Looking Within Yourself

Rob, what would you say is the most challenging factor in a mentoring relationship? And how can that be overcome?

I think one of the challenges is a little bit of what we discussed earlier. But the mentee may want to simply mimic or replicate what the mentor has done in their professional life. And the reality is, every one of us is here for a reason. We all have our own lives, we all have our own purpose and reason for being. So the key, I think, in that relationship is for the mentor to be mindful of that potential risk and help the mentee look within to figure out what it is that they’re really trying to even help them unlock, whatever barriers are preventing them from achieving. I think if that framework is applied, the mentor-mentee relationship would be really an incredible thing.

Have you had an instance where you had a mentee who wanted to be just like Rob, you had to say to that person, hey, well, you know, wait a minute, you have your own gifts and your own talents, and you may want to think about it this way?

Absolutely, many times, and what I’ve done is help them reframe it in a way that would help them actually begin to look inward. I mean, that experience when you realize that it’s really coming from you and not anything external is a very powerful experience. And if a mentor could provide that to a mentee at the right place and time, where they really see themselves in their own predicament and their own set of challenges and their own set of opportunities, and begin to kind of trust their own instincts, is a very special moment in that mentor-mentee relationship. And it can lead to unlocking a lot of incredible potential for that mentee.