Executive Brief

Mentoring is an intentional, developmental relationship in which a more experienced, more knowledgeable person nurtures the professional and personal life of a less experienced, less knowledgeable person. Both mentors and mentees realize many benefits from mentoring, as do organizations that encourage, structure, and support mentoring. Effective mentors develop the leadership capacity of their mentees while increasing their own skills. They transfer their knowledge and expertise back into their organizations. They nurture the alignment between employee aspirations and organizational imperatives, and they create depth and loyalty within their organizations. Leaders who take mentoring seriously and handle it effectively have a profound impact.