The Mentor's Guide, 3rd Edition

PART TWOTHE PREDICTABLE PHASES OF MENTORING

The chapters in Part One explore mentoring in the context of who we are. In Part Two, we shift our focus to what we do: the work of mentoring and the predictable phases that guide this work.

THE FOUR PHASES OF MENTORING

For new mentors and those who have mentored without formal guidance, the knowledge that mentoring relationships have a predictable structure can be liberating:

• Phase 1: Preparing (getting ready).
• Phase 2: Negotiating (establishing agreements).
• Phase 3: Enabling Growth (facilitating learning).
• Phase 4: Coming to Closure (looking back, moving forward).

These phases are predictable and sequential. In fact, we generally portray them as a cycle, as shown in the following figure. The ...