Role of the mentors

Notes from:

Linda Edwards

Coaching – the latest buzzword or a truly effective management tool?

Industrial and Commercial Training

Volume 35 · Number 7 · 2003 · pp. 298-300

 

Good mentors are

• responsive,
• good at listening,
• open and honest,
• non-judgmental
• ethical,
• approachable and available,
• good at observing and problem solving
• patient,
• they set expectations
• have a genuine interest in helping the protégé

Role of the mentors is not to provide answers but to make suggestions, ask the right questions and point the protégé in the right direction.  They encourage the protégé to

• think independently,
• use the new knowledge or skills to reach their goals
• not by feeding them information
• making them find the information for themselves

Mentors can also benefit in the mentoring exercise.  They also report that their protégé often provide them with fresh perspectives on old ideas or processes, connections to new or different networking opportunities, up-to-date information on new and innovative technologies, and practices and ideas in their shared areas of work.  Many mentors report that they improved their teaching and course design skills.