Mentoring and Coaching

Whether expressed as something critically needed to feel included, something absent that prevented inclusion, or something that was a key ingredient in their peak moments of inclusion, the thousands of employees with whom we interacted regularly mentioned mentoring,1 and coaching.2 A mentor is an organizational member who guides another’s success. Oftentimes, this is a successful manager or leader “who relates well to a less-experienced employee and facilitates his or her personal development for the benefit of the individual as well as that of the organization.”3 The role of the mentor involves two functions: providing career and psychological support.4 The career functions include providing the mentee with sponsorship, exposure and visibility, coaching, protection, and challenging assignments. The psychological functions provide the mentee with role modeling, acceptance and confirmation, counseling, and friendship. Some mentors are formal, having been assigned to employees in formal organizational mentoring programs. Other times, mentors are informal, having arisen from either the mentee or mentor reaching out to another individual. Both types of mentors were sought, appreciated, and valued by organizational stakeholders when they considered what made them maximally included.