Mentoring

Bozeman and Feeney (2007) define mentoring as "a process for the informal transmission of knowledge, social capital, and the psychosocial support perceived by the recipient as relevant to work, career, or professional development; mentoring entails informal communication, usually face-to-face and during a sustained period of time, between a person who is perceived to have greater relevant knowledge, wisdom, or experience (the mentor) and a person who is perceived to have less (the protègè)."

It originated from Homer's epic poem The Odyssey. In the poem, Odysseus, King of Ithaca went to fight in the Trojan War and entrusted the care of his kingdom to Mentor, who served as the teacher of Odysseus' son, Telemachus.

Mentoring is often thought of as the transfer of wisdom from a wise and trusted counselor who helps to guide a person's career, normally in the upper echelons of the organization. The two most common terms used to describe the person being mentored is "mentee" and "protègè," while two lesser used terms are "apprentice" and "student."

A mentor cares about her protègès and goes out of her or her way to see that they get the best possible chance to fulfill their career potential. It involves teaching, coaching, and helping to build a high degree of confidence. But what brings out the full magic of mentorship is some degree of affection or warm friendship... such as what an older brother might feel for his kid sister.