Asking for the opinion of others, you may encounter the statement that being a mentor is a cinch, a piece of cake, an easy job – after all, giving advice is not difficult at all.
Each of us does it every day: supporting loved ones, friends, employees, suggesting solutions to problems, providing directions. It seems to us that mentoring is an intuitive process. But let’s not forget that the mentee is supposed to develop according to his or her abilities and needs, not according to the intuitive guidance of the mentor.
In this case, the mentor’s intuition may lead him astray. Why? Because it will push him into the realm of duplicating his own existing solutions, which are not necessarily tailored to the size or scale of the person being mentored. Maybe she doesn’t even need them. It is necessary to allow, enable and help her to make her own projection of her development path, and then support her in overcoming it.
It is only by intentionally learning to mentor that people realize that being a mentor, however, is an unfamiliar world, though seemingly natural for anyone with knowledge, experience and a willingness to share it. However, this is still not enough.
