What is Group Mentoring?

What is Group Mentoring? 

It is an association of individuals whose purpose is to promote the professional development of its members with the assistance of a Mentoring Group Leader. This group-oriented experience provides numerous kinds of mentoring assistance including information sharing, advice, social support, coaching, counseling and empowering individuals to greater competency. 

Differences Between 1-on-1 and Group Mentoring:

Group Mentoring is a system with its own rules and guidelines that make it unique to all other groups as well.

1-on-1 Mentoring

• Focused on individual development 
• Most personal 
• Overall development focus 
• Confidential and safe
• Bi-directional 
• Expertise from mentor to mentoree 
• Senior mentoring 
• Less demand on time 
• Scheduling easier 
• Personal dynamics 
• Limited number of mentorees
• No competition in relationship 
• Networking limited
• Individual projects

Group Mentoring

• Focused on multiple development 
• Less personal 
• More coachable/topical
• Confidential but with limitations
• Multi-directional
• Expertise from multiple directions
• Peer and senior mentoring combined
• Less demand on time More time demands
• Scheduling a challenge
• Group dynamics
• Larger number of mentorees possible
• Competition a factor in groups
• Easier to network
• Group projects

Advantages to Group Mentoring:

• Support comes not only from the Mentoring Group Leader (MGL) but from peers within the group
• Provides for greater exposure to multiple levels of expertise and knowledge as each participant brings their own competencies to the group that can be shared
• Diversity within the group brings a diversity of perspective to issues as well as to a greater understanding and awareness of diversity in general as it relates to ethnicity, sex, etc.
• Provides for a greater number of individuals to benefit from mentoring as opposed to the limitations of a 1-on-1 mentoring program
• Group projects linked to group mentoring enhance the learning of participants and develop an understanding of how teams operate.
• Requires less commitment of resources than formal 1-on-1 mentoring programs

Disadvantages to Group Mentoring:

• Each member has different needs that must be balanced against the overall group needs
• Does not offer the “personal” relationship that is the hallmark of a 1-on-1 mentoring relationship
• Scheduling a large number of individuals to meet regularly can be a challenge
• The element of confidentiality and safety may not be achieved to the level possible in a 1-on-1 relationship thus limiting the extent a member takes risks and learns
• Competition within a group can disrupt the success of a mentoring group
• Mentors need to understand and be comfortable with group dynamics and processes