The Gifts of the Mentee-Mentor Relationship

Throughout history, there have been many famous mentor-mentee pairs, including Oprah Winfrey and Maya Angelou, as well as Simon Sinek and entrepreneur Ron Bruder. But mentors don’t need to be famous to provide valuable knowledge, guidance, and support. If you have never been a mentor or mentee, you may not realize that both roles can yield big rewards. Oftentimes, people think only the mentee benefits from the relationship; however, that is not the case. The gifts of being a mentee and/or mentor include:

• Sharing Expertise and Knowledge Building: The beauty of being a mentor is being able to share your gifts of wisdom and lessons learned to help guide the mentee. A mentor also has the opportunity to help the mentee gain access to resources and assist them with introductions to build their network. As the mentee grows in their career, they can return the gift and share new resources and introductions with their mentor. 

• Mutual Learning: The mentor usually is the one to share their knowledge, insights, and expertise with the mentee. However, mentors can also learn when they open themselves up during the process of mentoring. In a mentoring relationship, learning may happen when you least expect it. For example, a mentee can encourage a mentor to recall their early career experience and reflect on how those challenges helped them grow and develop throughout their career. 

• Personal Development and Growth: People may think a mentoring relationship is only for professional development. However, there are opportunities for both the mentee and mentor to grow and develop personally as well. The relationship provides the opportunity to give back to each other, to deepen their connection, and to build each other’s confidence.  

• Support and Encouragement: The mentoring relationship can take many different forms. The mentor and mentee decide on the formality of the partnership. It can be long-term or short-term, formal or informal, through a structured program or a personal or professional connection. Ultimately, it is about supporting each other in both work and life endeavors. Support can come in the form of a text message, an email, a phone call, or an in-person conversation. 

• Love and Gratitude: During the mentoring relationship, a human connection forms. Throughout the partnership, it’s crucial to reflect on your appreciation for each other and the journey you are on together. It’s not about what you get out of the relationship, but what you put into it. In the end, mentoring is an opportunity to have an impact on each other, often resulting in gratitude. 

Each mentor-mentee relationship will be different; however, the gifts may be similar to what we’ve described. They may also be unique to the pairing. Whether it’s love, gratitude, support, encouragement, learning, growth, or the sharing of expertise, these are things that you may or may not receive when you are merely an employee or supervisor at work. Therefore, the opportunity to engage in mentorship can be a life-changing experience and an opportunity to develop lifelong skills and connections. 

When we were collaborating on this article, we realized that sharing expertise, knowledge building, mutual learning, personal development and growth, support and encouragement, and love and gratitude were the gifts we received from our own mentoring relationship over the last six years. You can find more information and resources about mentorship on SHRM’s website, as well as learn more about SHRM’s mentorship programs. 

Jennifer L. Massey, SHRM-SCP, is the founder and CEO of Integra HR in Rensselaer, N.Y. Francesca C. Callahan, SHRM-CP, is the director of talent acquisition and career advising resources at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y.