DEFINING THE JOURNEY
Mentoring is a relationship
Mentoring is a relationship, and for the relationship to succeed, both
mentor and mentee must want to participate and learn from each other.
A forced or assigned arrangement is unlikely to be productive. Mentoring
involves hard work but can reward participants with the possibility of
lifelong friendships and working relationships built on trust and mutual
respect.
Webster’s definition
Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary
defines mentor as “a trusted counselor or guide; a tutor or coach.”
A mentor may have many roles, but most importantly he or she is committed
to the mentee’s professional and personal development.
Terminology
In a mentoring relationship, there are two primary roles: that of the
mentor and that of the one being mentored. The AIA has opted to use the
term mentee rather than protégé
to refer to the one being mentored.
The term intern is used here specifically to refer to someone participating in the Intern Development Program of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB).
Origin
When Odysseus, King of Ithaca, went to fight in the Trojan War, he entrusted
his friend Mentor with the education of his son Telemachus. Mentor’s
task was to educate, train, and develop the youngster to fulfill his birthright
and become King of Ithaca. This brief account, from Homer’s Odyssey,
is the origin of the term “mentor.” Centuries later, mentoring
continues to play a vital role in personal and professional development.
