Mentoring definition

Mentoring is a relationship-based form of knowledge transfer in which an experienced person provides advice and guidance to someone looking to develop their own skills in a particular area.

Good-quality mentoring programmes pay attention to the relationship between the mentor and the mentee, building mutual trust to facilitate the maximum knowledge transfer.

Mentoring differs from coaching in that coaches do not necessarily have experience in the coachee’s industry – their value comes from their general business knowledge. Mentors, however, will typically have extensive experience in the same industry as the mentee and can therefore provide more specific knowledge on growing the business.