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The benefits and risks that mentors experience from participating in mentoring relationships in the federal sector

This study determined the benefits and risks mentors experience from participating in mentoring relationships.The first research question concluded that mentors experience many benefits from participating in a mentor/protege relationship. These benefits include being part of the protege's successes, mentor recognition, meeting organizational goals, interaction with protege, networking,assessment of the protege's talent, accelerated orientation process, and providing job continuity.Mentors indicated their prestige within the organization increased mainly amongst their superordinates (30%) and least amongst their peers (50%) as a result of participating in a mentor/protege relationship. Additionally, mentors indicated that there were significant gains in influencing the actions (85%), thinking (80%), productivity (60%), and work quality(50%) of proteges. These gains were cited by mentors as both direct benefits to themselves and indirect benefits to the organization in getting the mission accomplished, developing potentialleaders, and influencing others to strive for excellence.Seventy percent (70%) of the mentors did not feel a sense of favors owed to them by their proteges as a result of participating in a mentor/protege relationship. They indicated this was not the intent of a mentor/protege relationship. If suspected, they would address the issue andpossibly terminate the relationship if necessary.Mentors did not experience significant gains in power (75%) or respect (45%) for spotting talent and engineering the protege's advancement for the good of the organization.The second research question concluded that mentors experienced many risks from participating in a mentor/protege relationship. These risks included: wasting limited resources, destroying friendships, harm to the organization and mentor reputation if the protege is promoted into a leadership position and fails, and the perception of favoritism amongst subordinates.Mentors indicated they experienced losses in prestige from amongst superordinates (10%) and subordinates (10%) as well as loss a steady loss in influencing the actions and thinking of the protege as the relationship progressed.Mentors indicated there was a loss in the protege's work quality (60%) and work productivity (25%) during the mentor/protege relationship.Fifteen percent of the mentors experienced a sense of favors owed to them by their proteges. However this sense of favors owed decreased towards the end of the relationship. / Department of Educational Leadership

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/176321
Date January 1993
CreatorsGarcia, Ricardo S.
ContributorsMcElhinney, James H.
Source SetsBall State University
Detected LanguageEnglish
Formativ, 126 leaves ; 28 cm.
SourceVirtual Press
Coveragen-us-in

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