Leadership and Mentorship: Service Leaders as Mentors of the Followers

According to the Hong Kong Institute of Service Leadership and Management, an effective service leader serves as a mentor for his/her followers. Aside from promoting their followers’ professional and personal growth, mentoring also contributes to the development of the service leaders themselves. In this paper, a lecture addressing the concept and functions of mentoring is outlined, along with its relationship with service leadership. The professional and psychosocial functions of mentoring to service leaders and followers and various ways to promote mentoring in service leadership are highlighted. Students are also encouraged to reflect on the potential harmful effects of mentoring on the leader-follower relationship.