Communication Feedback & Coaching

Setting Boundaries in a Mentoring Relationship

Steven Galanis

09.29.22

Steven Galanis deeply values his mentors’ advice, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to follow it 100% of the time. He’s learned that a successful mentoring relationship is one based on mutual respect – where mentors offer their perspective, but trust their mentees to make important decisions on their own.

Summary:

Steven Galanis deeply values his mentors’ advice, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to follow it 100% of the time. He’s learned that a successful mentoring relationship is one based on mutual respect – where mentors offer their perspective, but trust their mentees to make important decisions on their own.

Thuy

Are there any boundaries a mentor should be careful about overstepping?
Steven_Galanis

Steven Galanis

I mean, look, as a leader, fundamentally you have to make your own decision, right? I was just catching up with Jeff Weiner, about this a couple weeks ago. And there are two decisions that I made a year ago that now might be coming into question.
Jeff had a perspective on it, I had a different perspective of it. I went a different direction than the direction he advised me to go from, and that’s okay. But one of the things Jeff was saying is, “Hey, there might be a time where... like, how do I make sure that you hear me, but you’re letting me know that I hear what you’re saying and here’s what I’m thinking. I disagree, I’m making the decision this way, but I remember what you’re saying.”
Having that type of relationship is really important because otherwise, the mentors might think that you’re not listening to them, and nobody wants to mentor somebody that’s not heeding their advice.