1.1 Defining mentoring

Before you look at some academic and business definitions of what mentoring is, use Activity 1 to consider your own perception of mentoring.

Activity 1 Brain, ear or push?

Timing: Allow about 5 minutes

Figure 2 John C. Crosby, a US politician in the nineteenth century, said: ‘Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction’.

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This is a photograph of John C. Crosby.

Figure 2 John C. Crosby, a US politician in the nineteenth century, said: ‘Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in ...

Consider the following questions:

• a.Think about people you’ve come across in the past, either in the workplace or during leisure, voluntary or educational activities, who have provided a brain to pick, an ear to listen or a push in the right direction. Did you think of them as mentors at the time? Make a note of them in the box below.
• b.With those people and experiences in mind, use the box to write a sentence or paragraph that describes your own definition of mentoring.

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Mentors come in all shapes and sizes. The relationship might be deliberately set up or develop organically. Usually, a mentor will have more experience than you in a relevant area, whether that’s your occupation, the organisation you work within or even a group or committee that you’re about to join. Read on to explore how your own definition fits with those of academics and business professionals.

There are many definitions of mentoring, which vary depending on context, culture and the purpose of the mentoring relationship being described. Notable examples include:

• ‘Mentoring is to support and encourage people to manage their own learning in order that they may maximise their potential, develop their skills, improve their performance and become the person they want to be.’ (Eric Parsloe, quoted in University of Glasgow document, no date).

• ‘Mentoring is a learning and developmental relationship between two people. It depends on essential human qualities such as commitment, authenticity, trust, integrity and honesty. It involves the skills of listening, questioning, challenge and support.’ (Garvey & Garrett-Harris, 2008).

In his book Everyone Needs a Mentor, David Clutterbuck (2014) provides the following summary of what he calls ‘the holistic nature of the mentoring role’:

While the nuances may be different, the emphasis of all these definitions is on help and support, and the relationship between two people – common themes in almost all definitions of mentoring. Maybe you also highlighted those aspects in the sentence or paragraph that you wrote in Activity 1.