4 The mentoring process
A mentoring relationship is all about growth and development which, at its best, impacts on both parties.
Clutterbuck (2008, p. 3) describes the relationship in five phases:
- Phase 1: Rapport-building – mentor and mentee decide whether they want to work together and negotiate what each expects of the other.
- Phase 2: Direction-setting – mentor and mentee achieve clarity about what each aims to achieve from the relationship and how.
- Phase 3: Progress-making – having helped the mentee define and commit to personal change, the mentor must guide and support them as needed.
- Phase 4: Winding down – when the relationship has helped to deliver the desired outcomes or the mentee outgrows the mentor.
- Phase 5: Moving on/professional friendship – moving on from a formal mentoring relationship towards a less committed, more casual one.
Each phase requires different behaviours and competencies from the mentor.
Other authors describe similar structures, but the key elements for the mentor are building rapport, ensuring that the relationship is productive and knowing when to end it.
Activity 3 Which mentoring stage?
Look at the descriptions below and decide which of Clutterbuck’s five phases of mentoring each pair are currently in.
- a.Nick has a mentor called Alison. She is in a very senior role and hardly ever available. He finds this frustrating and doesn’t feel like he’s had a chance to get to know her or talk about his development.
- b.Sue is very happy to have Louise as a mentor. They get on well and meet regularly. Although they are very clear on what they expect from each other in terms of the relationship, Sue feels she needs help to set some goals and progress.
- c.Parminder has been working with her mentor, Andrew, for 12 months. She has really progressed during their time as mentor and mentee but often feels like she knows what he’s going to say.
Once you’ve chosen what phase they are in, consider what you would do next if you were in the mentee’s position. Make notes in the box below.
Comment
- a.Nick and Alison are still in Phase 1 – they haven’t done very well building rapport just yet, so the next move will be for Nick to formally book some time in Alison’s diary. If that doesn’t work, it may be time to consider a different mentor.
- b.Sue and her mentor have successfully completed Phase 1 – rapport-building, and now they need to move towards direction-setting (Phase 2). Sue should feel fairly comfortable about raising this with her mentor as they get on well.
- c.Parminder is ready to wind down the relationship (Phase 4). She’s starting to outgrow her mentor and is ready for new challenges. She must talk to her mentor and together they can find a way to move the relationship towards the more casual professional one outlined in Phase 5.
A mentoring relationship relies on honesty from both parties, so in each case it should be possible for the mentee to raise their issue. This is best done in a face-to-face situation and may provide a useful learning experience for both mentor and mentee.
Non-traditional mentoring processes
In the modern workplace, mentoring processes are diversifying. Dagli (2023) lists the following examples:
- Peer mentoring – colleagues at similar job levels share their experiences. Often used to help assimilate new hires into the company culture.
- Reverse mentoring – less experienced, often younger, employees mentor more senior staff, bringing fresh perspectives.
- Group mentoring – brings together one mentor and several mentees, creating a collaborative learning environment and fostering a sense of community.
- Flash mentoring – short, focused sessions, often used to address specific, immediate challenges, focusing on a particular topic or skill.
- Virtual mentoring – connecting through online platforms and transcending geographical barriers. A key advantage is its convenience and adaptability, particularly in remote or hybrid working environments.
As referenced in the final bullet point, with more organisations continuing to support models of hybrid or remote working, virtual mentoring is likely to increase in popularity. Goredema (2023) has some useful advice for maximising a virtual mentoring relationship, including:
- Adapt to your different work environment – if you’re working from home, find a location that minimises background noise or distractions and aim to maintain confidentiality in the same way you would if you were meeting in person.
- Have a backup plan for technical issues – consider what you will use to continue your conversation if the internet connection goes down. Could you speak on the phone?
- Maintain connection – plan some conversation starters to help you get to know each other, such as ‘What are you working on today?’ or ‘What was the highlight of your week so far?’
- Don’t multi-task – stay focused on your conversation, close other windows, silence messaging apps, etc.
- Follow up – send a quick email thanking them for their time and highlighting a couple of details from the conversation.
In this section, you’ve focused on how a mentoring relationship develops and changes over time, and you’ve looked at some different mentoring approaches. Next, you’ll consider how mentoring can benefit all of those involved.