How can mentees keep their peers from becoming jealous?
Peer jealousy is most intense in the early stages of mentoring programs. This is usually the case because the mentee is picked from a group of potential candidates and selected to be a part of a small test group. Frequently peers believe that the mentee test group is earmarked for the fast track, and that mentoring is a form of special and favored treatment. The makeup of a prototype group usually needs to be carefully controlled. This feature of prototype groups will be communicated to the other organizations within ( your company) as the program is implemented. As a program completes its pilot phase and is opened to more employees, the initial suspicions tend to evaporate. Some mentees report that one way to diminish the envy of peers is to engage in peer mentoring by regularly sharing new knowledge with them. Other mentees have been instrumental in helping their peers to meet potential mentors through more informal channels that are available.
