watchmaker has years of exposure and practice with all types of timepieces. He has learned, among other things, which tools and materials work well, what problems might occur, and the difference between poor, good, and outstanding quality. Under the master's tutelage, the protegé is guided past the usual trial and error pitfalls and is given insights that otherwise might require years of experience to acquire.Although the value of learning from a master may be apparent for those receiving the instruction, an important question is why an individual would invest time, energy, and effort to develop another's potential. This paper is directed to answering that question. Following brief explanations of the phases within a traditional mentoring program and the Mentoring programs are used widely within business as well as academia. Although program formats and subject matter vary, the overall goal is common: To efficiently and effectively develop the knowledge, talents, and skills of a less experienced person through individualized attention from someone with more experience and knowledge in a given area of expertise. Healy and Welchert (1990, p. 17) consider mentoring to be "a dynamic, reciprocal relationship in a work environment between an advanced career incumbent (mentor) and a beginner (protegé) aimed at promoting the career development of both."Under the direction of the mentor, the protegé is given immediate access to valuable insights and past experiences. For example, the master ABSTRACT Mentoring involves the use of an experienced individual to teach and train someone with less knowledge in a given area. Through individualized attention the mentor/teacher transfers needed information, feedback, and encouragement to the protegé/learner. The success of such a program depends heavily on the investment of effort by the mentor. Although benefits for the protegé are typically easily discerned and have been well documented in the past, the factors affecting motivation for the mentor have been less well defined. Therefore, after a discussion of the basic mentoring process and a summary of the protegé and organizational benefits, the major focus of our paper is directed to the extrinsic and intrinsic rewards attained by those who participate as mentors and to the establishment of guidelines that help to maximize the value for all involved.