INTER-ORGANIZATIONAL MENTORING: KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MENTOR –MENTEE RELATIONSHIP

What is it about?

Inter-organizational mentoring, in which the mentor and mentee belong to different organizations, is a management development practice that is increasingly being implemented by professional associations and regional clusters. It is an instrument that can contribute to the improvement of the competitiveness of associated companies and their professionals, facilitating the identification and transmission of knowledge of the sector. In order to facilitate the effective implementation of this practice it is necessary to identify the key aspects of the relationship between mentor and mentee, on which the success of an inter-organizational mentoring program is based. To this end, after an exhaustive bibliographic analysis, a Delphi study has been carried out to assess the relevance of these key characteristics of the mentoring relationship. The results show that respect, honesty, confidentiality and trust are the most relevant characteristics in the mentor-mentee relationship. This exploratory article also identifies the differences in assessment between groups that have participated in inter-organizational vs. traditional mentoring experiences. The results provided are relevant for inter-organizational mentoring program coordinators, mentors and mentees, in order to know and control the keys to the success of a mentor-mentee relationship in an inter-organizational mentoring program.

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