A Short Note On External Mentorship For Employers

Clutterbuck & Megginson (1999, p.17) describe mentoring as being like ‘standing in front of a mirror with a trusted other, who can help you see things that you do not know how to see, or that have become too familiar for you to notice’. It is a helping relationship between an individual with potential and an individual with expertise. This multi-dimensional relationship is a partnership between those in similar roles, who can support each other. A number of roles of the mentor have been listed by Bolton (2010, p.193): role model, enabler, teacher, encourager, counsellor, befriender, facilitator, coach, confidante, supporter and ‘un-learner’. To be successful roles and responsibilities of those involved need to be clear and they need to be matched to each other and understand expectations of them.

Establishing an effective mentoring relationship reminds me of the ancient African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child," meaning that the work of raising a child cannot be done alone; an entire community must participate in providing extensive social support that child rearing necessitates. It is very rare for children in any society to grow into functioning adults without some kind of interacting from the community at large.

In life, we all have a mentor who looks out for us. A figure that stands out and serves as a foundation for how our future ends up. Mentors can be our closest relatives, our best friends, or even people that we’ve never met, just those who stand out to us. Mentors teach us principles that they want us to follow and think is best. They mold us with their knowledge and shape us into people that they want us to be.

Learning mentors tend to work on a one to one level or in small numbered groups, a learning mentor must be a good listener, be able to encourage and motivate and act as a role model and encourage the build up of a mutually respectful relationship (Hayward, 2001).

Mentoring relationships has its roots beginning in ancient Greek mythology, when Odysseus (a.k.a. Ulysses) entrusted Mentor with his son, Telemachus, while he left to fight the Trojan War. Odysseus, king of Ithaca, left home for 20 years on the famous journey that Homer ccalled the Odyssey. Mentor was responsible for raising Telemachus, shaping his character and helping him make wise decisions as he grew up to be a man. Eventually, Telemachus begins searching for his father, and Mentor joined him. The myth says that the Greek goddess Athena assumed Mentor’s form for the purpose of giving advice to Odysseus (Shea, 1997). Mentor’s name, with a lower-case “m,” has passed into our language as a shorthand term for wise and trusted counselor, advisor, teacher and friend. Mentoring is where a person invests time and energy to help another person grow and learn (Shea, 1997). “Mentor served as a coach, teacher, guardian, protector, and kindly parent. Mentor shared wisdom, promoted Telemachus’s career, and actively engaged him in a deep personal relationship (BOOK – Johnson –Ridley, xxx, p. xv). Like today the mentoring model is pairing a mentor and a mentee where the mentor is a role model and provides direction and guidance.

Mentoring takes many forms and has many purposes, however, no uniform definition of mentoring exists (Bochke, 2001). Caffarella (1993) defined mentoring as “intense caring relationships in which person(s) with more experience work with less experienced person(s) to promote both professional

In this article, Eugene C. Roehlkepartain talks about how important relationships in regards to mentoring. He talks about how relationships can help improve a mentee’s education level as well as build a sense of self. Relationships need to always be evolving as the mentor and mentee evolve. There should also be different relationships for different things. Then, he mentions the Institute’s Developmental Relationships Framework in which five elements are present. They are: express care, challenge growth, provide support, share power, and expand possibilities. In which, he adds actions that relate to that element and what does actions really mean. These five elements need to go in order. He also reveals how parents typically have the strongest

Mentoring is relationship orientated – it provides a safe environment where the mentore shares any issues which can affect their mentors professional and personal success. Mentoring also focuses on work/life balance, self confidence and self perception.

In my next mentoring relationship, no matter if I’m the mentor or mentee, I will apply the skills I have learned through this program with the hopes of improving upon them still, through practice. I will greet my new mentor or mentee with open arms, knowing that they are giving me the opportunity to learn more, to practice my skills, and to help make others better in turn.

Attached is the proposal to implement a mentoring program at Anderson, Lower, Whitlow P.C. In early summer, ALW hired fifteen recently graduated individuals and 12 have already taken positions at other firms. There needs to be a system in place to develop and foster relationships for these individuals within the firm. This firm has a high turnover rate of new hires; currently, the turnover rate is 85%. Firms that are considered the Big Four are offering mentoring programs that make their employees invested in the company’s future. Unfortunately, if ALW does not start to compete with this issue, more employees will be lost to the Big Four Firms.

Mentoring for the mentor is about challenging himself to perform to greater capabilities while nurturing a mentee and stretching them to realise their full potential. Mentors counsel, tutor and guide their mentees in developing themselves.

to be established. (L.Kutilek and G.Earnest.2001) This too supports Phillip and Spratts findings who also argues that these relationships benefit more when there is regular contact between the mentor and the young person. (K.Phillip and J.Spratt.2007) The young person interviewed in this enquiry project had contact with his mentor twice a week Monday to Friday during term time.

It takes a lot of commitment to be a mentor, an appropriate meeting time needs to be discussed between mentor and mentee so that it doesn't conflict with family, school, and/or social life. Mentors are usually provided for: troubled teens, young children with busy parents that work, children or teens with special needs such as Autism or ADHD, or anyone under or over the age of 18 who needs to have one on one time with someone they trust and can talk to confidentially.

Mentorship is very important in the workplace especially in the area of training and development. The mentor-protégé relationship is a much needed relationship that begins in the early career stage and this relationship involves the current or new employees and the supervisor or other colleagues that provide work-related guidance. The relationship itself is comprehensive and involves “educational, occupational, physical, social, and spiritual development” (Greenhaus,, Callanan, & Godshalk, 2010, p 211). One of the initial task of the early career the establishment of the career field which involves the gaining of the workplace competence, learn what is needed to excel in the organization, and to gain acceptance in the workplace to be recognized as the valued employee. There are many ways of achieving the above mentioned advantages in the workplace which one main method is through the use of the mentorship program.

Mentoring - Mentoring is an indefinite, relationship based activity with several specific but wide ranging goals. It does not have to be a formal process. The mentor is a facilitator who works with either an individual or a group of people over an extended time period. The agenda is open and continues to evolve over the longer term. Mentoring seeks to