Mentoring Practice and Mentoring Benefit 5: Providing Protection and Security – An Overview and Application To Practice Using Mentoring Activities

Approaches to Providing Protection The mentor's focus in providing protection is to provide a safe environment for the protégé's career success while teaching workplace and situational politics, running interference, speaking well of the protégé in public forums, giving the protégé the benefit of the doubt, and providing actionable feedback to the protégé by providing recommendations on how to address shortcomings or areas that need improvement (Melanson, 2006). [...]the protégé remembers that he or she is a reflection of the mentor, and therefore, presents his or her best self in the workplace by avoiding reactive behavior by thinking before acting. Providing Protection Exemplar/Case Study Peggy is an assistant professor (an entry level tenure track position) who will be applying for a promotion to associate professor (on track to be a tenured full professor). [...]of Jane's intervention to provide protection, Peggy feels that her mentor really cares about her and has genuine interest in her success.