"Life isn’t about getting and having, it’s about giving and being." -Kevin Kruse
CLOSED SYSTEM MENTORING
Closed Mentoring in Action
Coach > Player
Teacher > Student
Parent > Child
DEFINITION:
Top Down/Mentor Led
Closed mentoring is particularly useful in learning situations.
The mentor acts as a teacher and assumes responsibility, while the protégé becomes a receptive student.
Key Benefits
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Closed mentoring can be very rewarding for both the protégé and mentor.
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The relationship is very intimate and both members are highly invested in the protégé’s development.
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These proprietary arrangements are often very manageable.
Possible Limitations
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As the leader of the relationship, the mentor typically assumes much of the responsibility. This may result in mentor burnout.
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The protégé has little room to exercise personal initiative, which inhibits the realization of true potential.
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Protégés limit their opportunities when they engage only a single resource.
Mentoring is traditionally characterized as a relationship where an older, more experienced person guides the progress of someone younger and less experienced. Most people think of mentoring as a one-to-one, top-down relationship that’s largely defined from the mentor’s perspective. While this style of mentoring can yield positive results, it represents only one possible model (that uses only a portion of the power of mentoring.)
Closed mentoring is an arrangement between one mentor and one protégé, in which the mentor typically assumes greater control over the mentorship relative to the protégé. Within this classic framework, the mentor is the dominant influence and the protégé is the primary beneficiary of the mentoring activity.
