Infrastructure: a substructure or underlying foundation, especially the basic economic, social, or military facilities and installations of a community, state, etc.

           --Webster’s Dictionary

For years, The Mentoring Group has studied effective mentoring relationships to see why some do better than others and why some fail altogether. We’re convinced that the best partnerships have an underlying foundation infrastructure that holds them together and that propels them in the right direction.

Sometimes this structure is explicit, discussed, and negotiated. This is particularly true in formal (also called structured) mentoring. Other times, it’s there because at least one member of the pair knows how effective mentoring works and is steering the process. We call the latter enhanced informal mentoring.

Because we’re convinced that this infrastructure is critical, we teach it to mentors and mentees. We urge them to implement a specific mentoring process, use particular skills, and try several tested best practices used by others. They learn to build structure into their relationships, no matter how formal or informal the relationship looks from the outside.

The amount of structure depends on the styles and preferences of the partners and, to some extent, on the goals to be reached. But we urge more structure than less, especially in the beginning of relationships.

Check your mentoring relationships to see if they have the following elements.

1.  One person is guiding or managing the relationship, seeing that it starts, moves along, and meets the needs of both parties. Increasingly, mentees take this leadership role while respecting the needs and time of their mentors.

2.  The relationship focuses mainly on the mentee’s development. It has one or more specific goals, usually focusing on increasing the mentee’s skills, knowledge, and attitudes (such as courage or persistence).

3.  The pair knows and follows certain “rules” of etiquette and protocol. Each knows the other can be counted on to follow these rules. Members agree on how to interact and give each other information, and a result trust grows.

4.  Each member of the pair receives satisfying, ongoing benefits from being in the partnership. For example, the mentee is learning and meeting new people; the mentor is also learning and enjoying a chance (indirectly) to pay back previous mentors of his/her own.

5. The parties know about and have easy access to resources (people, printed materials, websites) that can help them thrive.

6. The relationship follows a kind of rhythm, meeting regularly (at least 1-2 hours per month) and moving through a series of stages until it’s time for the formal part of the relationship to end.

7.  The pair agrees on some measures of success for the partnership, and the members check on progress throughout their relationship.

How’s your infrastructure? Let us know if you recommend additional components for mentoring relationships.

For more ideas on mentoring, see our Products and Archive. Consider ordering The Mentoring Coordinator’s Guide, which is full of practical ideas and worksheets to help you succeed with your mentoring initiative.