| Stage | Communication Goal | Mentor Responsibilities | Protégé Responsibilities |
|---|
| Initiation | Get to know one another | - Show support through counseling and coaching
- Help protégé set goals
| - Demonstrate openness to suggestions and loyalty to the mentor
|
| Cultivation | Form a mutually beneficial bond | - Promote the protégé throughout the organization (for example, by introducing him or her to influential people)
- Communicate knowledge about how to work best with key people and what the organization’s culture is
| - Put new learning to use (for example, by forging relationships with influential people)
- Share personal perspective and insights with mentor
|
| Separation | Drift apart as protégé gains skill | - Spend less time with protégé
| - Take more initiative in the organization
- Strive for development or promotion
|
| Redefinition | Become peers | - Occasionally provide advice or support as needed
| - Stay in touch with mentor at times if additional advice is required
|