The Handbook of Mentoring at Work: Theory, Research, and Practice

"This handbook is remarkable in that it provides a comprehensive and finely nuanced account of the diverse approaches that researchers, theorists,and practitioners have taken to mentoring by incorporating insights of someof the most widely known and respected researchers in careers and in mentoring...This handbook is poised to become a classic in career and mentoring literature with its potential long-term heuristic usefulness in generating new intersections among theory, research, and practice."
―Rebecca L. Weiler, Suzy D′Enbeau, Patrice M. Buzzanell, Purdue University

"This handbook is poised to become a classic in career and mentoring literature with its potential long-term heuristic usefulness in generating new intersections among theory,research, and practice...it is encouraging that so much of the handbook establishes grounds for future communication research and relates directly to current trends in organizational and managerial communication."
― MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATION QUARTERLY

"Ragins and Kram―both scholars whose work ignited the field of mentoring some 20 years ago and has guided it ever since―have teamed up to produce this lucid and accessible compendium of research and theory on mentoring relationships at work. Bringing together an impressive group of scholars, this volume offers a comprehensive assessment of the current state of knowledge about mentoring, as well as an ambitious, theory-driven, practice-oriented agenda for future research. This book is an essential resource and could not be more timely as organizational scholars and practitioners alike grapple with the challenges of developing an ever more diverse workforce to meet the needs of an ever more global and technologically sophisticated organizational world."
―Robin Ely, Harvard Business School

"The most complete [reference] in mentoring. The most seminal thinkers and the most significant collection of essays in print. A must read for everyone concerned with growth and learning."
―Warren Bennis, University of Southern California

"This book is extremely timely. After two decades of research and debate, it provides a definitive guide to the study and practice of mentoring. In a world of looming talent shortages, it will prove an invaluable resource to reflective practitioners and organizational scholars alike. The authors should be congratulated for offering this tour de force of cutting-edge research and practice on mentoring while also charting new territories for future investigation."
―Herminia Ibarra, INSEAD

"From two of the leading theorists in the field of mentoring comes an extraordinary volume. Ragins and Kram have guided a stellar group of authors toward new heights in theory and practice. The book covers all the bases and provides multiple perspectives–some entirely new―that promise to be generative of innovative research and practice. No one interested in mentoring, neither scholar nor practitioner, can afford to ignore this remarkable book."
―Lotte Bailyn, MIT Sloan School of Management

"The explosion of interest in workplace mentoring today cries out for more robust research frameworks as well as new and better practical applications. This superb Handbook closes that gap by bringing together leading scholars and practitioners for a comprehensive overview of this fast-growing phenomenon. Researchers, students, human resources professionals and practicing managers alike–indeed, anyone who has been a mentor or mentee–will find this groundbreaking volume an indispensable companion."
―John Alexander, Former President and Senior Advisor, Center for Creative Leadership

The Handbook of Mentoring at Work: Theory, Research, and Practice brings together the leading scholars in the field in order to craft the definitive reference book on workplace mentoring. This state-of-the-art guide connects existing knowledge to cutting-edge theory, research directions, and practice strategies to generate the "must-have" resource for mentoring theorists, researchers, and practitioners. Editors Belle Rose Ragins and Kathy E. Kram address key debates and issues and provide a theory-driven road map to guide future research and practice in the field of mentoring.

Key Features

• Takes a three-pronged approach: Organized into three parts―Research, Theory, and Practice. Breaks new theoretical ground in a time of change: The theory section extends the theoretical horizon by providing perspectives across related disciplines in order to enrich, enliven, and build new mentorship theory.
• Makes sense of research and planning new directions: The research part brings together leading scholars for the dual purpose of chronicling the current state of research in the field of mentoring and identifying important new areas of research.
• Builds bridges between research and practice: The practice part brings together leading mentoring practitioners to connect theory and research to practice, specifically, addressing how mentoring has changed over the past 20 years.
• Offers coherence within and across each section: At the beginning of each part, the editors provide a roadmap of the main themes―how they relate to one another, as well as to other parts of the book.
• Examines the impact of the changing landscape of careers: Framed within the new career landscape, the book incorporates changes in diversity, organizational structure, and technology.

Intended Audience This complete and comprehensive volume defines the current state of the field, making it the ultimate resource for scholars, students, and practitioners pursuing research on mentoring and related phenomena. It can also be used as a core or supplementary text in graduate courses on mentoring in the fields of business & management, industrial & organizational psychology, education, social work, health care, nursing, communication, sociology, and criminal justice.

Belle Rose Ragins is a Professor of Management at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her research focuses on mentoring and diversity in organizations and has been published in such journals as the Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Executive, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management and Psychological Bulletin. She is co-editor of Exploring positive relationships at work: Building a theoretical and research foundation (with Jane Dutton) and co-author of Mentoring and diversity: An international perspective (with David Clutterbuck). She has served on the editorial review boards of the Academy of Management Journal, Personnel Psychology, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Group & Organizational Management, and the Journal of Applied Psychology. Dr. Ragins has received a number of national awards for her research, including the Academy of Management Mentoring Legacy Award, the Sage Life-Time Achievement Award for Scholarly Contributions to Management, the American Society for Training and Development Research Award, and the American Psychological Association Placek Award. She was awarded the first Visiting Research Fellowship at Catalyst and was Research Advisor for 9-to-5, the National Association of Working Women. She was also a founder and the Research Director of the UWM Institute for Diversity Education and Leadership (IDEAL). Dr. Ragins is a Fellow of the Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology, the Society for the Psychology of Women, the American Psychological Society, and the American Psychological Association. Her joys include morning runs along Lake Michigan with her adopted dogs, Wally and Greta, and exploring the American wilderness with her husband Erik.

Kathy E. Kram is Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Boston University School of Management, and Everett W. Lord Distinguished Faculty Scholar. Her primary interests are in adult development, mentoring, developmental networks, leadership development, and relational learning in organizations. In addition to her book, Mentoring at Work, she has published in such journals as the Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Harvard Business Review, Leaders in Action, Qualitative Sociology, Journal of Management Inquiry and Organizational Dynamics. Her research, consulting, and writing are aimed at understanding the role of a variety of developmental relationships in enhancing leadership effectiveness and individual development throughout the life course. During 2000-2001, she served as the H. Smith Richardson, Jr. Visiting Research Scholar at the Center for Creative Leadership. She is a founding member of the Center for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations (CREIO), and received the first Academy of Management Mentoring Legacy Award. She is currently serving on the Board of Governors at the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), and on the editorial boards of Journal of Applied Behavioral Science and Academy of Management Learning and Education. Professor Kram teaches undergraduate, MBA, and Executive MBA courses in Global Management, Leadership, and Team Dynamics. She consults with private and public sector organizations on a variety of talent development concerns. She enjoys traveling, hiking, and listening to music with her husband, Peter, and her son, Jason.