PurposeThe purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of cognitive tasks on mentoring provided and the moderating influence of having an educational leadership position.Design/methodology/approachThis cross-sectional survey was based on a questionnaire sent to 435 employees of 29 preschools in Norway. A total of 284 responses were returned, with a response rate of 65.3%. A total of three research hypotheses were formulated. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to develop three measurement models, and structural equation modelling (SEM) based on the multigroup analysis was used to test the hypotheses.FindingsResults revealed that cognitive tasks increase the occurrence of mentoring provided at work for employees with and without an educational leadership position. Furthermore, educational leadership moderates the relationship between cognitive tasks and mentoring provided.Research limitations/implicationsThe use of convenience sampling and self-reports are discussed, especially related to representativeness and reporting biases. Implications for practice and future research are also discussed.Originality/valueThis is an understudied area, and no previous research has used a confirmatory approach to investigate how cognitive tasks and educational leadership influence the occurrence of mentoring provided.

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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the influence of problem‐solving tasks on mentoring received, peer mentoring and mentoring provided.Design/methodology/approachThis cross‐sectional survey was based on a questionnaire that was sent to a total of 435 employees from 29 pre‐schools in Norway. A total of 284 responses were returned, a response rate of 65.3 per cent. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to assess the validity and reliability of measurement scales. Research questions were formulated. Stepwise regression analysis was recommended to assess the magnitude and direction of the independent variable on the three dependent variables, when controlled for by demographic and career variables.FindingsThe results revealed that problem‐solving tasks have a positive and significant influence on mentoring received, peer mentoring and mentoring provided. This means that performing unfamiliar tasks increases the occurrence of the three mentoring roles.Research limitations/implicationsThe independent variables only explained 14 per cent, 30 per cent and 38 per cent of mentoring received, peer‐mentoring and mentoring provided, respectively. Thus, other job characteristics, for example specialization, need further investigation to uncover the influence of job characteristics on mentoring.Practical implicationsProblem‐solving tasks will be a challenge for educational leadership to coordinate the mentoring roles according to the changing nature of work in pre‐schools.Originality/valueThere is no previous research that investigates how job characteristics in general and problem‐solving tasks in particular influence the occurrence of mentoring relationships.

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