Mentee

The mentor-mentee association is in many (although not aU) respects similar to that of the parent-child relationship described above. The similarities include ... 

The acceptance that mentees should set their own learning objectives. 

The acceptance that mentees attempts at attaining their objectives will not always be successful. 

The understanding that mentees experiences and developments, even in their apparent failure to achieve objectives, are positive - they are still learning experiences, even (or especially) mistakes ... 

An understanding that mentees need to be motivated to continue to strive to achieve reasonable objectives and should never be given the impression that this lark is too difficult for them. 

The understanding and belief that with hard work and effort, coupled with support and guidance by a mentor, mentees will have a better chance of success in achieving objectives. 

Effective mentoring programs provide mentees with these conditions, thereby enhancing their development and potential to achieve personal and professional objectives. 

Mentoring utilizes the notion that the potential opportunities for learning include anything that enables mentees to consider or reconsider and possibly reassemble or expand their existing constructs mentors facilitate this process. 

Mentoring utilizes the beneficial effects of knowledge being jointly and socially created through interaction with others learning occurs in the mentor-mentee relationship. 

The objective is not for mentors to impress their knowledge on mentees and to expect them to store it imquestioningly the aim is to provide opportunities for mentees to reflect on their mentor s input, assembling and assimilating it as is personally relevant. 

It induces purposeful change and maximizes the return on the investment in learning. This is achieved by applying methods such as helping the mentee to analyse and reflect on what happened and to compare this to what was intended. This, in turn, equips individuals with the ability to learn how to learn, a skill that will prove forever useful. 

Equal - mentor can provide guidance but mentee has choice in whether or not to utilize the input... 

It customizes the learning experience fully to the mentee, who ought to determine both the subject and the type/style of learning. 

Business-to-business - mentors with corporate managerial expertise are matched to the needs of owner-managers of small and medium-sized enterprises. Typically, the mentors focus on supporting mentees to enhance clarity and effectiveness in business. 

Not only do mentoring relationships differ because they are placed in varying environments, they also differ for a variety of other reasons - including the mentee s objectives and the personalities of mentor and mentee. A number of additional factors have a significant bearing on the nature of a mentoring relationship ... 

One-to-one mentoring - a mentor is allocated to one mentee and the relationship can be very strong this is the most prevalent type of mentoring. 

Circles mentoring - a mentor is assigned to several mentees this is typically used when there are fewer mentors than mentees. 

An individual learns through mentoring in a variety of ways -for example, by virtue of the various roles that mentors adopt. The following list, based in part on an analysis by Kathy Kram (1983), depicts some of these functions, but it is by no means exhaustive. The mentor s assumption of any one of these roles is largely guided by the mentee s needs, and this means that the mentor is unlikely to adopt all of these roles for every mentee. 

To open doors by, for example, introducing the mentee to the right people or by creating opportunities. 

To provide a safe, objective, non-judgmental, and confidential space for the mentee. 

To provide guidance and advice, particularly when the mentee has become unstuck or is about to make a mistake that will do long-term damage to his or her career. 

Mentors further facilitate a mentee s learning and development by enabling mentees to ... 

Develop powers of self-evaluation and a capacity for autonomous learning, which together enable mentees to maximize their gain from all learning events and to seek out future learning opportunities on their own. 

However, mentoring relationships can only achieve these positive outcomes if the mentee s learning objectives are clearly established. The objectives set the tone and focus for the mentoring association. They also enable the mentee s progress to be evaluated. Two of the many effective techniques that mentors use in order to enhance mentees learning and development are formal learning objectives, and reviewing the development plan. 

Learning plans or personal development plans (PDF) detail mentees goals and objectives, and the actions necessary to... 

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