Mentorship refers to a developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps a less experienced or less knowledgeable person—who can be referred to as a protégé , or apprentice -- to develop in a specified capacity.
There are several definitions of mentoring in the literature. Foremost, mentoring involves communication and is relationship based. In the organizational setting, mentoring can take many forms. One definition of the many that has been proposed, is "Mentoring is a process for the informal transmission of knowledge, social capital, and the psychosocial support perceived by the recipient as relevant to work, career, or professional development;mentoring entails informal communication, usually face-to-face and during a sustained period of time, between a person who is perceived to have greater relevant knowledge, wisdom, or experience (the mentor) and a person who is perceived to have less (the protege)" (Bozeman, Feeney, 2007).
Historical
The roots of the practice are lost in antiquity. The word itself was inspired by the character of Mentor in Homer's Odyssey . Though the actual Mentor in the story is a somewhat ineffective old man, the goddess Athena takes on his appearance in order to guide young Telemachus in his time of difficulty.
Historically significant systems of mentorship include traditional Greek pederasty, the guru - disciple tradition practiced in Hinduism and Buddhism, Elders, the discipleship system practiced by Rabbinical Judaism and the Christian church, and apprenticing under the medieval guild system.
Typology
It is important to appreciate the differences between instructing, coaching and mentoring. Instructing deals largely with the dissemination of knowledge. Coaching deals primarily with skill building, whereas a mentor is one who helps shape the outlook or attitude of the individual. Alternately, an instructor would typically help out with the job at hand or the work. A coach would help out with work and career related issues. A mentor on the other hand would focus on issues pertaining to career and life. -- Ayan Banerji, Kolkata, India.
There are two types of mentoring relationships: formal and informal. Informal relationships develop on their own between partners. Formal mentoring, on the other hand, refers to assigned relationships, often associated with organizational mentoring programs designed to promote employee development or to assist at-risk children and youth. Formal relationships can be seen as being forced as they are assigned relationships. As stated by Murray, "Formal dyads are assigned by a third party...and informal ones evolve spontaneously" (Buell, 2004). The formal mentoring relationship is structured in a fashion that can be better managed by a particular organization.There are formal mentoring programs that are values-oriented, while social mentoring and other types focus specifically on career development. Some mentorship programs provide both social and vocational support. In well-designed formal mentoring programs, there are program goals, schedules, training (for both mentors and protégés), and evaluation. Mentoring is an activity that can potentially promote spiritual development.
There are many kinds of mentoring relationships from school or community-based relationships to e-mentoring relationships. These mentoring relationships vary and can be influenced by the type of mentoring relationship that is in effect. That is whether it has come about as a formal or informal relationship. Also there are several models have been used to describe and examine the sub-relationships that can emerge. For example, Buell (2004) describes how mentoring relationships can develop under a cloning model, nurturing model, friendship model and apprenticeship model. The cloning model is about the mentor trying to "produce a duplicate copy of him or her self." The nurturing model takes more of a "parent figure, creating a safe, open environment in which mentee can both learn and try things for him-or herself." The friendship model are more peers "rather than being involved in a hierarchical relationship." Lastly, the apprenticeship is about less "personal or social aspects... and the professional relationship is the sole focus" (Buell, 2004).
In 1990, MENTOR created The Elements of Effective Practice , a tool for state and local mentoring organizations matching mentors and youth protégés in formal mentoring relationships of all kinds. Revised and updated several years later with a companion toolkit, The Elements guidebook reflects the latest in mentoring research, policies, and practices.
New-hire mentorship
For example, in some programs, newcomers to the organization (protégés) are paired with more experienced people (mentors) in order to obtain information, good examples, and advice as they advance. These programs are structured features designed to help train these less experienced individuals. It is considered that new employees who are paired with a mentor are twice as likely to remain in their job than those who do not receive mentorship.
There are many benefits of these mentorships. One is that networking occurs more easily and is a possible reason that those mentored tend to do well in organizations. As Pompper and Adams (2006) state, "joining a mentor's network and developing one's own is central to advancement." These mentoring relationships provide much substance for career growth, and benefits both the mentor and the mentee. For example, the mentor gets to show leadership by giving back and perhaps being refreshed about their own work. The person being mentored networks, becomes integrated easier in an organization, gets experience and advice along the way. The actual organization receives an employee that is being gradually introduced and shaped by the organization's culture and operation because they have been under the mentorship of an experienced member (Pompper, Adams, 2006).
As mentioned earlier, in the organizational setting mentoring usually "requires unequal knowledge"(Bozeman, Feeney, 2007). The process of mentorship can differ. However, Bullis (1989) describes the mentoring process in the forms of phase models. Initially, the "mentee proves himself or herself worthy of the mentor's time and energy." Then cultivation occurs which includes the actual "coaching...a strong interpersonal bond between mentor and mentee develops." Next, under the phase of separation " the mentee experiences more autonomy." Ultimately, there is more of equality in the relationship termed by Bullis as Redefinition (1989).
High-potential mentorship
In other cases, mentoring is used to groom up-and-coming employees deemed to have the potential to move up into leadership roles. Here the employee (protégé) is paired with a senior level leader (or leaders) for a series of career-coaching interactions. A similar method of high-potential mentoring is to place the employee in a series of jobs in disparate areas of an organization, all for small periods of time, in anticipation of learning the organization's structure, culture, and methods. A mentor does not have to be a manager or supervisor to facilitate the process.
Mentorship in Education
In many secondary and post-secondary schools, mentorship programs are offered to support students in program completion, confidence building and transitioning to further education or the workforce. There are also many mentoring programs designed specifically to bring under-represented populations into science and engineering. One example is that of MentorNet-http://www.mentornet.net/.
Mentoring in Europe
The practice of mentoring seems to have far off origins: in ancient Greece young males usually lived with more mature men at their side: in this way they could learn values. Usually the older men were friends or relatives of the young man's father (Di Giusti, Taranto, 2000). The same principles as those used in modern mentoring, as Murray states (2001), can be traced to the corporations of arts and professions dating back to medieval times: in such associations, which in those days dominated the commercial world, it was the custom to take on young apprentices who lived and worked with their master, the owner of the workshop. They learned skills and abilities thus becoming mastercraftsmen themselves capable of taking over the business. Through this system, skills were handed down from one generation to another without the risk of them deserting to rival associations. With the industrial revolution which brought about the standardization of work, production and training, this type of relationship fell into disuse but the basic ethics survived: in this period an informal type of relationship between supervisors and gifted workers can be traced in factories: this enabled them to reach a better position (Rawlings, 2002). Since the 1970s mentoring has spread in the United States of America mainly in training contexts (Parsloe, 2000). In the same years, it began to spread in an organizational sense as well. Odiorne (1985) described it as “an innovation in American management”. In 1980s, mentoring, with the initiative of Matilda Raffa Cuomo, wife of the former Governor of the State of New York, Mario Cuomo, started to be used in a social environment to combat school drop outs, and then developing in the fight against social privations. Since the 1980s mentoring has begun to extend in the United Kingdom where it is widely used in the working and
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