Mentoring is important in any creative field. It not only prepares the next generation of Creatives who will follow you but also encourages the creation of new ideas and knowledge and methods that will advance your field. But it's only useful if you do it right. Not everyone does.
One problem with the mentor-mentee relationship (my spellcheck tells me "mentee" isn't a word but really, don't you think it should be?) occurs when the mentor simply doesn't have the skills to be a mentor. Let's face it, not everyone has the social skills for good, one-on-one interaction. mentoring takes patience, good communication skills, and an ability to see things from someone else's perspective while helping them see things from yours. It's not uncommon for new leaders (and, unfortunately, plenty of old ones) to have not developed these skills yet. If you're new to the leadership game, maybe you should develop any skills you're missing before you worry about mentoring an individual.
A lot of people who would otherwise be good mentors simply don't have the time. You want successful people to be mentors, but one reason they're successful is they already work hard and may not be able to devote the time to a personalized relationship. If you can't, or know that you won't, make the time, don't take on a mentee. While they're waiting around for you to get to them, they could be getting guidance from someone else.
Bad chemistry is an unfortunate problem. Sometimes a relationship doesn't work out, not really because of anyone's fault, but because two people simply don't click. If that's the case, look around for a suitable replacement, talk to that person, and if it'll work out, suggest to your mentee that they might gain more from this other person. Friction in your relationship with your mentee will obscure any good advice you could be giving them.
Sometimes you get paired with someone with whom you have little in common. You write copy, they do graphics; you're straight and single, they're gay and in a relationship; you prefer Family Guy while they're partial to Harvey Birdman (why anyone would be escapes me, but still...); it could simply be that you have nothing either professionally or personally in common, so it's hard for you to understand their life and for them to understand yours. Once again, a replacement would be a good idea.
Mentoring someone who reports directly to you, or over whom you have some authority, is tricky. Part of mentoring is encouraging them to take risks and try new things, and if you're the one who writes their performance report or adjusts their salary, they might be hesitant (and you might factor in things that you wouldn't have seen if you hadn't been their mentor). The best thing is to mentor someone outside your direct authority. That's tougher in a small form, but important if you can do it.
And like we said a couple weeks ago: don't try to date your mentee. Seriously. Bad things will come of it.
If you know the relationship with your mentee isn't working, cut the cord. Find them another mentor who can help them and is appropriate for them, and then either find yourself another mentee or step back from the mentoring business for a while. Sometimes, the circumstances are such that this particular relationship isn't a good one. And sometimes, you just suck at it.
Of course, if you're not a good mentor, you probably should be asking yourself what you're doing in a leadership position in the first place.
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