Abstract
Mentoring - “off-line help by one person to another in making significant transitions in knowledge, work or thinking” (David Megginson and David Clutterbuck).
In mentoring, a more experienced person (the mentor) works with someone with less experience of the context (the mentee). Through a process of conversations, the mentor helps the mentee develop their capability. The term ‘offline’ means outside of normal line management arrangements. Mentors are critical friends to their mentees – not their bosses, supervisors or managers. In this way the mentor can focus totally on the mentee’s growth and development without the encumbrance of line management duties.
Conversations are key to effective mentoring, because mentoring is rarely about giving instructions. It involves helping the mentee discover his or her route forward, by focusing and accelerating the mentee’s process of discovery. It’s more akin to reflective learning, stimulated by sagely guidance.
In mentoring, a more experienced person (the mentor) works with someone with less experience of the context (the mentee). Through a process of conversations, the mentor helps the mentee develop their capability. The term ‘offline’ means outside of normal line management arrangements. Mentors are critical friends to their mentees – not their bosses, supervisors or managers. In this way the mentor can focus totally on the mentee’s growth and development without the encumbrance of line management duties.
Conversations are key to effective mentoring, because mentoring is rarely about giving instructions. It involves helping the mentee discover his or her route forward, by focusing and accelerating the mentee’s process of discovery. It’s more akin to reflective learning, stimulated by sagely guidance.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publisher | University of Dundee |
| Number of pages | 27 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 10 Mar 2017 |
Keywords
- mentoring
- mentor
- mentee
