Mentorship

Mentorship is the process of being in a mentoring partnership- giving and receiving individualized, specialized learning. The mentoring partnership is formed between a person with much experience and knowledge, the mentor, and one with less knowledge, experience, and know-how in a particular field or profession, the mentee. Through the extended dialogue between mentor and mentee, observation, feedback and coaching, growth takes place for both parties. Mentorship is as old as human behavior and applicable to any walk of life, at any level, and at any point in a person's career, from student to CEO.

The goal of this book is to provide information that will motivate more working adults to become involved in mentorship and see this process as essential for achieving career success. Readers of this book will learn that there are people with knowledge in every workplace who could help us to become more successful. With the preparation that this book will provide, we can become more observant and opportunistic and take advantage of the sea of knowledge that surrounds us.

Contrary to popular belief, growth through mentorship is not an accident and does take effort. Mentoring partners must learn to produce positive results for themselves; whether they are in an organization with a mentoring program or an entrepreneur plying their trade alone. Numerous examples drawn from real-life mentoring relationships will give the reader a flavor for the benefits that can be derived from mentorship. The information in this book has been culled from feedback reports of hundreds of mentee/mentor pairs in formal programs and through interviews of participants in informal relationships. The data and case studies are gathered from working adults - ranging from metal shop workers and secretaries and clerks to senior vice presidents in companies.