In one form or another, mentoring is practiced in nearly every office in Corporate America. Chuck Parker, left, a manager at Hewlett-Packard, mentored Cindy Thomas, who has now reached the company's administrative ranks. Parker arranged for Thomas to attend meetings and work on projects in departments other than her own. It can be as formal and as structured as the program at Hewlett-Packard. Or it can be as casual as someone offering a bit of friendly advice or a young employee stopping by an executive's office to bounce around an idea.
Mentors are teachers, role models and cheerleaders.
They offer advice and guidance. They are in a position to explain the office politics and point out the minefields. They are someone to lean on. And they are someone who can point out the opportunities. Peddy, who spent 20 years as an internal consultant and leader of a training organization within Exxon USA, said the most satisfying mentoring relationships are when two people just click.