The Power of a Mentor

Abstract

Do protégés report having more power than nonprotégés? Do male protégés report having more power than female protégés? Do high-level protégés report having more influence than low-level protégés? To answer these questions, mentored and nonmentored men and women in high- and low-level positions were asked to evaluate their level of organizational policy influence, access to important people and their level of resources in their organizations. The results of the study revealed that mentored individuals reported having more of each of these three forms of power than nonmentored individuals. Protégés' perceptions of their power were not affected by their gender or level.