Lesson 3. Benefits and Ethics of Mentoring
- BENEFITS OF MENTORING
Having the guidance, encouragement and support of a mentor can provide a broad range of personal and professional benefits such as:
- Knowledge transfer between mentor and mentee
- Mutual learning relationship
- Smart and detailed career plan
- Development of leadership skills
- Motivation for professional development
- Achievement of goals and objectives
- Stronger networks
- ETHICS OF MENTORING – GUIDING ETHICAL PRINCIPLES
In a mentoring relationship, the topics below must be acknowledged and protected in order to maintain a healthy relationship:
- Fidelity: Mentors should keep promises and remain loyal to those they mentor
- Justice: They should ensure fair and equitable treatment of all mentees (regardless of cultural differences)
- Transparency: They should encourage transparency and open communication regarding expectations
- Boundaries: They should avoid potentially harmful multiple roles with mentees and discuss overlapping roles to minimize risk for exploitation or bad outcomes
- Privacy: Mentors should protect the information shared in confidence by a mentee
