What does the research tell us?
A study by Kuratko et al. (2021) showed there was a strong association with an entrepreneur’s mentorship expectations based on the mentor-founder similarity they perceived. The perceived similarity was based on thinking, values and problem-solving approaches, though not gender. They also found that entrepreneurs may be more receptive to feedback when they can relate more to their mentors (Kuratko et al., 2021).
What are the recommendations for practice?
This study suggests that programme managers should try to align mentors and mentees based on similar-thinking (Kuratko et al., 2021). Programme managers may like to set up a formal questionnaire to gain insight into the thinking, values and problem-solving approaches of both the mentors and mentees to help them match them together.
Read the full paper:
Cite the paper:
Kuratko, D. F., Neubert, E., & Marvel, M. R. (2021). Insights on the mentorship and coachability of entrepreneurs. Business Horizons. 64, 199-209.
DOI: 10.1016/j.bushor.2020.11.001