mentoring from a broader perspective

One of the hardest things about mentoring is removing yourself from the equation. There’s a temptation to tell up-and-comers ‘well this is what the process was like for me, and your story will be the same’. Better mentors say things like ‘this is what it was like for me – take what you can from our story and apply it to your own’. Still better are those who discover the broader themes in their own story that apply to your particular situation. They’ve created a framework, a base to which they return for every question, no matter the problem. It’s instantly apparent from the way they answer questions and tackle problems, and I’m so fortunate to have not one, but several mentors who think like this.