Can Mentoring Go Wrong?

As a Mentor, there may come a time when you feel something just isn’t working. Perhaps you’ve made a mistake or else you and your Mentee just aren’t quite clicking. Today we’ll explore what mentoring gone wrong really looks like and the measures you can take to set yourself back on the right course when things take a turn.

The Challenges of Mentoring

Every job has its challenges and mentoring is no different. While mentoring is a fun and largely stress-free way to generate income, it’s nonetheless important to be aware of the problems that might crop up and how you can work around them.

So what are the main challenges of being a mentor?

The biggest problems you’re likely to encounter in your mentoring career are almost always likely to revolve around communication. That shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, considering that a Mentor’s role is, in large, that of a communicator and facilitator. Whether you’re just having a meeting to get to know your Mentee or introducing them to contacts and colleagues for the first time, you’ll be the one exchanging information and passing along your knowledge.

If that sounds like a lot of responsibility then don’t panic. While it’s true that you’re ultimately the one responsible for making sure the right information gets to the right people, it’s very important to remember that you’re still human and most clients and colleagues will respect that fact. So long as you’re honest and upfront then almost any ‘mentoring gone wrong’ situation can be handled easily enough.

How to Navigate Mistakes

Mistakes happen, especially when you’re new to a role. One of the best parts of being a Mentor is that there’s a far shallower learning curve than there would be with almost any other job. After all, you’re here because of the things you already know. That being said, there are still things to learn and simply being aware of that fact will make it a lot easier to navigate difficult situations.

In a relationship like mentoring, there is a fair amount of collective responsibility. That’s why when mistakes do happen, the first thing you should always do is aim to pin-point the cause without directly blaming people where possible.

For example, let’s say your Mentee misinterprets a piece of advice you have given them for a job interview. They’re unsuccessful in the interview and ultimately fail to get the job. In this scenario it’s quite possible that your Mentee will blame you for failing to provide accurate advice while you may be tempted to blame them for failing to understand your instructions. The Mentee may be frustrated and even emotional and this could lead to further conflict. 

The key to navigating this situation is to understand that miscommunication goes both ways and to extend as much good faith as possible. By admitting to some degree of fault on your end, you’ll likely be able to defuse the situation and you may even find your Mentee starts to back down and take responsibility themself.

It’s also worth noting that this is a great opportunity for you to demonstrate pragmatism in the face of problems. In responding to your Mentee, try to speak practically about the next steps you should take. Try to channel any emotions they might be feeling into constructive activities and reassure them that every mistake is a learning opportunity.

Acting with Respect and Professionalism

The idea of mentoring gone wrong might seem daunting but, as with all things, the most successful Mentors are those who embrace mistakes as a part of the process.

One of the biggest challenges to working in any freelance role can be finding a good balance between your work life and your personal life, and this problem can easily be enhanced if you’re worried about mistakes you might have made. This is why it’s vitally important to do everything you can to stop your professional worries extending into your personal hours.

Doing this often means finding ways to be emotionally removed from the problems of work. That’s not to say you shouldn’t have passion, but you should aim, wherever possible, to see a work problem as just another puzzle to be tackled.

Viewing your work this way will also make it far easier to build professional respect between you and your Mentee. Put simply, it’s possible to feel invested in their success without taking setbacks as anything more than a short term issue.

At the end of the day, any mentoring relationship ultimately involves learning on both ends. While your Mentor will be learning from you about how to navigate your job role, you’ll be learning from them about how to teach different types of people and the different styles in which people learn. In the long run this will not only help you become a stronger Mentor but these skills will translate into other areas of your life.

If you’re ready to face challenges with an eager mindset, learning and growing as you go, then we’d love to have you as a Mentor here at Career Navig8r. Sign up today and become the role model you always dreamed of having.