Mentee Mentoring Structure

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Pages: 4

Chasity Stoess
English W-231
Structure of Mentor/Mentee Relationships
The sources concluded that meetings are a very important part of developing mentor and mentee relationships. Messmer (2003) mentioned, “An initial orientation or kickoff meeting is essential to the success of any mentoring program”(p. 17). That “it is important to clearly define the objectives before beginning a mentoring program. Within this meeting, according to Messmer (2003), “you need to decide whether to have a formal or informal program” (p. 17). Not only do you need to decide on a formal or informal program, Messmer (2003) mentioned, “A formal approach can be very effective because it's structured, with regular meetings and frequent monitoring” (p. 17). Although
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17).
From Messmer (2003) “relationships are structured in a way that is one on one within a mentoring relationship.” Even though occasionally they can be structured in the form of group mentoring meeting. Meeting one on one with a mentee should not be the only way to meet. Additionally, to Poulson, mentors should “form a relationship outside of just the one on one meetings, but also in real life situations such as sports games, graduations, funerals, etc). Messmer (2003) mentioned, “A formal approach can be very effective because it's structured, with regular meetings and frequent monitoring. On the other hand, an informal program provides employees more flexibility-they
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(Messmer, 2013, p. 7). Boundaries are very important in mentor and mentee relationships. Garringer (2015) explains that you should “form a commitment agreement and have each member sign” (p. 157-97). According to Dubois (2002) “knowing each other expectations considering the frequency of contact and length of relationships commitment” are important and need to be established right away. According to Dubois, “in order to yield desired outcomes, it may be necessary for programs to establish mentoring relationships between youth and adults that involve patterns of regular contact over a significant period of time” (2002). Furthermore, mentors are suggested by Garringer (2015) “to be at least three years older” than their mentees. Messmer (2003) mentions that “Mentor/Mentee relationships should be structured not in a micromanaging way, but in a supporting and caring way” (p. 7). To the American Psychological Association (2017) list four different stages; “Initiation stage, cultivation stage, separation stage, and redefining stage.” Within each of those stages, boundaries need to be in place like mentioned above. When entering into the separation stage the American Psychological Association (2017) presents that, “Problems between the mentor and mentee arise when only one party wants to terminate the mentoring relationship. Mentees may feel abandoned, betrayed, or unprepared if they perceive