ABSTRACT
This chapter suggests that individuals engage in many different kinds of high-quality connections (HQCs) at work and focuses in particular on one important and well-researched kind of HQC, that of a developmental relationship. It focuses on relationships that are life-giving, particularly from the perspective of the protege. The chapter considers the match between the needs of a protege and the structure and quality of his or her network of developmental relationships. It also focuses on relationships that are life-giving, particularly from the perspective of the protege. The chapter considers the extent to which the set of dyadic mentoring relationships is positive and thus focuses explicitly on an individual's developmental network, as opposed to any one particular mentoring relationship, which has been the tradition in much of the mentoring research. It considers how, depending on the nature of the career context and thus, the needs of the protege, some developmental networks may be more or less beneficial than others.
