Matching Formats: Group, Circle & Reverse Mentoring

MentorStack supports four mentoring formats. Beyond classic 1:1 pairings, you can run group sessions (one mentor, multiple mentees) and peer circles (leaderless peer groups). Reverse mentoring (junior coaching senior) is also supported.

Enabling formats

Go to Settings → Program → Formats to enable or disable each format: One-on-One Mentoring, Group Mentoring, Mentoring Circles, and Reverse Mentoring. Only formats you enable will appear as options when creating matches or for members when browsing.

1:1 (default)

One mentor paired with one mentee. The classic format: structured, personal, and the best starting point for most programs. Enabled by default. Reverse mentoring is off by default.

Group mentoring

One mentor paired with two or more mentees who share sessions together. Best for:

• Teaching or skills transfer (one expert, multiple learners)
• Cohort-based programs where peers benefit from each other's questions
• Scaling mentor capacity when you have more mentees than mentors

Creating a group match

1. On the Matches page, click Create Match
2. Choose the Group format
3. Enter a Title and an optional Description
4. Select the Mentor
5. Optionally use Pre-assign Mentees to add mentees now (up to your configured max group size)
6. Click Create Group

Mentors can also create groups. Mentees can join an open group that has room from the Browse Groups tab on the Matches page.

All participants share the same message thread, meeting calendar, and goal progress view. Each mentee still has their own individual goals.

Max group size

Configure the maximum number of mentees per group in Settings → Formats → Maximum Group Size. The default is 8, and you can set anywhere from 2 to 50.

Circles

A peer group with no designated mentor: all members are on equal standing. Circles are for cross-team connection, peer accountability, or communities of practice.

Creating a circle

1. On the Matches page, click Create Match
2. Choose the Circle format (no mentor role, all participants are peers)
3. Enter a Title, an optional Description, and an optional Max Members value (2 to 20, default 20)
4. Click Create Circle

Mentors can also create circles. Mentees find open circles in the Browse Circles tab on the Matches page and ask to join. Circle join requests are approved by an admin.

Circles have shared messaging and meeting scheduling, but no goal-linking to a single mentor relationship.

Facilitators

A circle can optionally have a facilitator: a confirmed member who keeps sessions on track without becoming a de facto mentor. Set this up from the match detail page:

• Fixed: one member holds the role permanently, until you reassign it.
• Manual rotation: the current facilitator passes the role to another confirmed member whenever they choose.
• Automatic rotation: the role hands off on its own, weekly, biweekly, or monthly, in round-robin order.

The member who receives the facilitator role gets an in-app notification whenever it moves to them.

Reverse mentoring

A junior or early-career employee mentors a more senior leader: typically on emerging skills, new technology, or perspectives the senior leader might not have day-to-day exposure to.

Functionally, reverse mentoring works the same as 1:1, but the "mentor" role is filled by the less senior member. The platform treats it identically. The distinction is conceptual and cultural.

There are two ways a reverse match gets created:

• Admin-proposed: with Admin-Guided matching on and the Reverse format enabled, click Create Match, choose Reverse, pick the Senior Member (Learner), and click Find Candidates. The dialog lists Suggested Reverse Mentors with a rationale for each. Click Select on one to create the match.
• Self-nominated: once you enable the Reverse format, any non-admin member can click Offer Reverse Mentoring on the Matches page and propose themselves as a reverse mentor to a senior colleague. This works in either matching mode. The senior colleague then accepts or declines before the match starts.

Mixing formats in one program

You can run all four formats simultaneously. A senior leader might be in a 1:1 match as a mentee (reverse program) while also running a group for their direct reports. MentorStack tracks each relationship independently.