International Mentoring Assoc. Since 1987, the premier source for support of mentoring.

The Best Practices for Mentor & Protege Support Groups

by Barry Sweeny, 2003

A Strategy for Capturing & Celebrating Mentor & Protege Growth

A BIG Problem in Mentoring: The necessity of a confidential relationship (the blue box in the diagram below) makes many of the terrific things that happen in a mentoring relationship "invisible" to everyone else.

It is critical to capture & celebrate these wonderful experiences, but we need to do so in a way that does not violate this confidentiality.

This is crucial because:

Sounds like an unsolvable dilemma, doesn't it? Thankfully, it's NOT! The peer support groups to which the mentor and protege separately belong is the Answer. Below is a diagram that shows how I have figured out how to accomplish these valuable goals AND still preserve mentor-protege confidentiality. This graphic is best viewed if you open your browser widow as far to the sides as possible. Thanks.


The process for capturing the knowledge while honoring confidentiality is as follows:

1. The peer support groups include conversations focused on questions such as:

ìWhat have you learned about how to be a good mentor in August?î ...or...

ìWhat should we have told you during New
Employee Orientation, that we should add next year?î.

2. Pairs are asked to discuss their own individual answers to the facilitator's question and arrive at a common agreement as to how to answer it. (1st level of sharing)

3. The pairs then share with their table group or another pair. The table group seeks consensus on the answer, but a "minority report" is fine too. (2nd level)

4. The answers are collected on flip chart paper during a report out to the whole group. (3rd level)

The focus is on validating and affirming the value of their own experience, "mining" that experience so it can be captured and, then sharing it with others for others' use.

5. Consensus is sought and data recorded as to the number agreeing with the general list of answers.

6. At the end of the dialogue, the leader asks ìWhat terrific insights and growth you have experienced! Does anyone care if these comments are shared
with others who are not in the Mentor Program? They should know how much you are learning!î

7. The answers are typed up later as ìtestimoniesî etc. These are shared with everyone & used to inform future program improvement decision making.


This strategy works because people choose to share THEIR OWN responses which preserves confidentiality. Also, the three levels of sharing move from least risk, to highest risk and create the context for all the information to be revealed.

THE DATA COLLECTED IS USED FOR:

1. Refinement of the Mentor Training

2. Mentor Program Evaluation & Refinement

3. Evaluation & Refinement of other Protege Support Program Components, such as:

  • Orientation
  • Protege Seminars & Training

  • Protege Observations of Experts
  • Protege Data Can Be Used to Improve the Mentor Peer Support Group, and...

  • The Mentor Data Can Be Used to Improve the Protege Peer Support Group

4. Contnent, such as testimonies and stories for the Mentor Program Newsletter, Web Site & Other program Communication

5. Mentor Program Annual Report to Management & the Board of Directors

6. Content for annual reports to sponsors and donors, bussiness partners, etc.


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