The 2001 Winner of the

Dr. Hope Richardson Dissertation Award

Dr. Janine Knackstedt, whose dissertation is entitled

"Organizational Mentoring: What About Protégé Needs?"

INDEX:

• About the Winner
• The Findings of the Study
• The Value of Knowing Protégé Mentoring Needs
• Additional Gender Related Findings

About the Winner

Dr. Janine Knackstedt, the 2001 winner of the IMA Dissertation Award, is a long time member of the IMA from Quebec, Canada. Janine was presented a plaque announcing her award and a check for $1000 at a luncheon held at the recent annual conference of the IMA in Washington D.C. The presentation was made by Dr. Linda Stromei, IMA Board of Directors member, chair of the Dissertation Award Committee, and herself the 1999 Award winner.

The Findings of the Study

Janine shared the findings of her study at the IMA annual conference in Washington D.C. She found that studies in organizations have almost exclusively measured mentoring occurrences and her research on health care professionals uniquely contributed to the mentoring literature in two ways.

First, the importance of examining mentoring needs from the protégé's perspective was empirically demonstrated. Six types of mentoring needs were identified, namely:

• Professional development
• Sponsorship and recognition
• Equal partnership
• Friendship
• Coaching on work issues
• Role modeling.

Further, the construct of mentoring needs was different from the construct of mentoring occurrences In other words, what protégés need in terms of mentoring behavior is different from what they received.

The Value of Knowing Protégé Mentoring Needs

Janine stated that, from a practical viewpoint, determining mentoring needs is important because:

• Employees have different needs
• Mentors provide different mentoring functions according to their skills, abilities, personal style, and motivation
• Determining needs allows fro a better match between individual and organizational needs
• It is a proven benefit during times of organizational change and restructuring
• It can be used as a powerful tool for leaders who wish to assess the climate of their organization
• It may significantly increase the effectiveness of formalized mentoring programs.

Additional Gender Related Findings

Janine's research also demonstrated the value in examining the gender component of the dyad in future mentoring research. Female protégés who had a male mentor distinguished themselves from their peers in that they expressed stronger mentoring needs than male protégés with male mentors. This was especially true for professional development, equal partnership, coaching on work issues, and role modeling. They also received more mentoring functions compared to protégés in other dyads, specifically for sponsorship and recognition, coaching on work issues, and role modeling.

A follow up study reveal that female protégés who had a male partner were not more competitive, more ambitious, nor more in need of power and achievement than their peers in other dyads.

With regards to the person consulted for specific mentoring behaviors, it was found that women approached women to discuss personal issues but they had no preference with regard to the person consulted for career developmental matters.

Men, on the other hand, always approached men regardless of the issue. Women who preferred consulting men for career advancement issues were younger, more junior, had a greater need for achievement, and tended to have a greater need for power than women who consulted with other women.

Article written by Dr. Linda Stromei, IMA Dissertation Committee Chair.

© 2003 by the International Mentoring Association

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