The Value of Mentoring

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.

A method to the martyrdom

“…One such way is by offering support and assistance to coworkers. The mentoring literature has suggested that employees believe that providing assistance to others can be beneficial for one's image (Allen, Poteet, & Burroughs, 1997;Newby & Heide, 1992;Noe, Greenberger, & Wang, 2002), and the impression management literature has supported this assertion. For example, Grant and Mayer (2009) showed that image-building motives are strongly correlated with prosocialhelping motives (r ¼ .49), and that employees who desired to help others were more likely to do so when they were also determined to improve their image.…”

Collaborative approach to mentoring in the tourism sector: Embracing new partners to enhance an industry programme

“…There are many industrial approaches to supporting and advancing staff, whether through training, appraisal or coaching. Mentoring has been identified as a method which can boost morale, increase job satisfaction (Fagenson, 1992: Newby and Heide, 1992) and ultimately affect the bottom line. However, there are many challenges with mentoring staff in the tourism industry.…”

Experiential Development and Mentoring Processes for Leaders for Innovation

“…At the less structured end of the spectrum, organizations may haphazardly match mentors and protégés on some criteria (e.g., proximity, gender, job function), plan an initial social gathering and hope for the best—or that some learning transpires over the ensuing months. More structured programs may involve carefully matching pairs, conducting training for both mentors and protégés, conducting follow-up checks to ensure the relationship is on track, and assisting pairs in development of learning goals (Gaskill, 1993; Kram & Bragar, 1992; Newby & Heide, 1992; Tyler, 1998). In a review of best practices for formal programs, Kram and Bragar (1992) noted that mentoring will be most successful when tied to the business goals of the organization.…”