Mentoring—A Relationship Based on Trust: Qualitative Research

Abstract

The study reported in this article aimed to explore the trust protégés felt for their mentors and the effects different dimensions of relationships that can influence this trust in mentoring relationships within academic organizations. The questions defined for this research regarded which dimensions of professional relationships actually do influence protégés' trust, which of those underlying dimensions make trust stronger, and the results the trust protégés felt for their mentor produced in terms of the function of mentoring. The interview form used to answer these questions consisted of two parts. The first part included general questions on the characteristics of mentors and protégés and the functions of mentoring. The second part included 24 questions designed specifically to identify the underlying elements of trust in mentoring relationships. The dimensions specifically were competence, consistency, communication, interest taken in the protégé, fairness, and sharing of control. Thirty-two protégés agreed to take part in the structured interviews, and the total time spent on interviews was 35 hours. The study revealed that among the elements necessary for the building of trust in one's professional mentor, sharing of control and fair behavior were dimension of the mentoring relationship that protégés had positive perceptions and experiences of. Another important finding in terms of positive and negative perceptions was that protégés identify their positive perceptions more with the personal efforts of their mentor. Negative perceptions were seen to be related to factors such as faculty and university culture, legal matters and regulations, law and regulations creating rigid university procedures, and mentors' and protégés' personal characteristics.