationship.”
Jenny Sweeney
Characteristics of Mentoring:
Although mentoring can be more or less formal and used to meet various
developmental needs, most approaches to mentoring share a number of
fundamental characteristics. Mentoring is generally:
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Off-line: The mentor is someone from outside the mentee’s reporting
hierarchy. Thus neither person has authority over the other.
One person to another: Mentoring is a partnership to which the mentor
brings relevant experience, expertise and knowledge.
Confidential: The issues between mentor and mentee are confidential.
Mentee-driven: The mentee should take the initiative in the relationship –
and responsibility for actions taken lies with the mentee.
Person-focused: The mentoring relationship is focussed on the
development of the mentee so the they can make significant transitions.
In an effective mentoring relationship, the relationship between the mentor and
mentee is very important. Mentoring works best where there is:
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A high degree of trust and mutual regard
The mentor helps the mentee become what the mentee aspires to be
The mentee is helped to realise his or her potential
The mentor also learns and develops, both through developing mentoring
skills and through being a mentor.
What is common to all mentoring relationships is that the mentee comes to view
things differently. The relationship promotes change in the mentee, supporting the
mentee towards a new vision of what is possible. Mentors are not there to sort out
problems, but rather to highlight the issues and to help plan ways through them.
Using skilful questioning and listening techniques, they help to clarify the mentee’s
perspective, while bringing an additional impartial view to bear on the issues.
How is mentoring different from other developmental approaches?
As a developmental approach mentoring can be described as:
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A relationship at a distance
Offered by one to another with a degree of freedom of choice
Recognised and understood by both
Focussed around a significant transition in activity, role, expertise or
understanding.
Mentoring is therefore a developmental approach that is suitable for learning
scenarios that are learner driven, and where the outcomes sought are around
building autonomy and ownership for personal development. The table below
compares mentoring with training around three learning dimensions.
Ownership of Goal
Purpose
Skills
Training
Externally set standard
Eg pass exam / award
Meet training objectives
Imparting knowledge, skills
and information
Instructing, explaining,
facilitating
Mentoring
Goals set by person
receiving the mentoring
Growing capability and selfreliance
Listening, questioning, giving
impartial advice
Mentoring is often described as a ‘Helping Role’. Other developmental approaches
also described as helping roles include coaching and counselling. There is often
some confusion about the difference in roles – particularly when determining the
difference between coaching and mentoring. These roles are described and
interpreted variously within different contexts. Here the more traditional description
of coaching is used to demonstrate the range of support provided within helping
roles.
A counsellor is usually a qualified professional whose skill lies in helping individuals
to come to terms with underlying, often deep seated, emotional or psychological
difficulties. Counselling enables individuals to come to terms with what is past so
that they can begin to move on. Counselling deals with all aspects of the individual’s
life, not just workplace problems.
A Coach seeks to support the coachee in finding his or her own solutions to workbased problems which may be immediate or long standing. Coaches recognise that
individuals usually know what will work best in their business lives so, while they will
challenge underlying assumptions, they very seldom offer advice. Coaching
relationships generally last for a fixed period at a specific time in an individual’s
development. Coaching is about the content and process of the work.
A mentor is usually a more senior and experienced person who is willing to share
his or her own experiences of successes and failures at work and a knowledge of
how organisations function with a less experienced colleague. A mentor may offer
more advice than a coach, giving guidance based on personal knowledge and
experience. It is, however, still the mentee’s responsibility to commit to, and take,
action as an outcome of the conversations. A mentoring relationship is usually long
lasting and addresses the career aspirations and longer-term development needs of
the mentee. Mentoring is about the context of the work.
(Attributed to Sheridan Maguire, Walking with Leader)
One important attribute of the mentor is the ability to identify the most appropriate
source of help and support required by the mentee and, where appropriate, to be
able to refer the mentee on to additional or alternative help if this cannot be provided
through a mentoring relationship.
Models of mentoring
Mentoring approaches can range across a spectrum of activity, from directive
through to non-directive, and can be applied across a spectrum of approaches that
span from stretching through to nurturing, as illustrated in the diagram below.
The Spectrum of Mentoring Approaches
Directive
COACHING
GUARDIAN
Mentoring
Stretching
Nurturing
NETWORKING
COUNSELLING
Non-Directive
While developmental mentoring sits most appropriately within the non-directive area
of the mentoring spectrum, the mentor will need to be able to use both stretching and
nurturing approaches as appropriate. An effective mentor will adjust their approach
to meet the needs of the mentee at any point during the relationship. The following
diagram provides an overview of the different approaches that may be utilised during
developmental mentoring.
Directive and non-directive behaviour within mentoring
PUSH – solving someone’s problem for them
Telling
Instructing
Giving Advice
Offering Guidance
Giving Feedback
Making Suggestions
Asking questions to raise
awareness
Summarising
Paraphrasing
Reflecting
Listening
Helping someone solve their own problem - PULL
Who can be a mentor?
An effective mentor is generally an accomplished and experienced individual who
takes a special, personal interest in helping to guide a junior or less experienced
person – and is willing to share their knowledge with someone less experienced in a
relationship of mutual trust. In terms of their relationship to the mentee the mentor
may be:
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A peer
A team/course member
Someone well known to the mentee
Someone the mentee has not met before
Someone more senior / experienced than the mentee
Someone from a different function or discipline
Someone from a different institution or organisation
What are the benefits of Mentoring?
Mentoring offers a range of benefits to the mentee, the organisation and the mentor.
To the organisation:
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It can improve performance and morale
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It can build mentoring capacity and foster a more open culture of support and
learning
It can improve communication and working within an organisation through the
promotion of dialogue and understanding
To the mentee:
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Easier induction for those new to the institution
Improved self-confidence, personal awareness and ownership for own
development
Learning about how to deal with the formal and informal culture of the
institution
Support for career development
Improved insight and understanding related to areas addressed during
mentoring
To the mentor:
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Improved professional satisfaction
Increased peer recognition
Learning from mentee
Development of mentoring skills
How long does a mentoring relationship last?
There is no clear answer to this as there are so many variables to consider. Most
mentoring relationships progress through the following phases – though these do
inevitably overlap.
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Introduction
Contracting
Initiation
Cultivation
Separation
Redefinition
Introduction
This is the time that the mentor and mentee establish contact, begin to build rapport
and develop a mentoring relationship.
Contracting
Sometimes this is known as the ‘Commitment’ phase. In order for the relationship to
be effective and to satisfy the needs of both the mentor and mentee there must be
clear agreement in the following areas:
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When and where to meet (mentoring should be a focussed and uninterrupted
activity)
Frequency of meetings
Clarity about the boundaries between the mentoring relationship and other
key relationships
Broad outcomes / areas that will be addressed through the mentoring
Commitment to change
Establishing a ‘safe’ environment for disclosure.
Initiation
In this period relationships grow and develop in importance for both the mentor and
mentee. The expectations of both parties are explored, become firmer, and are
realised through a programme of interaction and activity.
Cultivation
During this period, the support provided by the mentor will increase to a maximum
level. Both individuals continue to benefit from the relationship, becoming more
emotionally linked as more frequent and meaningful interactions occur.
Separation
This occurs over time with changes in role, levels of need or the ability of the mentor
to continue to provide appropriate levels of input.
Redefinition
This is the time when the relationship ends or shifts to a peer or friendship. The
mentoring relationship is no longer needed, and the mentor and mentee agree to
end the mentoring arrangement.
Obstacles to the success of mentoring
The value from both formal and informal mentoring relationships can be undermined
through lack of attention to:
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Planning and preparation
Role clarity
Identification and evaluation of outcomes
Degree of formality
Accessibility of mentoring opportunities
Boundary management between mentoring and other relationships
From a relationship perspective the impact of mentoring can be reduced through:
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Failure to establish rapport
Lack of time
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Lack of clarity about the purpose of the relationship
Unrealistic expectations
The impact of the mentoring relationship on others, eg colleagues and line
manager.
References:
Alred, G., Garvey, B., and Smith, R., Mentoring Pocketbook, 2nd Edition, 2008,
Management Pocketbooks Ltd.
Daloz, L.A., Mentor: Guiding the Journey of Adult Learners, 1999, Jossey-Bass Inc.
Publishers
Garvey, B., Coaching and Mentoring, 2011, SAGE Publications
Pegg, M., The Art of Mentoring, 2003, Management Books Ltd.
Pugh, E., Mentoring: Progressing Women’s Careers in Higher Education, 2012,
Equality Challenge Unit
JK LPDC March 2014