Challenges lead to the development of new levels of expertise. When the amount of challenge is well matched to the mentee's readiness for growth, the tasks become motivating. Challenges that are not matched well with the individual's level of development can be overwhelming and create feelings of being unable to cope. Then, rather than producing growth, the challenge may lead to frustration, panic or feelings of failure. It becomes important then, for mentors to become sensitive to the growth needs of those to whom they mentor, and attempt to offer optimal challenges for their protege's professional development.
Some mentors develop mentoring plans to help maintain optional levels of challenge for the protege.
The primary function of a mentoring plan is to focus on the developmental nature of becoming a professional and to establish mileposts or markers which will guide and serve as reminders that the recipient is growing in knowledge and skill. Since the perceptions of both mentors and recipients alike change as mentoring evolves, mentoring plans help the observant mentor to keep one eye on the recipient's development and the other eye on his or her readiness for the next challenge.