The Protégé mentoring mindset: a framework for consideration

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to define and describe the mentoring mindset in a protégé. The central research question was: What constitutes a mentoring mindset in a protégé who is poised to receive maximum benefits from a mentoring relationship, as described by the mentor? Design/methodology/approach – A phenomenological approach was used to conduct this study. Interviews were conducted with veteran school principals who were trained mentors, assigned and paired with newly appointed principals for a year of mentoring. The identification of the phenomenon of the mentoring mindset of the protégé was derived from the mentors’ perspectives of their protégés’ behaviors, dispositions, attitudes, and competencies, as they were conveyed in the research interviews. Findings – A definition of the protégé's mentoring mindset was created after analysis of the interview data, and indicators of the presence and absence of the mindset were formulated into a Protégé Mentoring Mindset Framework that provides information on protégé competencies. The protégé with a mentoring mindset takes initiative, possesses a learning orientation, has a goal orientation, is relational and reflective. Conversely, the protégé who does not have a mentoring mindset lacks initiative, lacks a learning orientation, a goal orientation, and is not relational or reflective. Research limitations/implications – One limitation of the study is that it only gathered the perceptions of the mentor, but the protégé is the one being described. This, however, is consistent with other studies of protégé competencies. The study was conducted with a specific population (school principals) in a southern state of the USA. Hence, it cannot be assumed to be generalizable to other populations or fields of study. Replication of this research in other settings is suggested, so that the Framework can be further affirmed, disconfirmed, or augmented. Implications of this research could be that the Mentoring Mindset Framework can be used for considering the varied competencies of the protégé, and can be used in both mentor and protégé training. Originality/value – To this researcher's knowledge, there has not been a Protégé Mentoring Mindset Framework of competencies created in mentoring research.

Talking to the mentees: exploring mentee dispositions prior to the mentoring relationship

“…Crisp (2009) developed this scale to provide conceptual validation on mentoring relationships and has been widely used to provide clarity on what constitutes a mentoring relationship (Castellanos et al , 2016; Hu and Ma, 2010). Searby (2014) introduced a mentoring mindset framework as described by the mentor in which mentor characteristics may lead to mentees maximizing and benefiting from a mentoring relationship. Searby’s mentoring mindset included mentee characteristics using dichotomous pairs of the following competencies: initiative, learning orientation, goal orientation, relational skills and reflectiveness.…”

“…Searby’s mentoring mindset included mentee characteristics using dichotomous pairs of the following competencies: initiative, learning orientation, goal orientation, relational skills and reflectiveness. These competencies can influence how a mentee views their expectations, roles, and responsibilities in a reciprocal relationship (Searby, 2014). Similarly, Healy and Welchert (1990) mentioned both mentors and mentees require a “degree of maturity” (p. 20) to enjoy a successful and reciprocal relationship, yet these authors suggested the literature is “far richer on the topic of mentor readiness” (p. 20) than mentee readiness.…”

Mentoring for educators’ professional learning and development

“…This form of mentoring relationship may be characterized as a deficit model in which mentors believe their role is to "help the mentee or coachee gain something from their knowledge or experience" (Salter, 2015, p. 77); others such as Dominguez and Hager (2013) prefer to view mentoring as a "developmental model". Dominguez and Hager (2013) and Parylo et al (2012), Searby (2014) stated that mentoring "should be viewed as a learning partnership between the mentor and the protégé" and that the vision of a passive mentee waiting for the mentor's wisdom is being challenged by a more active mentee stance. Thus, emphasis is placed on the importance of the roles of both mentors and mentees, contributing to the construction of an effective mentoring relationship.…”

Connecting Mentoring to the Classroom: Lessons for Teachers of Female Undergraduates

“…Being a competent mentee is particularly important for female undergraduates, whose career paths might be more challenging than those of their male classmates. Similar to the 2014 Searby model of the “protégé mentoring mindset,” our research revealed that a high-quality mentoring relationship requires the mentee to exhibit vital traits sought by the mentor, namely, proactivity and willingness to take direction . Business curricula in the United States neither commonly provide adequate coverage of the importance of mentoring nor are potential gender-based differences openly discussed and analyzed in class and in experiential learning assignments at the undergraduate level.…”