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The changing nature of work dynamics demands that managers keep up-to-date in skills, knowledge, and competencies. Besides, nowadays these professionals need to understand the business beyond the frontiers of their own organizations. This phenomenon has led to new forms of alternative mentoring for managers and entrepreneurs, as companies battle for talent in a globalized way. Professional associations, consultancy firms, and other agents are starting to offer mentoring programs in which the mentor and mentee often belong to different organizations or take place within a group.

The purpose of this study is to present a conceptual model for alternative mentoring for managers. This model is a new approach to mentoring, and it will try to clarify some of the bases of a phenomenon that is increasingly present in the managerial field.

The paper also suggests some advantages of alternative mentoring when compared to traditional mentoring.

This paper contributes to a better understanding of new forms of alternative mentoring while providing practitioners in the field with a better understanding of key issues for alternative mentoring.

The purpose of this study is to present a conceptual model that comprises the four phases of an inter-organizational mentoring (IOM) process.

This study used a focus group of 19 expert coordinators on IOM programs who met once at the Basque College of Economists. The session was recorded and notes were taken and distributed to all participants.

Based on the focus group, the authors developed a four-phase model of IOM. The phases this conceptual model proposes for IOM are awakening, transcendence, organizational bond and maturity.

These four phases should help mentors to guide mentees in the completion of an effective IOM process. This model is a re-conceptualization from the traditional mentoring phases, as the nature of the mentoring process is different. However, getting to understand the phases of IOM will enlighten the understanding of this phenomenon that is a growing option for managers in their career development as IOM helps managers to acquire skills and competencies.

This work contributes to the comprehension of this new form of alternative mentoring, clarifying for mentees and mentors, what process they are going to follow. Additionally, it provides clear criteria for inter-organizational program coordinators on how to organize these kinds of programs. In the opinion of the authors, this paper is original because it provides an in-depth understanding of IOM, which is an HRD technique that has barely been studied to date.

This paper aims to identify, assess and classify the most significant mentee outcomes of formal mentoring processes aimed at managerial development.

After conducting an extensive literature review to identify the most significant mentee outcomes in the management field, a survey was conducted with a sample of 80 experienced mentees. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) has been performed to simplify and contribute to operationalizing these results. Finally, focus group and nominal group techniques were conducted with practitioners to better understand the findings.

A total of 27 mentee outcomes have been identified in the literature. EFA analysis has allowed us to downsize the 27 outcomes into four factors encompassing the most relevant mentee outcomes. The authors then provide an interpretation and discussion of the results.

This work compiles, reviews and systematizes existing studies on mentee outcomes in the field of management, classifying the results in a novel manner.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the essential mentor characteristics for effective inter-organizational mentoring. This kind of HR development technique, where mentor and mentee belong to different organizations, is becoming increasingly popular and so far has been scarcely studied.

First, a rigorous literature analysis to identify primary mentor characteristics for managers and professionals has been performed; second, a Delphi analysis has determined their relevance according to the opinion of 125 experienced mentors, mentees and program coordinators that have carried out inter-organizational mentoring processes in Spain; and third, an exploratory factor analysis has reclassified the mentor characteristics into a smaller number of factors.

In total, 29 relevant mentor characteristics have been identified and valued. The foregoing characteristics are related to seven underlying dimensions or factors that serve to characterize an effective mentor for inter-organizational mentoring programs.

The research extends the existing literature regarding mentor characteristics of those mentors who are engaged in inter-organizational mentoring. In addition, this work offers a valuable contribution to inter-organizational mentoring research based in a Delphi method that includes both academic and practitioner perspectives in a cultural context that may have not received previous attention. The findings can be valuable for both academics who investigate this topic of growing interest, and for practitioners who must face the selection and training of mentors.

This article aims to present the differences in implementation between individual mentoring programs (IMPs) and group mentoring programs (GMPs).

This exploratory study used semi-structured interviews with 16 experts: mentoring program (MP) coordinators, consultants and mentors. During the interviews, the steps in implementing a mentoring program were reviewed and discussed by practitioners.

Based on the interviews and contrasting with the proposed implementation model, the authors compared IMPs and GMPs. The results highlight the role of the GMP coordinators, especially in the selection of mentors, mentees and generating resources that favor the beneficial effects of group dynamics on mentoring processes.

This model for implementing MPs and the differences identified between IMPs and GMPs provide practical help to program coordinators (PCs) and mentors to deploy MPs by highlighting the relevant aspects.

Mentoring is a Human Resource Development (HRD) technique whose implementation at the program level needs further deepening for practitioners. This is the first work that emphasizes the differences to be considered in the design and implementation of MPs by taking the individual or group dimension of mentoring.

Inter-organizational mentoring (IOM) is a human resource development tool that is used when the mentor and mentee belong to different organizations. As mentees are the focus of the IOM process, the success of this type of program is highly reliant on their characteristics. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to derive the most desirable characteristics for mentees in IOM.

An intensive review of the literature on mentoring for managers and business professionals was carried out to identify mentee characteristics. These characteristics were then ranked for their importance to IOM using the Hybrid Delphi method (with 130 informants taking part in a Delphi survey and 19 expert IOM practitioners taking part in Focus Group and Nominal Group Technique sessions). An exploratory factor analysis identified the three main underlying factors behind the listed mentee characteristics.

In total, 17 relevant mentee characteristics were identified and ranked and then synthesized into three essential factors for the mentee. The results were discussed in the light of existing studies.

The mentee characteristics and factors identified in this study will be of great practical value to coordinators of IOM programs. Also, the review of the literature and the obtained results will help other researchers who wish to expand on this topic.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Spanish researchers conducted a survey of 80 experienced mentees. They identified 27 mentee outcomes in previous research, then narrowed them down into four factors encompassing the most relevant themes. The results revealed that knowledge transmission, social capital and psychosocial support were all possible outcomes.

The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

This paper explores the characteristics of effective mentors in inter-organizational mentoring. The study finds that work experience, communication and teaching skills, and motivation and commitment to the mentoring program are the mostly highly rated characteristics according to a survey of people who have participated in inter-organizational mentoring programs.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.