The power of mentorship

FigureBEING A MENTOR is often confused with being a coach or preceptor. Their purposes are different, but the roles are all valuable in creating the next generation of nursing leadership, especially nurse managers. Preceptorship is a short-term relationship to acclimate someone into their new role as a nurse leader. When precepting a new nurse leader, an orientation handbook, checklist, or any other meaningful platform may be used to document the training. The preceptor relationship concludes once all required content has been successfully covered, at which point the new leader is expected to perform the role independently and with confidence. Coaching is also a short-term relationship for the purpose of developing a specific skill set. For example, one may need to coach an emerging nurse leader (ENL)—a nurse who demonstrates aspiration to a nursing leadership role—on how to conduct an evidence-based project or how to engage in crucial conversations.1-3 A seasoned leader may even need to coach a peer on how to handle promotional or disciplinary actions utilizing the organization's structure and processes in place. The coaching relationship concludes once the desired skill has been met and demonstrated in achieving specific tasks. Mentoring requires a long-term relationship in which there's a transfer of knowledge and skills to develop an individual holistically, encompassing both professional and personal growth. Sometimes a preceptor or coach may become a mentor as the relationship evolves. The transition to mentor becomes clear when an individual begins seeking general guidance on personal and professional goals (see Figure 1).2-5FIGURE 1:: Comparing mentorship, preceptorship, and coaching in practiceWHAT DOES MENTORING LOOK LIKE? Mentoring can take place both formally and informally via external platforms and/or internal (within an organization) methods. Formal methods require the mentee and mentor to register externally through professional organizations such as the American Nurses Association (ANA) or the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL).6,7 Some health care organizations have their own formal internal programs to help establish mentoring pairs. When utilizing these formal methods, there's a process in which mentors and mentees are paired together based on desired outcomes. Formal succession planning programs also assist with the pairing of mentors and mentees.1,8 These programs typically entail having a thoughtful, strategic process in place to train nurse leaders to step into leadership roles. This process helps foster leadership continuity by creating a pipeline of nursing leaders who are available to step in when needed in times of planned or unplanned changes. Mentoring is a key component of successful succession planning programs.1,8 Some organizations create assistant nurse manager (ANM) roles with both clinical and administrative responsibilities intended to give staff nurses insight into leadership expectations. Other organizations provide shadowing and/or interim opportunities for nurse managers (NMs) and other senior nurse leaders who cover for leaders during absences. For example, NMs may shadow a senior nurse leader for a few days, or a senior nurse leader may cover when the CNO is on vacation. Nurse leaders may also mentor staff nurses through professional or shared governance models by identifying and developing ENLs. These experiences foster meaningful connections, help promote mentoring, and support leadership growth.9,10 IMPACT OF MENTORING AT THE ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL It's essential that organizations prepare new nurse leaders with the knowledge, tools, and resources to effectively function in their leadership roles.11 Mentoring is an important priority for leadership development and should be incorporated in the orientation plans for all nurse leaders. A good mentoring relationship helps promote ENLs, offers effective strategies for leaders to reach their goals, and provides opportunities for leaders to function at their full potential.12 Mentors help assist new leaders (their mentees) with navigating organizational structures and fostering networking. Mentoring helps create a sense of belonging within the organization and fosters a community of supportive peers.12 Additionally, mentors provide a historical perspective of the organization and help mentees align their work with the organization's overall mission, vision, values, and purpose. Vacancies in NM positions can disrupt the continuity of department operations and negatively affect the work environment, resulting in increased staff turnover.13 One strategy to reduce the number of nursing leadership vacancies is to assist with succession planning by mentoring ENLs. This strategy can ensure leadership continuity in the event of planned or unplanned leadership changes and/or vacancies.14 Establishing mentorship connections supports promoting leaders from within the organization and provides tailored strategies and tools mentees can use to function successfully in their roles.13 Mentoring ENLs, or newly hired or promoted nurse leaders, can decrease leader turnover, tardiness, and absenteeism. Leaders who are mentored have increased motivation and commitment to their roles and organizations and are more efficient and effective. Additionally, those who are mentored are apt to display prosocial behaviors, actions that benefit others and strengthen social bonds.12 Conversely, leaders who aren't mentored can have difficulty understanding organizational priorities and limited knowledge of strategic planning. Leaders who aren't part of a mentoring relationship can also exhibit a lack of commitment and low job satisfaction, both of which can contribute to low productivity.12 Leaders who receive mentoring, on the other hand, typically lead highly functioning teams with engaged and empowered staff, which translates into improved retention, higher staff and patient satisfaction, better patient outcomes, and a safe and supportive culture. Given the numerous benefits at the organizational level, prioritizing mentoring among nurse leaders is recommended.13 BARRIERS TO MENTORING Despite the many benefits that mentoring relationships bring to mentors and their mentees, it's important to consider the barriers to mentoring. Lack of dedicated time to sustain a mentoring relationship is one of biggest challenges that nurse leaders face.15 As leadership roles grow more complex, mentorship often feels like just another task and can slip down the priority list, with leaders struggling to overcome the guilt of taking time to build mentoring connections. Many organizations lack formal mentoring programs or fail to make mentoring a priority within nurse leaders' professional goals. Without clear expectations or processes in place, accountability is limited, and mentorship becomes optional rather than essential. This failure to prioritize mentorship can lead to inconsistent support for ENLs, missed opportunities for professional growth, and inconsistent succession planning across the organization. In nursing leadership development, role confusion can arise between preceptors, coaches, and mentors, because these terms are sometimes used interchangeably. When these roles aren't clearly defined, nurses may receive inconsistent or incomplete support. This lack of clarity can hinder leadership growth, create frustration, and diminish the intended outcomes of a mentoring relationship. It's important to note these barriers when building and sustaining formal and informal mentoring connections at the organizational level. GENERATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS Traditionally, mentoring is viewed as an experienced person supporting a novice person to grow within their role and within the organization. However, it's important to note that reverse mentoring is also a strategy that helps promote bidirectional conversations and fosters learning among generations, regardless of experience level. Reverse mentoring takes a nonhierarchical approach, allowing both mentors and mentees to gain new skills, perspectives, and ways of learning. Success depends on key behaviors: mentors must respect mentee's expertise, support joint learning goals, and foster a comfortable environment where knowledge flows both ways. Active listening and open dialogue strengthen cross-generational communication and make the mentoring relationship more productive (see Box 1).16 Understanding the unique traits of each generation and fostering a reverse mentoring environment can bridge multigenerational gaps, promoting team cohesion, engagement, and productivity. Baby boomers bring extensive knowledge, confidence, and organizational history, making them invaluable mentors and educators. Generation X is independent, resourceful, and practical, often serving as a bridge between older and younger colleagues. Millennials are tech-savvy, collaborative, and purpose-driven, prioritizing growth, well-being, and advocacy against burnout and workplace violence. Generation Z, as digital natives, value flexibility, mental health, real-time communication, and rapid feedback.17 Leveraging these strengths in mentoring relationships fosters knowledge exchange; younger generations can guide innovation and technology use, whereas older generations can impart values such as duty, loyalty, and perseverance (see Table 1).17 TABLE 1: - Benefits of reverse mentoring relationships16 Mentor (older generation) Mentee (younger generation) Strengthens cross-generational relationship and team cohesion Strengthens decision-making, conflict resolution, communication, and coaching skills Encouragement of innovation Improved networking and connections to key stakeholders Promotes diversity, equity, belonging, and inclusion Increased knowledge, confidence, resiliency Strengthens flexibility and adaptability to change; challenges the norms Increased job satisfaction Exposure to new technology and digital tools; helps develop confidence Increased emotional intelligence and self-awareness Gains insight into various generational values and expectations Promotes a better understanding of organizational culture Source: Adapted from Madhavanprabhakaran G, Francis F, Labrague L. Reverse mentoring and intergenerational learning in nursing: bridging generational diversity. Sultan Qaboos Univ Med J. 2022;22(4):472-478. MENTEE NARRATIVES ON MENTORSHIP IMPACT Narrative 1 In the beginning of my nursing career, I had the opportunity to be coached by my nurse manager and mentored by my senior nurse leader. They both took a special interest and made an investment in me personally and professionally. I'll always remember my nurse manager coaching me through my imposter syndrome, and how my senior nurse leader guided me in creating healthy work-life boundaries while pursuing my professional goals. Through my involvement in shared governance, I was eventually identified by the Pathway® and Magnet® Program Director (PPD/MPD) as an emerging nurse leader, and she was very strategic in developing my talent for role and program continuity. Not only did she ensure that I was confident in being a content expert in all things Pathway and Magnet, but she really focused on developing my emotional intelligence. From 2017 to 2020, I played a major role in the organization's initial Pathway designation. Since then, I became the PPD/MPD and led the organization through its second Pathway designation in May 2025. The trajectory of my career as a nurse leader wouldn't have been possible without these mentors. I carry their wisdom and pass it on to as many people as I can reach through my advocacy for nurses.—I.V. Narrative 2 As an emerging nurse leader, I was encouraged to develop leadership skills through precepting, charge nurse duties, council leadership, and professional development courses. My mentors took the time to learn my strengths and encouraged me to pursue opportunities that I might have overlooked. One mentor's encouragement led me to apply for—and ultimately receive—a nurse manager position I had never considered before. Their thoughtful guidance helped me recognize the skills and foundation I already possessed, even before I saw them in myself. From early on, my mentors supported me through intentional coaching and constructive feedback. My mentors were well trusted and became my sounding boards, offering not only insight and perspective but also functioning as active listeners who helped me build my confidence in navigating professional situations. My mentors were also exemplary role models, modeling effective leadership skills such as serving others and fostering growth. I eventually moved into a Pathway to Excellence® Coordinator role in which I spearheaded the journey to obtaining the first Pathway designation in our hospital system, which we successfully achieved in February 2024. Post designation, I moved into a system-level Pathway to Excellence Manager role. In this role, our team successfully achieved Pathway to Excellence designation at our second hospital in August 2025 and we're well on the journey to achieving designation at our final hospital campus. This progression has been more than a series of promotions; it has been a deliberate process of becoming a leader who can mentor others with the same encouragement I received. Today, I view leadership not simply as a position but as a responsibility to mentor, empower, and create opportunities for others—continuing the cycle of growth that was so pivotal in my own journey.—A.L. MAINTAINING THE STATUS QUO What happens if you don't mentor? As a nurse leader, you're accountable for supervising staff and ensuring quality nursing care. Nurse managers, positioned between senior nurse leaders and frontline nursing staff, are a crucial link in meeting strategic goals. Without mentoring, you risk having your team miss out on the value of your knowledge, skills, and expertise. Lack of mentoring can negatively affect staff autonomy and confidence in decision-making, forcing staff to rely on you for problem-solving, which can negatively affect your work-life balance. A lack of mentoring also hinders succession planning, which is positively associated with improved staff retention and satisfaction, patient satisfaction, and clinical outcomes; therefore, it can be assumed that the lack of succession planning would yield negative results. Mentoring benefits more than just the mentee or the organization—it benefits the nurse leader as the mentor by identifying capable individuals with whom you can share responsibilities and eventually assign to lead in the future. Working closely with a mentee prepares and enables the mentee to assist in accomplishing the work the leader is expected to complete. You don't have to do it alone. Finding a mentee is an opportunity for mutual growth and helps prepare each of you for future opportunities in leadership. See Table 2 for additional resources to help guide your mentoring journey. TABLE 2: - Available resources supportive of mentoring Resource Description Nursing Leadership: Scope and Standards of Practice, 3rd edition https://www.nursingworld.org/nurses-books/nursing-leadership-scope-and-standards-of-practice-3rd-edition/ Updated leadership framework for modern demands in the workplace. Includes practical standards and competencies to guide performance. Provides insight into evolving expectations around equity, professionalism, and strategic stewardship.18 ANCC Pathway to Excellence®: An Evidence-Based Toolkit for Supporting the Job Satisfaction, Well-Being, and Retention of Nurse Managers https://share.hsforms.com/1KhLjiaPTReO0PUtwEQMEwg2vyfy This toolkit provides essential recruitment and retention strategies for nurse managers. Discusses, in detail, the seven most important components of nurse manager retention and job satisfaction (orientation, advancement, support, relationships, empowerment, individualization, balance).19 ANA Flash Mentoring Program https://community.ana.org/pages/mentorprogram This mentoring program is designed to be a quick and convenient resource to connect with mentors nationally and receive support and advice on situation-based topics.6 AONL Mentor Match Program https://www.aonl.org/resources/mentor Online program designed to foster connections between nurse leaders seeking mentorship and experienced professionals.7 Pathway to Excellence® Program https://www.nursingworld.org/organizational-programs/pathway/ https://www.nursingworld.org/nurses-books/2024-application-manual-pathway-to-excellence-and/ Recognizes health care organizations that create positive practice environments for nurses. A central component of the Pathway® framework is fostering professional growth, development, and engagement, which includes structured support for mentoring and preceptorship programs.1 Magnet® Recognition Program https://www.nursingworld.org/organizational-programs/magnet/ https://www.nursingworld.org/nurses-books/2023-magnet-application-manual2/ A key component of the Magnet® framework is its emphasis on professional development and mentoring. Organizations pursing or achieving Magnet® recognition are expected to foster a culture that supports the growth of nurses at all levels.8 Key: ANA, American Nurses Association; AONL, American Organization for Nursing Leadership Box 1: Harnessing generational strengths The nursing workforce now spans up to five generations, each with unique skills and values. Reverse mentoring helps bridge these differences, fostering mutual learning across age groups. By embracing generational traits—such as resilience, communication styles, learning preferences, and professional identity—nurse leaders can better understand how each generation shapes the workforce.17