"

Join the e-Lead Community

Receive periodic e-Lead updates and join a burgeoning national network of people like you.

Mentoring

View Related Links for Mentoring

Background

The term "mentor" comes from Homer’s Odyssey. Ulysseus, before departing to Troy entrusts his son to a wise friend named Mentor. During Ulysseus’ twenty-year absence, Mentor becomes the young prince’s counselor, guardian, and guide. Mentor does not replace Ulysseus in a parental role; rather, Mentor helps the prince to understand and embrace the difficulties that lie before him.

While the concept of mentoring has existed for thousands of years, recently there has been an increased interest in mentor-protégé relationships by academic and professional institutions. A mentor is an experienced person who acts as a role model and a guide to others who are learning. The purpose of mentoring is for one person to pass along the knowledge he or she has gained from experience to another person who is traveling down the same path. In this capacity, the mentor becomes an advisor, coach, advocate, role model, and trusted friend to his or her protégé.

Benefits

For protégés, mentoring expands their knowledge of leadership skills and management practices. They gain the opportunity to discuss administrative and educational issues with an experienced person. Mentors provide protégés with an increased professional network and access to inside information. Furthermore, protégés receive honest, constructive feedback, as well as ongoing support and encouragement.

For mentors, the benefits are of a more personal nature. Mentoring provides the mentor with the opportunity to reflect on his or her skills and practices. Working with a protégé also exposes the mentor to new ideas. Finally, there is a personal satisfaction in teaching and sharing one’s experiences.

Schools that use mentoring also reap benefits. These schools increase their talent pool of administrators and reduce the likelihood of a high administrator turnover. This, in turn, creates a better working environment for teachers and a better learning environment for students.

Examples

Mentoring comes in many different forms. Pairing one person with another person is the most common form of mentoring. These pairs can be child to adult, child to child, or adult to adult. Examples of such one-on-one programs include Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America, Help One Student to Succeed, and the National One-to-One Partnership. With this type of mentoring, the protégé and the mentor meet regularly. In these meetings, the protégé discusses his or her questions and concerns with the mentor. The mentor responds by offering advice, personal insight, support, and encouragement.

In other organizations, people prefer to engage in group mentoring. This type of mentoring is when a number of people regularly come together to form a group where they share their experiences, frustrations, and questions with one another. These groups are usually small and the number of mentors typically is equal to or greater than the number of protégés. In this setting, protégés hear one another’s concerns and understand they are not alone in their frustrations.

Overall, mentoring provides stability and creates a support system. Those who engage in the mentoring process, whether mentors, protégés, or schools, are bound to benefit.

Click a category to toggle display of related links.