Mentoring Fundamentals – the six roles of a mentor

By Kevin Schwenker, FCMC (February 21, 2025)

A formal mentoring program can deliver significant benefits when Mentors understand they have six essential roles and develop the ability to switch seamlessly between them as required.

Introduction

Perhaps the most misunderstood aspect of mentoring is the expectation that there is one leading role – that of the wise, older mentor, exclusively sharing and lecturing/tutoring/teaching the young mentee what they know. 

Nothing could be further from the truth, and more destructive of achieving organizational goals. The exclusive use of this role does not create effective mentoring relationships – it does not nurture independence or empower the mentee to be a self-directed learner. While this role does exist, it is a very minor role, one to be used sparingly and with a great deal of tact.

The Six Roles of Mentors – What a Mentee Should Expect This  diagram below  was created to provide an insight into the style and focus of the six mentoring roles which are more fully fleshed out below along with some insights of when each role might be used.

©Schwenker & Associates (January 2025)

The Role Model

The role model is an individual who is looked up to, respected and is usually someone who others aspire to be like. The role model influences and impacts the values, beliefs and behaviours of the mentee – directly and indirectly. They do this through a variety of means, including how they behave and treat others, formal and informal conversations, and how they respond to situations. 

The saying “do the right thing even if no one is watching” epitomizes the true nature of the integral role model. This is a person who acts and lives towards higher ideals in all of their personal and business relations and activities. 

In essence, an exemplary role model pursues an intensive, consistent personal leadership development pathway that opens up vast possibilities and experiences that is inspiring to watch and be around, and it can’t help but rub off on those who are fortunate to be in their presence and company. Role Models aspire to greatness and model excellence.

You have little choice with respect to the matter of when to use this role – you are being a role model in every interaction you have with your mentee, whenever and wherever they are with you. 

As an enlightened role model you have a powerful sense of purpose, know who you are, are authentic and genuine, interact and communicate well with others, make other’s feel good about themselves and inspire confidence. Committing to excellence as a role model requires self-control, self-awareness, diligence and a determination to be your best, and to do good for the people you live and work with.

The Teacher-Expert

The teacher-expert role is one of the many that a mentor channels: it should not, however, be considered a primary role. In a mentoring relationship instruction should be carefully limited. It should be insightful and delivered on a timely basis.  A mentor can step into this role when there are gaps in the mentee’s understanding of concepts, personal and interpersonal skills, and business or industry knowledge.  

Transference of knowledge will only take place if the mentee recognizes a need to learn. A mentor in the teacher role has to help the mentee recognize that need, as sometimes the mentee is too close to their problem to recognize this need.

This role may appear a little more frequently at the beginning of the mentoring relationship, when the mentee will be integrating many new concepts and information; the mentee is most likely at this point to need to receive specific knowledge so that they can quickly learn how to be effective.

However, the ‘teacher’ appearances will and should decrease as the mentoring relationship progresses and the mentee develops increasing capabilities through their own experiences, and gains confidence in the success from their own efforts.

The Coach

You have all seen a sporting event where the coach calls a time-out, draws his or her players together, and maps out a play that will take place right after the break in order to score, or prevent the other team from scoring.  Coaching is the act of helping others to perform at the peak of their abilities: building on their strengths, overcoming barriers and limits with a view to identifying new strategies, skills and behaviours so that the mentee can function more efficiently and effectively. 

The Coaching role is a very direct, interventionist component and style of mentoring providing feedback and tactical guidance the mentee needs to improve performance. A coach encourages behavioural change in order for their mentees to obtain better results from their actions in the future. 

Part of the mentee’s responsibility is to identify challenges in achieving specific goals.  In discussing the current approaches of the mentee in achieving those goals, you may notice patterns in his/her behaviours and performance that could be modified to generate different results. A coach encourages and empowers the mentee to reframe, to change perspective so that they can think about situations in new ways, and ultimately become more effective at coaching themselves.

The Guide-Advisor

To be a good guide-advisor requires that we really know our stuff well: after all the mentee is looking to us for specific guidance and advice as to how best to navigate the opportunities and challenges they are encountering. A hiker taking on a challenging mountain will almost always look to a guide for advice on how to climb up the mountain and back safely. 

A competent mentor has business acumen – an understanding of the conditions and landscapes of the business, government and not-for-profit arenas; they know about leading and leadership, they have subject matter expertise. They give good advice and help the mentee identify alternatives. They show the mentee possible ways to navigate the situation, and then get out of the way.

This role can be put into effect when the mentee is looking for advice about how to approach or deal with challenging circumstances, or the mentee needs to access a new way of thinking and broaden their perspective about their professional and career situation. The insight, experience and wisdom that the guide-advisor shares with the mentee provides essential knowledge and tactical intelligence which the mentee can then take into consideration in planning their actions.

The Patron-Connector

The patron-connector role is vital to the effectiveness of a mentoring relationship. Patron-connectors open doors and make connections for the mentee that they would otherwise not be able to achieve on their own. 

They have the power to introduce the mentee to important and influential people in the organization or in their profession. They make visible a mentee’s accomplishments. They advocate and endorse the mentee for work on special or high visibility projects in the organization. They invite them to exclusive meetings and engagements and endorse their participation and membership in important organizations. They introduce the mentee to people who can help them with knowledge or additional connections that the mentor cannot.

Patron-connectors make it their business to know their mentees’ overall character and competencies, and they discern and act swiftly when it is right to champion the mentee, and when it is not. They hold an ethical and moral obligation to fairly and accurately assess the mentee’s aptitude, temperament and performance in order to do what is best for all of the parties involved or impacted.

The Peer-Confidant

Of all the six Roles, the Peer / Confidant Role can be one of the most subtle and complex. The peer-confidant role involves a high level of trust and comfort between the mentor and the mentee. No matter your position or title, the personal and professional elements of the mentee’s life are sometimes more sensitive and challenging, and at others more aspirational. 

As their mentor you pay close attention to ensure the mentee focuses on making progress with their key professional and career learning and development goals and objectives. However, you may also be required from time-to-time to provide guidance and support that require a less structured or defined approach to dealing with the issues at hand. Interpersonal issues and challenges with fellow workers, supervisors or bosses, or personal issues that are impacting their professional career responsibilities and demands – all of these may require special handling.

When a mentee feels safe and supported, and they feel like your equal, they will be more willing to open up to you about questions and concerns that, otherwise, may never be known by the mentor. Affirming the positive qualities and abilities they possess to sort out their problems and challenges is very important at these times. 

You facilitate them through their process – you are their trusted confidant and professional peer. You can empathise with them based on the things that have been difficult and challenging for you in your personal and business life to this time. Treat them like you would a good friend and all will be well, through good times and bad. Then it becomes a matter of knowing when it is time to move out into another role.

Conclusion

Mentoring situations are dynamic and fluid. Circumstances can, and will, present themselves where one role is just not up to the task:  it is more than likely that all of these roles will be required at some point over a mentoring relationship. An excellent mentor, with the right foundational training and experience, knows how to shift in and out of each of these roles based on the circumstances at hand. 

The ability to master these roles not only enhances the mentor’s effectiveness but also ensures that mentoring relationships contribute to achieving organizational goals and personal/professional development of both the mentee and the mentor. In the final article of this series, we will explore how organizations can design formal mentoring programs to support the Five-Stage Mentoring process – including the development of these multifaceted roles.

About the Author

Kevin Schwenker, FCMC has considerable experience in coaching and training, including the development of strategic, and effective mentoring programs. He has mentored young entrepreneurs for over 20 years earning accolades such as a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. As a Certified Management Consultant, Kevin specializes in assisting organizations succeed with strategic planning, implementing organizational excellence initiatives, and creating engaged employees through performance management and talent development. He is a recognized consultant to consultants, making significant contributions to the international management consulting industry, while leading a practice delivering multi-faceted consulting projects locally, nationally, and internationally. He is also an adjunct professor at the Sobey School of Business in Halifax, Canada where he delivers advanced practical MBA courses.

M: +1 (902) 483-044; E: [email protected]; W: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/kevinschwenker