Mentoring is a critical initiative in IBM for the development of new leaders. In addition to the role it plays in corporate survival, mentoring has good things to offer the participants. For the mentee, it can be central to career development. The mentor gets a chance to hone coaching and leadership skills in a "hands-on" way. "Win-win-win," you might say.

Mentoring joins two people together to achieve specific objectives for skills growth and development. Simply put, the mentor has the skills, knowledge and experience that the mentee needs--Mentor gives advice about how to perform within the organization effectively; provide specific suggestions for enhancing performance with the mentee’s job; guides mentee in professional development and in personal development. One mentee said “my mentor gives me tasks that require me to learn new skills or technologies”.

The mentor agrees to share this know-how and act as a role model. The mentee agrees to make a conscientious effort to acquire the development offered by this program. And, by the way, a mentor may have more than one mentee, and a mentee may have more than one mentor.