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Categorizing Mentors

Last edited 315 days ago by Alex Onufrak

Another important assessment to determine the effectiveness and category of each mentor based on their “Role”. Simply determining whether a mentor is more suited towards early or more advanced ventures makes up one axis of the mentor’s focus. Another axis is determining the type of thinking the mentor engages, whether it is more processed based, or goal oriented.

Categorizing mentors in this way could lead to a better understanding of which mentors are better suited for certain programs, but not necessarily which mentors should advance to the next stage of donor prospects.

The information below is referenced from a study titled “

Mentoring Models in Entrepreneurship Education”⁠

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The Role Model

Sets an expert example to be emulated by other aspiring entrepreneurs.

e.g. Peers, alumni, experienced entrepreneurs

The Expert

Provides direct advice towards a particular subject matter. Particularly useful for when the advisee has a specific question or objective.

e.g. Legal advisors, experienced entrepreneurs, industry experts

The Learning Facilitator

Helps guide the learning process by asking open-ended, non-directive questions, facilitating critical thinking. The facilitator does not direct towards specific goals.

i.e.. How most of our general advisors operate (Or at least should).

The Coach

Learners are self-directed similar to the facilitator, but the coach provides direct feedback on advisee’s tasks to reach their goals.

e.g. The type of advisors we select for long-term coaching in Terp Startup, Fellows, etc.

Ways to advise students:

Option 1: Share your personal stories where relevant to give student clarity, support and a sense of direction.

Option 2: Provide industry or technical expertise to guide student.

Option 3: Facilitate their learning by asking open-ended, non-directive questions that help students think critically to arrive at specific actions and solutions.

Option 4: Provide direct feedback, actionable tasks that can help students reach their goals.

The Role Model

The Expert

The Learning Facilitator

The Coach

Ways to advise students:

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