Mentoring refers to a developmental relationship between a more experienced mentor and a less experienced partner referred to as a mentoree (sometimes vernacularized into mentee) or protégé.

Historical

The roots of the practice are lost in antiquity. The word itself was inspired by the character of Mentor in Homer's Odyssey. Though the actual Mentor in the story is a somewhat ineffective old man, the goddess Athena takes on his appearance in order to guide young Telemachus in his time of difficulty. Look up Mentor in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Homer (Greek Hómēros) was a legendary early Greek poet and rhapsode traditionally credited with the composition of the Iliad and the Odyssey, commonly assumed to have lived in the 8th century BC. However, exact placement of these dates is unsure. ... Odysseus and Nausicaä - by Charles Gleyre The Odyssey (Greek: , Odusseia) is one of the two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to the poet Homer. ... Helmeted Athena, of the Velletri type. ... Telemachus and Mentor Telemachus departing from Nestor, painting by Henry Howard (1769–1847) Telemachus (also transliterated as Telemachos or Telémakhos; literally, far-away fighter) is a figure in Greek mythology, the son of Odysseus and Penelope. ...

Historically significant systems of mentorship include apprenticing under the medieval guild system, and the discipleship system practiced by both Rabbinical Judaism and the Christian church. If youre looking for the TV show, see The Apprentice. ... A guild is an association of people of the same trade or pursuits (with a similar skill or craft), formed to protect mutual interests and maintain standards of workmanship and ethical conduct. ... A disciple (from the Latin discipulus, a pupil) is one who receives instruction from another; a scholar; a learner; especially, a follower who has learned to believe in the truth of the doctrine of his teacher, and implies that the pupil is under the discipline of, and understands, his teacher... Rabbi (Classical Hebrew רִבִּי ribbī;; modern Ashkenazi and Israeli רַבִּי rabbī) in Judaism, means teacher, or more literally great one. The word Rabbi is derived from the Hebrew root-word RaV, which in biblical Hebrew means great or distinguished, (in knowledge). In the ancient Judean schools (and among Sefaradim today) the sages... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on Jesus of Nazareth, and on his life and teachings as presented in the New Testament. ...

Famous mentor-protégé pairs include

• Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot
• Benjamin Mays and Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Paul of Tarsus and Timothy
• Andrew Carnegie and Napoleon Hill

Ezra Pound in 1913. ... Thomas Stearns Eliot, OM (September 26, 1888 – January 4, 1965) was an American (naturalised British) poet, dramatist and literary critic, whose works, such as The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, The Waste Land, The Hollow Men, and Four Quartets, are considered defining achievements of twentieth century Modernist poetry. ... Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays ( August 1, 1894 (?) – March 28, 1984) was an African-American minister, educator, scholar, social activist and the president of Morehouse College in Atlanta. ... Martin Luther King redirects here. ... Paul of Tarsus, also known as Paul the Apostle or Saint Paul (AD 3–14 — 62–69),[1] is widely considered to be central to the early development and spread of Christianity, particularly westward from Jerusalem. ... Timothy (whose Greek name, Τιμοθέῳ, means to fear or to honor God) was a first-century Christian bishop who died about AD 80. ... Andrew Carnegie (November 25, 1835 – August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-born American businessman, a major philanthropist, and the founder of the Carnegie Steel Company which later became U.S. Steel. ... The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ...

Typology

There are two types of mentoring relationships: formal and informal. Informal relationships develop on their own between partners. Formal mentoring, on the other hand, refers to assigned relationships, often associated with organizational mentoring programs designed to promote employee development. Employee development refers to the strategic investment, by an organization, in the training of its members. ...

In well-designed formal mentoring programs, there are program goals, schedules, training (for mentors and mentees), and evaluation. Mentors inspire their mentee to follow their dreams.

New-hire mentoring

For example, in some programs, newcomers to the organization (protégés) are paired with more experienced people (mentors) in order to obtain information, good examples, and advice as they advance. Look up Mentor in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

High-potential mentoring

In other cases, mentoring is used to groom up-and-coming employees deemed to have the potential to move up into leadership roles. Here the employee (protege) is paired with a senior level leader (or leaders) for a series of career-coaching interactions. A similar method of high-potential mentoring is to place the employee in a series of jobs in disparate areas of an organization, all for small periods of time, in anticipation of learning the organization's structure, culture, and methods. The word leadership can refer to: the process of leading the concept of leading those entities that perform one or more acts of leading. ... Look up Career in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A coach is a person who supports and directs another person or persons via encouragement and asking questions. ...

See also

• Womens Business Empowerment Network
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
• Youth mentoring

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is a non-profit organization dedicated to organizing mentorships between adults and children. ... Youth mentoring is the process of matching caring, concerned adults with kids who may be at risk. ...

Further reading

• Boreen, J., Johnson, M. K., Niday, D., & Potts, J. (2000). Mentoring beginning teachers: guiding, reflecting, coaching. York, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers.

• Carger, C.L. (1996). The two Bills: Reflecting on the gift of mentorship. Peabody Journal of Education, 71(1), 22-29.

• Cheng, M. & Brown, R. (1992). A two-year evaluation of the peer support pilot project. Evaluation/Feasibility Report, Toronto Board of Education. ED 356 204.

• Clinard, L. M. & Ariav, T. (1998). What mentoring does for mentors: A cross-cultural perspective. European Journal of Teacher Education, 21(1), 91-108.

• Cox, M.D. (1997). Walking the tightrope: The role of mentoring in developing educators as professionals, in Mullen, C.A.. In M.D. Cox, C.K. Boettcher, & D.S. Adoue (Eds.), Breaking the circle of one: Redefining mentorship in the lives and writings of educators. New York: Peter Lang.

• Daloz, L. A. (1999). Mentor: Guiding the journey of adult learners. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

• Kram, K. E. (1985). Mentoring at work: Developmental relationships in organizational life. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman.

External links

• Womens Business Empowerment Network
• Kinship Mentoring Network
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
• MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership
• Teacher Mentoring
• New Perspectives on Mentoring
• The Mentoring of Disadvantaged Youth
• Teacher Mentoring: A Critical Review
• Principal Mentoring
• Mosaic Multicultural Foundation, Cross-cultural and youth mentoring relationships.
• MENTTIUM, FAQs for mentors and mentees, general information on mentoring.