Mentoring Effectively

I had the opportunity to follow an a e-learning course on the topic "Mentoring Effectively", below is an extraction from it.

Mentoring Effectively

Where did the word “mentor” come from? In Homer’s epic poem “Odyssey,” Mentor looked after
Telemachus, the son of Odysseus, while Odysseus was away. Mentor has since come to mean a
wise and trusted guide or teacher

Today many people have earned the title “mentor” by acting as wise and trusted guides or teachers
to less experienced colleagues in their organizations or professions. Mentoring may be an ancient
idea, but it’s becoming more and more vital to career development. Although being a mentor
requires a substantial investment of your time and effort, it also has many rewards.

“Proteges gain most of the benefits in mentoring relationships.”- This is false. Benefit
everyone involved, including mentors, protégés and their organizations.

Aspects of effective mentoring- Why it’s important, the various roles of mentors, how to use
effective communication skills in mentoring relationships, how to manage the mentoring relationship.

The Importance of Mentoring
Have you ever guided someone through unfamiliar terrain? Did you think about how important your
guidance was in that situation?

Career development is one of the most significant issues facing organizations today. Many
companies are looking to mentoring programs to help develop their employees. A mentor provides
guidance at crucial times in a protégé’s career. Whether a mentor is inducting a new recruit or
grooming a rising star for an executive position, the mentoring relationship has great importance.

Although mentoring relationships are as varied as the situations that produce them, they all are
designed to propel professional development to new heights at greater speeds.