ROLE OF MENTOR IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Role of Mentor in Professional Development



Role of Mentor in Professional Development

Introduction

This paper presents a critical analysis of a mentor's role, his services, which he renders in the professional development of an individual. Mentors enjoy a respectable position in the society and their importance can not be under-estimated. Mentoring is a process by which a more experienced person (the mentor) provides guidance and assistance to an individual for his or her personal and professional development, by investing time, energy and knowledge. Mentoring can also be taken as a committed personal learning process, whereby a person takes ownership and responsibility for their own personal and professional development (Andrews, 2009, 55).

Role of Mentor and his attributes

The mentor is a true generator of change, promoting growth at all levels: personal, professional, organisational and social. His contribution to humanity is transforming. Today, the mentor becomes a protagonist necessary for the dissemination of knowledge to accelerate learning processes in a world that often seems to have no coherence. The mentor is responsible to provide guidance and help his subordinates in the best possible way. One of the most important characteristics of a mentor is that he has the ability to understand the strengths and weaknesses of individuals, working under his supervision. He assists individuals in their course of training and coaching; thus polishing an individuals' attributes to develop further in his career.

It is a fact that mentorship does not suit everyone. It is a time-consuming process, and individuals with a prior experience of mentorship, tend find it easy to engage themselves in such activity. Un-experienced or naïve individuals do find it hard to cope up with the demands of a mentorship session. Therefore, it is advised that individuals aspiring to take mentorship sessions should search for an experienced mentor, so as to reap maximum benefits out of the time devoted for the cause.

Phases of Mentorship

As a tool for professional development, mentoring can help maintain the employment, succession planning, to job satisfaction and development roles. The relationship between mentor and protégé is at the heart of mentoring. Like all relationships, it requires thought, time and attention. In 2007, to observe many mentoring relationships, three key ingredients for success were identified: understanding the why of the relationship, and how to understand its full commitment.

The five-step model for mentoring relationships (Five-Phase Mentoring Relationship Model) provides basic guidelines in promoting effective relationship between a mentor and his nursing students. The search for new challenges or responsibilities or a desire to find enrichment opportunities may raise interest in mentoring: it can be a protected seeking an experienced guide for support or encouragement whiles it adopts a new role or a framework that seeks to promote the professional development of others (Fauqier, 2008, 86).

The commitment focuses on how to start finding a mentor or become one. This step can be done simply as a request to a person who can help you reach your goal. It can also be done formally or through ...