The Practice of Mentoring - Creating and Sharing Wisdom within Organizations

Reviewed by Autumn Akin, National Sales Trainer, First Horizon Pharmaceutical Corporation

With the publication of their workbook,“Guide to Mentoring,”Great Circle Learning provides a comprehensive tool for individuals or companies seeking information regarding mentoring. The workbook provides valuable information and guidelines for both enhancing a company’s existing mentoring program as well as for companies that are in the process of launching a mentoring program. The workbook is well written and easy to follow. In addition,the book provides practical guidelines for effective mentoring programs.

The workbook is very reader friendly. Each section is easy to read and provides valuable information to the reader. For instance, in the “What is Mentoring?” section, the guide provides examples of mentoring relationships, which helps the reader in gaining perspective and setting the parameters of their specific mentoring relationship or program. In addition, at the end of each section, there is a “capsule summary.” This summary provides the reader with a quick glimpse at the section’s content, as well as serving as a review for the reader’s comprehension. The workbook also contains several worksheets to give the reader an opportunity to apply many of the principles outlined in the book. Many sections of the workbook contain case studies to help mentors and “mentees” assess their skills and needs to increase the effectiveness of the program.

The workbook focuses on several key topics surrounding mentoring. These topics include a general overview of mentoring, attributes of successful mentors and mentees, guidelines for mentoring relationships, and techniques and evaluations for measuring the success of the mentoring relationship. In many sections of the guide, there are application tools available to reinforce the section’s content.

After reviewing the book, I have a better understanding about mentoring programs. I found the section on “Guidelines for Mentoring Relationships” to be extremely beneficial. The section provided a series of suggestions for adding structure to a mentoring program. These guidelines can help both the mentor and mentee by defining the parameters and expectations of their relationship. Another area I found informative was the section that discussed “Evaluating Your Mentoring Relationships.” This section outlines several ideas of how to set goals and provide feedback regarding the mentoring relationship. At the end of the section, a “Mentoring Evaluation Tool” is included that uses a series of questions for both the mentor and mentee to consider about their relationship.

Overall, I found this guide to be a valuable tool for individuals or companies that are interested in either building or refining a mentoring program. With its section summaries and application tools, this guide is a resourceful tool to keep on hand.

Review published in Media Library, Summer 2003