way, the mentor learns how best to pass on their wisdom and the mentee benefits from a more professional approach – a classic win–win.
The mentor may act at times as a teacher or adviser, or at other times more like a coach. The range of skills or approaches used may include training, advising, and career counselling. Understanding the distinctions between counselling, advice‐giving, coaching, and other ‘talking’ interventions is important.
Mentors support mentees to explore their goals and provide the knowledge and experience to underpin their development. One key difference between ‘teacher’ and ‘mentor’ is that the teacher is an expert who shares information that they know with students, it is a one‐way feed. In contrast, a coach may not be an expert or specialist in their coachee's field. They draw out solutions and clarity from the coachee, rather than put them in. Information sharing is not the coach’s primary role. These differences are described in Table 1.1, Chapter 1.
Darling (1984) proposed a list of 14 characteristics and roles of an effective mentor:
Role Model – Upholds high standards and professionalism. Well respected by peers whom the mentee ‘looks up to’ and holds in high regard. A powerful position of influence.
Envisioner – Motivating, inspiring, and enthusiastic. Uses situations as opportunities to learn.
Energiser – Keen to embrace change, improve care, and to encourage the mentee to see beyond the present and seek more.
Investor – Gives their time, knowledge, and experience freely. Delegates responsibility to the mentee.
Supporter – Willing to listen, encouraging. Humanistic and empathic in approach. Takes account of mentee anxiety and needs.
Standard prodder – Seeks to improve standards. Demonstrates up to date knowledge.
Teacher‐coach – Passes on skills and competence, guides, sets up learning experiences, allows time for practice. Encourages personal and professional development. Provides and organises learning opportunities. Willing to share knowledge.
Feedback giver – Gives constructive feedback, identifies future learning. Skilled questioner; facilitates reflection.
Eye opener – Shows mentee the wider picture, e.g. politics, management, research.
Door opener – Points out and brokers learning opportunities and resources.
Idea Bouncer – Helps mentee reflect and generate new ideas, open to discussion and exploration of the literature.
Problem solver – Helps mentee develop problem solving skills. Supportive when a mentee is struggling.
Career Counselor – Gives guidance upon future directions and possibilities.
Challenger – Helps mentee develop critically and encourages them to question and challenge views and prevailing norms.
Clearly a good mentor can be many different things to many different people. To what extent these roles will be utilised will depend on the issues a mentor is assisting their mentee with.
When mentoring for remediation the standard prodder role is important. When mentoring for personal development useful characteristics/roles are door opener, feedback giver, and idea bouncer.
Mentors have skills and qualifications and in particular skill‐sets which, combined with their real‐world experience of applying those skills, helps them to transfer that knowledge in a personal way.
For example, in dentistry a mentor may have business and commercial knowledge which, in combination with their clinical skills, offers insight into how to build a dental business.
What Can Mentoring Achieve?
Mentoring is a fruitful partnership at all stages of a dental professionals' career from the early days to preparing for retirement. Good mentors are independent, they support those who are struggling and guide personal development.
It can be hard to talk about your personal development needs with your boss, line manager, or even a trusted colleague. After all, they write your appraisal or debate your pay rise!
Finding a good mentor can be invaluable in improving confidence, providing insight, and identifying opportunities.
As Figure 2.2 below illustrates, mentoring can achieve benefits for the mentee, the mentor, for patients, and the whole organisation or practice.
Figure 2.2 The impacts of mentoring.
Some advantages may at first sight appear intangible, yet they can all translate into financial benefits and a more sustaining working environment. Practices that promote mentoring typically have lower staff turnover. Dental professionals who are more fulfilled at work are more likely to perform at their best for more of the time. Patients will notice differences in communication and they are more likely to be better engaged with their own care.
Mentoring is a supportive conversation that will benefit individuals in:
Personal development planning
Career planning
Professionalism
Performance issues
General patient issues
Practice management
Business development.
Mentoring accelerates growth – by building confidence, sharing advice, opening trusted networks, and development based on the insight and experience of what works – transferring that wisdom from one person to another.
It's not just the mentee who benefits from supportive conversations: mentoring brings huge personal fulfilment for the mentor.
Choosing a Mentor
The relationship between mentor and mentee is one high on openness and low on bias and ego. The relationship is essentially inter‐developmental and the mentor should have no ‘agenda’.
Trust is placed in the middle because it forms the core of creating a productive environment where relationship, words, and intention can flourish. Trust acts as the glue that binds everything together.
It is crucial to build a productive and equitable mentor/mentee relationship. The power of any working relationship lies not just in the strengths each individual brings, but also on equal input from both sides.
While the mentor may be someone with more experience, with greater knowledge, or senior to the mentee, it is important to acknowledge the capacity
