11 Best Books for Mentoring: Be a Better Mentor

A great mentor can change the life of a mentee. They may not be fairy godmothers or genies, but they can inspire transformative change to help the mentee professionally and personally.

While anyone can be a mentor, the truly life-changing ones are those who genuinely invest in their mentee's growth, provide unwavering support and offer insightful guidance tailored to their unique strengths and aspirations. Since mentors share their own experiences to motivate their mentees, they need to have the right skills to do that. These skills, however, cannot be learned overnight. They are learned and refined over time. 

As the mentoring program administrator, you’ll need to support mentors with resources they’ll need for their mentoring journey. One way you can do this is by sharing the best books for mentoring that can help them learn important lessons in their field. 

With so many books on how to be a better mentor, we’ve handpicked a few of the good ones to recommend. Here are 11 of the best mentoring books we suggest that you include in your resources section: 

11 Best Books for Mentoring Programs

1. The Art of Coaching by Elena Aguilar

This book offers a comprehensive guide to becoming an effective mentor in any professional setting. Aguilar provides practical strategies, tools, and techniques to help mentors foster growth and development in their mentees.

It's recommended for mentors because it emphasises the importance of building trusting relationships, emotional intelligence and reflective practice, which are crucial for understanding and addressing the needs of mentees.

2. The Mentoring Manual by Julie Starr

This practical guide provides clear, step-by-step instructions on how to mentor effectively, covering everything from establishing the mentor-mentee relationship to setting goals and giving feedback.

It's a must-read for mentors looking for a structured approach to mentoring, offering actionable advice and techniques.

3. The Mentor Leader: Secrets to Building People and Teams That Win Consistently by Tony Dungy with Nathan Whitaker

Dungy and Whitaker share leadership lessons drawn from Dungy's successful mentoring career, emphasising the importance of mentoring and developing others to achieve team success. He discusses why it’s important to establish clear expectations and set the tone for the team. 

This book is recommended for mentors who want to learn how to lead by example and build a culture of mentorship within their teams. You’ll learn how to provide effective feedback, set goals, and develop relationships. There are also several case studies of successful mentoring relationships that you’ll find in this book. 

4. Mentoring 101 by John C. Maxwell

Maxwell provides fundamental principles and practical advice on how to mentor effectively, drawing from his extensive experience as a leadership coach. It is a must-read for anyone hoping to become a mentor. 

The book stresses the importance of trust and integrity between the mentor and mentee. It’s ideal for mentors seeking a concise and straightforward guide to improve their mentoring skills and develop future leaders.

5. Mentoring Matters by Tom Osborne

Osborne shares insights from his career in coaching and mentoring, offering practical advice on how to build meaningful and effective mentoring relationships through mutual respect and trust.

6. Mentoring Programs That Work by Jenn Labin

Labin provides a comprehensive guide to designing and implementing effective mentoring programs within organizations.

It's essential for program administrators who are looking for an in-depth guide to mentoring programs. This book provides illustrative stories from real mentors and mentees. It also offers common discussions on roadblocks that you may encounter in mentoring program development. 

7. Athena Rising: How and Why Men Should Mentor Women by W. Brad Johnson and David G. Smith

This book addresses the unique challenges and opportunities in mentoring women, offering practical advice for men on how to be effective and supportive mentors. It also highlights how mentorship is beneficial to everyone but can be uneven for women. 

It’s crucial for mentors who want to foster gender equity and support the professional growth of women in their organizations. 

8. The Elements of Mentoring by W. Brad Johnson and Charles R. Ridley

Another mentoring book written by W. Brad Johnson is The Elements of Mentoring. This time, he wrote this book with Charles R. Ridley in the hopes of providing a concise, practical guide to the essential elements of successful mentoring relationships, backed by research and real-world examples.

This book is a valuable resource for mentors looking for evidence-based strategies and practical tips to enhance their mentoring practices.

9. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck

Dweck explores the concept of fixed vs. growth mindsets and how these attitudes can significantly impact personal and professional success.

Mentors will benefit from understanding these concepts to better encourage a growth mindset in their mentees, promoting resilience and a love of learning. Readers are taught practical advice on how they can cultivate a growth mindset in themselves and others. 

10. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey

Covey presents a principle-centred approach to personal and professional effectiveness, focusing on seven habits that can transform lives and organizations. These habits are separated into chapters in the book, where real-life examples and anecdotes are shared to illustrate them. 

Mentors can use the principles outlined in this book to help their mentees develop strong personal and professional habits, leading to long-term success.

11. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

James Clear's Atomic Habits is a guide to making small, incremental changes that lead to significant results. The book explains the science of habit formation using a four-step model: cue, craving, response, and reward. Clear provides practical strategies for creating good habits and breaking bad ones, supported by real-life examples and clear explanations.

Atomic Habits is recommended for mentoring programs because it offers a practical framework for developing effective habits. Mentors can use Clear's strategies to help mentees build positive routines and eliminate bad behaviours. The book's insights on habit stacking, identity-based habits, and the role of the environment are especially valuable for fostering long-term success through sustainable changes.

Launching a Mentoring Program With Brancher

Launching your own mentoring program may be a challenging task, especially if it’s your first time doing it. Thankfully, Brancher is here to support you in this. You can check out our article on starting a mentoring program where we walk you through the process of working with a mentoring software. 

Our platform provides a resource section that you can use to support your mentors and mentees throughout their mentoring journey. Call us today to learn more about our software.