Frequently Asked Questions

Who should be a Mentor?
How do you match people?
How much time is involved?
How many Mentors/Mentees can I have?
Who gets credit for mentoring?
What is the scope of mentoring?
What about confidentiality?
Why do I need training?
Should Mentor and Mentee be from the same ethnic background, gender?
Can mentoring solve problems in the workplace?
What about potential conflict between a Mentor and the Mentee's Manager?
What about bad mentoring?

Who should be a Mentor?
Mentoring participation is voluntary and open to anyone who is interested. A mentor needs to be someone that a mentee can trust. A mentor is often, but not always, older than or senior to the mentee. A mentor may also have greater experience than, or different from the mentee's. A mentor is someone who recognizes his/her own need for growth and support.

How do you match people?
The committee will match pairs from across the Institution based on a logical system which will have as its basis common knowledge, experience, and interests. Matching will be done with sensitivity and care.

How much time is involved?
This is up to the mentor and mentee. The committee recommends 2-3 hours per month. Biweekly meetings often provide sufficient continuity to keep the relationship moving. A six month commitment is requested to allow the mentor and mentee to establish a good relationship and accomplish goals set by the mentee.

How many Mentors/Mentees can I have?
It is possible to have more than one mentor or mentee, but for the purposes of this program, only one mentoring relationship will be established.

Who gets credit for mentoring?
Mentoring is a satisfying and productive activity for the participants and WHOI. Mentoring should be considered to be part of an individual's personal development plan. Some of the rewards for mentoring are not always tangible. These include improving your communication skills and ability to guide others, getting to know others and building insights into other parts of the Institution as well as helping to develop a stronger set of professional colleagues at WHOI. It is satisfying to see others grow. Good mentoring is valued by the Institution and may be recognized when evaluating an individual's performance and contributions to the organization.

What is the scope of mentoring?
The scope is as broad as one would want it to be. Mentoring is primarily about learning and developing and is present when there are changes or transitions to go through at work and in individual lives. A mentor recognizes the links between the personal and the professional aspects of a person's life and through the mentoring process can help bring the two together resulting in free flowing productivity at work with enhanced self esteem and confidence.

What about confidentiality?
Confidentiality between the mentor and mentee is critical. Secrecy is inappropriate. Everything in the mentoring relationship should be done by mutual agreement.

Why do I need training?
Both mentors and mentees need some guidance or training. This will help you to:

• Understand what is involved
• Understand how to get started
• Improve your confidence and commitment to mentoring
• Improve your mentoring skills
• Seek a mentor for yourself

A short orientation and training session is held for all mentors and mentees. This is supported with feedback sessions and an “open door” policy with regard to the Mentoring Program Committee members. Help and advice are available at all times.

Should Mentor and Mentee be from the same ethnic background, gender?
The key to success is having a mentor who is able to listen and be empathic towards the mentee, and who is committed to the mentee's development goal and the mentoring relationship. Barriers of gender, nationality, ethnicity etc. are invisible in a mentoring relationship.

Can mentoring solve problems in the workplace?
Mentoring complements other development and training activities. It is not a quick fix solution to performance problems, etc. Mentoring requires a measured time commitment by both parties and regular interaction between those parties. Mentoring enhances and facilitates opportunity and growth.

What about potential conflict between a Mentor and the Mentee's Manager?
In this program, your mentor will not be your manager or supervisor. Many managers/supervisors see that their role includes some mentoring. There is considerable room for confusion of roles, however, and most mentees value a degree of separation between those roles. From the perspective of a manager/supervisor, a mentoring relationship outside the chain of command encourages growth of self-esteem and professional development. It does not in any way replace or undermine the responsibilities of being a good supervisor.

What about bad mentoring?
The quality of mentoring depends on the strength of commitment of the pair, as well as circumstances and environment. If the relationship is not working, be honest about it and try to resolve the differences. The Mentoring Committee is available as a resource to you. In the event that an issue cannot be resolved, there would be an agreed "no fault" conclusion.