Creating A Successful and Effective Mentor-Protégé Relationship based on Empirical Studies

Conventional wisdom reminds us to have a mentor to guide and support our career development. It is still a challenge to researchers and practitioners when searching for a strategy, process, or structure to create and maintain a successful and effective mentor-protégé relationship in different work environments. This paper summarized the characteristics of mentors, role and responsibilities of protégés, and suggested a framework to establish a successful and effective mentor-protégé relationship based on existing literature. Four case studies were introduced to shed some lights on innovative approaches that might enhance the relationship between a mentor and a protégé in formal or informal scenarios. Finally, some discussions about gaps and opportunities in conducting future research on a successful and effective mentor-protégé relationship were proposed, adding lessons learned from the case studies into existing literature.