Mentoring relationships have been increasingly used as a means for leadership development across a range of contexts. However, it is unclear whether mentoring and its outcomes are a function of the type of mentoring provided within an organization 's context. To begin to address this issue, the present study examines the effects of mentoring relationship type (formal vs. informal) and organizational context (high tech carporate firms vs. K-12 schools) on protégés' perception of mentoring functions and outcomes using data from 88 working professionals. Results of MANCOVA indicated that mentoring relationship type and organizational context interacted to influence protégés' ratings of career development, role modeling and organizational commitment. Protégés in informal relationships reported higher levels of psychosocial support received than protégés in formal relationships. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
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