History and Benefits of Mentoring
Mentoring has been around for over a thousand years, with its origination going back to Greek mythology. Homer wrote in The Odyssey that Odysseus, King of Ithaca, had to leave his home for a long journey to help fight the Trojan War. Odysseus was concerned about leaving his son, Telemachus, for such a long time and not being able to guide, nurture, and teach his son the valuable components of life and ruling a kingdom. Odysseus sought out his trusted friend, Mentor, to fill this role in his absence.
 Mentoring has survived through many generations. An example of this survival is the apprenticeships that were created between the master of a craft and the novice. The master would teach the apprentice so that the apprentice could eventually take over the master’s role as well as take over the responsibilities of the shop.
 Organizations are currently using mentoring for career, leadership, skill development and onboarding to hasten the acclimation of new employees. A mentor can provide an environment for the mentee to ask questions or raise concerns without the risk of feeling “on the line.” They can provide encouragement and build confidence through discussions and coaching. The benefits of mentoring are three-fold:
Benefits to the Mentee:
- Helps build confidence and encouragement to grow beyond the usual expectations
- Personalized education geared toward specific needs
- Increased organizational awareness
- Increased political savvy
Benefits to the Mentor:
- Personal satisfaction of giving back to the organization
- Legacy of personal knowledge, insight and experience
- Career enhancement
- Heightened visibility in the organization
Benefits to the Organization:
- A growing “seasoned” workforce
- Increased productivity
- Cost-effective training
- Increased organizational communication at all levels
- Effective way of integrating new employees into the workforce
- Recruitment of new employees
