Understanding Mentor-Mentee Relationships

Mentorship is important—not just with a job but also, in life. Mentorship is valuable because it promotes continuity in the workplace and instills a culture of teamwork through partnership and open communication. It allows more experienced members of an organization to impart wisdom and share in the success of their younger and/or newer counterparts. Mentorship in the workplace forms relationships between co-workers who may have otherwise not interacted but ultimately, it breeds professional growth. 

Understanding the Mentor and Mentee Roles

A mentor is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a trusted counselor or guide.” A mentee is defined as “someone who is being mentored.” The mentor-mentee relationship is symbiotic because neither role can exist without the other. 

The phrase “iron sharpens iron” underscores the importance of mentorship perfectly as each role sharpens the other. The mentee benefits from the relationship because they are consistently learning and gaining wisdom from their mentor as their trusted counselor and guide. The mentor benefits from the relationship because it keeps them fresh, free from complacency, and also encourages their own personal growth. Furthermore, mentorships also give mentors an opportunity to learn new skills from their mentees, especially if their mentees are a part of a different generation. 

Exploring Various Types of Mentors

There are various types of potential mentors—traditional mentors, peer mentors, reverse mentors, career mentors, and life coaches. Each type serves a unique role in an organization: 

• Traditional mentors: Traditional mentors have vast knowledge, skills, and experience in their respective fields. In this type of mentorship, they are assigned to or seek out a member of their organization who is newer and less experienced. They serve by helping others navigate their career development and roles.
• Peer mentors: Peer mentors are typically at the same or similar levels in their career paths as their mentees. This mentor-mentee relationship is focused on mutual growth and support as each person learns from the other. This type of mentorship is effective at building community and encouraging mutual growth. 
• Reverse mentors: In reverse mentoring, the mentee becomes the mentor. This mentorship is exemplified when a younger member of the organization mentors a senior member on something like new technology, social media, and other growing trends. 
• Career mentors: Career mentors are most often found in specialized workplaces. They offer career advice for career advancement and mentor people in their specific field. An example of this can be found in the medical field when an experienced nurse mentors a newly graduated nurse or a seasoned physician mentors a new physician in their residency. 
• Life coaches: Life coaches can be found everywhere. While they may assist their mentee with career advice, that is not their only aim. Life coaches offer guidance not just in the workplace but in life. They are available to guide their mentee as they make decisions, work through their career goals, and aim to lead a worthwhile and more meaningful life. 

Diverse Categories of Mentees

There are also varying types of mentees seeking career development via the mentoring process. Mentee categories include eager learners, undergraduates, graduates, goal-setters, transitioners, explorers, parents, and professionals. These mentee categories are discussed in-depth below: 

• “The eager learner”: Eager learners are characterized by their excitement and enthusiasm for learning new skills and gaining new experiences. They often learn best when their mentor provides structure and consistency as they teach. 
• The undergraduate: This mentee is often a university or college student who is seeking insight into their chosen career field. They are seeking preliminary experiences such as internships for their future careers.  
• The graduate: Graduate mentees are typically found in graduate programs at universities seeking guidance on research and/or professional development in their fields. 
• The goal-setter: Goal-setter mentees are distinguished by their ambitious goals and benefit from mentors who can offer them specific guidance on accomplishing their goals. Mentees of this subtype benefit best from a mentor who will provide them with a sense of accountability and help streamline their goals into measurable and manageable tasks.
• The transitioner: Transitioners are often in the midst of drastic life changes, typically in their careers. Often, they are moving from one particular field of interest to another—making them a junior employee in their new arena. They are usually seeking a mentor who can help them navigate the challenges and offer advice on how to succeed in their new endeavor. 
• The explorer: Explorer mentees are typically very open-minded individuals seeking a vast array of knowledge and experiences in their lives and work. Mentors of explorers are there to help their mentees navigate choices and make informed decisions on their way to finding a niche. 
• The parent: These mentees are parents looking for someone to be a role model for them on work-life balance and provide empathy as they navigate the challenges of being a parent, managing a home, working, or being a student full time. 
• The professional: The professional mentee is typically an experienced individual who is well-established in their career. They are often looking for ways to advance and are hoping to find a mentor who can assist them with industry-specific skills and insight so they can move up.

How to Match a Mentor and Mentee

The two participants in a successful mentoring relationship should be matched based on compatibility, trust, shared experiences, and communication abilities. Tips for matching mentors and mentees include: 

• Find similarities between the mentor/mentee. 
• Find shared experiences between the mentor/mentee. 
• Ensure that both participants are fully committed to the mentorship. 
• Ensure both participants enjoy each other’s company. 
• Ensure both participants have similar availability in their schedules. 

Key Elements of a Successful Mentor and Mentee Relationship

Shared goals, mutual respect, and excellent communication are fundamental to a successful mentorship. If a mentorship lacks in any of these three areas, the relationship likely will not work. Shared goals provide direction and guidance for both the mentor and the mentee. Excellent communication promotes cohesiveness and understanding. Mutual respect is also critical in a successful mentorship because if neither party respects the other, they are likely to end before they even begin. 

Effective mentorships work best when both parties are equally invested in the success of the relationship. To foster and nurture the growth of the mentorship, both parties must elect to set and achieve goals as well as address any challenges that might arise. 

Setting and Achieving Goals

Setting goals is foundational in productive mentorships. Setting defined goals navigates the mentorship and provides measurable tasks the mentee can complete and meet. Goals should be measurable and attainable. This can be done by establishing a time frame for task completion and making a chart or checklist to use when each goal or task is met or completed. Examples of potential goals include: 

• Complete *milestone* by the end of the month. 
• Understand five new concepts before the next meeting. 
• Complete *task* before the next meeting. 

Addressing Challenges

As with all relationships, mentorships are likely to run into problems. A lack of cohesiveness between the two parties and poor communication are common issues. Therefore, establishing mutual communication standards and ensuring comprehension is key. A lack of cohesiveness can be solved through a “trial period” to evaluate if the partnership is a good fit. If the mentorship works well, the two can choose to continue forward. If the partnership does not work well, the two can choose to end the arrangement and be paired with a different mentor or mentee. Establishing open communication is also important to eliminate confusion and break through any other possible barriers.

How Mentoring Can Enhance Learning and Career Progression

Mentorships serve as catalysts for team cohesiveness and communication. They also promote intergenerational learning and interaction. Specifically speaking, these types of relationships encourage students to connect with their teachers more personally as they take additional time to gain wisdom and knowledge from them. Ultimately, this also builds the mentee and mentor’s professional networks. 

As technologies advance in the workplace, so do trends in mentoring. With the rise of virtual work, companies are building technologies that promote virtual mentoring opportunities. Additionally,  artificial intelligence (AI) can create virtual learning and management systems. Organizations are also showing a shift in focus toward reverse mentoring in order to promote intergenerational learning and growth across the organization. 

Successful Mentor and Mentee Relationships at Rollins College

Crummer School of Business at Rollins College offers quality business education with a strong focus on mentorship. Crummer provides many options for students from all walks of life and interests in the business world. Leadership programs are also available and designed to give students the mentorships and experiences they desire before graduating. 

Crummer’s mentorship program runs from late October through early April in the academic year. In the program, mentors and mentees are asked to meet once a month for a minimum of one hour per meeting. They are also encouraged to continue the relationship beyond their time in the academic year. This mentorship program aims to provide mentees (referred to as proteges) with opportunities to meaningfully engage with business leaders in their respective fields of interest. 

Reflecting on the Power of Mentorship

To summarize, mentorship is a powerful tool that is useful in both work and life. Mentors can serve as valuable sources of wisdom and insight to their mentees and, if properly tended to, the relationship can last a lifetime. Not only that, but mentorships also promote the betterment of mentors—by creating the opportunity to learn from their counterparts. A quality mentorship is not traditional in the sense of a teacher-student relationship. Quality mentorships are marked by shared interests, mutual respect, open communication, and a desire to learn from others. Good leaders and mentors are always willing to prioritize personal development on top of professional development. They want to gain wisdom and knowledge as much as they want to share their own. 

At Crummer, our desire is to carry on a legacy of quality business leaders. We do this through maintaining strong relationships with our alumni. We place a heavy emphasis on alumni support by allowing them to contribute their ideas for the improvement of our programs. Through community outreach and investing in one another, Crummer continues to create successful business leaders who are making a real impact in their organizations. If you are looking for quality education with mentorship at its core, look no further than Crummer Graduate School of Business and fill out an application.