Traditional mentoring

Notes from:

Developmental mentoring: Creating a healthy organisational culture

Julie Hay

Journal of Communication Management

Vol. 4, No. 4, 2000, pp. 378-384

 

Traditional mentoring is a way of maintaining the status quo — senior people with years of experience act as sponsoring mentors to younger.  Traditional mentoring still has a part to play in many organisations.  It is a way for younger employees to learn through the experiences of others.  For a truly successful organisation, mentoring may need to include norms about challenging the status quo.

Mentoring has traditionally been reserved for those seen as having high potential for promotion.  The term 'mentoring' was used for a wide variety of formats (developmental mentoring), including:

• buddying arrangements for new hires;
• one-toone skills coaching;
• professional guidance and assessment;
• traditional mentoring schemes for high-flyers; and
• adhoc arrangements such as temporarily being associated with a particular individual

The developmental mentoring format can be related to the organisational culture by considering the implicit values and beliefs:

• people are OK
• people want closeness
• people can change
• people want to grow
• people create their own meaning
• people can make decisions
• behaviour is purposeful:

 

Coaching may mean an expert who moulds performance, but it may also mean a nondirective counsellor.  The terms mentoring and coaching often seem interchangeable.

Traditional mentoring	Is organisationally led and long term (typically at least a year and often longer). Mentees are developed to fit the organisational needs in the future. The mentor decides when they reach the desired 'shape' and can be promoted.
Developmental mentoring	Is individually led. The mentee is encouraged to consider all possible options for their own development.
Coaching	Is organisationally led but short term and specific. The individual is coached in skills currently required by the organisation. The coach decides when the requisite performance level has been attained.
Counselling	Is also short term (at least, it is when provided within an organisation) but obviously needs to be individually led. The person seeking counselling needs to choose their own solution. The effective counsellor listens and prompts but does not advice.
Managing	Sits in the middle. Managers will often undertake activities that closely resemble mentoring, coaching and counselling.