The Promise of Adaptive Mentorship©: What is the Evidence?

This article describes Adaptive Mentorship© (AM), a mentoring model designed by the authors to be applied in any coaching, supervisory, mentorship, preceptorship, apprenticeship, or training setting across the post-secondary, professional-education, or occupational-training spectrum. The authors derived the AM model from earlier contingency leadership approaches, and in this present article they synthesize the research results that they and others have accumulated regarding the effectiveness of the model. During the past two decades, they have used these research findings to apply, refine, and disseminate the model in higher education settings. The authors describe AM’s rationale and implementation procedures; they consolidate the body of research findings; and they summarize the model’s strengths and limitations. They conclude this report by inviting interested mentorship practitioners/researchers in any field of professional development to consider this evidence in determining whether AM has potential to enhance their own mentoring programs.