Mentorship in the Royal Canadian Regiment

Abstract

In the Canadian Armed Forces, leadership is essential for the conduct of endeavours, which sometimes involve life and death. Consequently, leadership development is important. Mentorship is viewed as a component of leadership and its application is often seen as a long-term way of growing leaders. The Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) is a unit of the Canadian Army and ostensibly employs mentors. This study sought to answer the question: How might reflection and interactive dialogue on mentorship by various ranks of the Royal Canadian Regiment enhance leadership? The study was conducted using insider action research and relied on interviews and a focus group to achieve data collection. The study adheres to the Royal Roads University Research Ethics Policy as well as the Department of National Defence’s Defence Administrative Orders and Directives on research. The findings highlighted that informal mentorship was variably occurring, however, as access to mentorship was unequal, it was recommended that a formal program be initiated.