Twelve Habits of the Toxic Mentee
by David Clutterbuck
Copyright David Clutterbuck
A light-hearted look at how not to be a mentee!
- Bring to the first formal meeting a long shopping list of things you want the mentor to do for you
- Expect the mentor to be available for you, whenever you want them (heroes never need sleep!)
- Regard the mentor as your prime source of gossip to pass on
- Expect the mentor always to have the answer - that's why they are more senior
- Expect the mentor to decide when to meet and what to talk about
- Boast about the relationship to your colleagues at every opportunity
- Never challenge what the mentor says - s/he is paid to know best
- Blame the mentor whenever advice doesn't work out - s/he should have known better
- Treat mentoring sessions as mobile - the easiest item in the diary to move at the last minute
- Enjoy the opportunity to have a good moan or whinge, whenever you meet - especially if no-one else will listen to you
- Make it clear to the mentor that you want to be just like them - adopt their style of speaking, dress and posture
- Never commit to doing anything as a result of the mentoring session. If, by accident, you do, simply forget to follow the commitment up. (Why spoil the fun of discussion with outcomes?)
David Clutterbuck is a founder director of the European Mentoring Centre and an acclaimed author on mentoring and organisational learning. He can be contacted on 01628 661919 or via david@clutterbuckassociates.co.uk
