Abstract

Leadership mentoring is increasingly recognised as an important approach in promoting Positive Youth Development (PYD), particularly in strengthening youths’ social connection, community involvement, and leadership networks. This study was conducted within the Malaysian National Youth Leadership Development Mentoring Program and aims to explore how leadership mentoring contributes to the development of connection among youth leaders through collaboration, social participation, and network building. The study employed a qualitative case study approach involving 13 informants consisting of mentors and protégés who were actively involved in political, organisational, and community leadership activities. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, participant observation, and document analysis. The findings show that leadership mentoring plays an important role in strengthening youths’ relationships with communities, institutions, and stakeholders through direct exposure to real leadership environments. Mentors provided opportunities for protégés to engage with government agencies, community leaders, political actors, and international organisations, which helped them develop communication skills, leadership exposure, and social adaptability. The study also found that mentoring encouraged protégés to continue participating in social and community activities after completing the mentoring programme. Many protégés became actively involved in organising youth programmes, volunteer activities, and community initiatives by using the networks and relationships developed during mentoring. In addition, mentoring helped expand protégés’ leadership networks through connections with policymakers, youth organisations, and professional groups. These experiences strengthened their leadership visibility, credibility, and access to wider leadership opportunities. The mentoring process examined in this study took place within a political leadership setting where mentors consisted of senior political and government leaders who exposed protégés to governance practices, policy coordination, and community leadership experiences. Overall, the study suggests that leadership mentoring is an important developmental process in strengthening connection as a key element of PYD by encouraging social relationships, collaborative engagement, and leadership networking among youth leaders.