What Did You Expect? An Examination of Career-Related Support and Social Support Among Mentors and Protégés

TLDR

The study examined how mentors’ and protégés’ perceptions of career and social support behaviors in mentoring influence relationship effectiveness and trust, hypothesizing that meeting expectations enhances these outcomes. Results show that protégés who are receptive to advice and diligent in work elicit greater perceived effectiveness and trust from mentors, while mentors who provide adequate social support foster higher effectiveness and trust perceptions in protégés, underscoring the reciprocal benefits of supportive mentoring.

Abstract

Perceptions of mentors and protégés were examined to understand how the mentoring exchange is perceived and how perceptions of the exchange influence feelings about the relationship. In particular, we suggest that there are specific behaviors related to career and social support exhibited throughout the mentoring process. It was hypothesized that when relevant career and social support behaviors are exhibited sufficiently to meet the expectations of a partner, higher levels of relationship effectiveness, and trust for a partner are realized. Findings indicate that when protégés are open to advisement and coaching, and put forth effort in accomplishing required work or projects, a mentor’s perceptions of relationship effectiveness and trust felt for the protégé are positively influenced. When mentors engage in sufficient levels of social support behaviors to meet a protégé’s expectations, a protégé will form higher perceptions of relationship effectiveness and trust for the mentor. The findings of this study, implications for managers, and suggestions for future research are discussed in detail.