One way to ease the pressure would be to make it more open-ended, giving people the opportunity to move in and out. Often, formal programs are based on random matching, or matching people based on functional area or background. Our research suggests that whatever you can do to make matching happen more informally could help. One also has to make sure that both parties have realistic expectations. Mentors have lives.
Mentors have careers.
It's important for both parties to realize that, like any relationship, mentoring relationships are going to have their ups and downs. The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.