How To Avoid Burnout And Succeed As A Mentor

Mastering the art of mentorship

When getting started in business or venturing into a new industry, it is wise to seek out a mentor. Mentors can give you a sounding board for ideas, hand down hard-won lessons, and help bolster confidence as one enters entrepreneurship or a new career. 

Becoming a mentor to someone, however, requires a good amount of patience, time, and commitment. One may come to the point where they ask themselves, “who is going to mentor the mentor?”

Burnout is a real side effect of the mentoring relationship and further contributes to the problem of finding capable mentors. At the same time, being a mentor to others is difficult and certainly is not for everyone. Some people have the personality attributes that make them a wonderful option for a mentor, but many others do not. 

So, how does one take on a mentor relationship and avoid the burnout it can cause? The answer to that question is likely multifaceted and requires a deep understanding of one’s own strengths and weaknesses.

Mentors Need Mentors

In order to be a good mentor, one first needs to be inspired to do so. The time-consuming nature of mentoring alone requires people to be motivated by both internal and external sources. All of us can likely think of someone who would make a wonderful mentor, but something is holding them back — be it self-confidence, time, or some other issue that is stopping them from taking the next step into mentoring. 
 
We need to remember that people rarely do anything for purely altruistic reasons. Most people need to know what benefits they will garner from something before agreeing to take on a task as hands-on as becoming a mentor. Having someone who has acted as a mentor before, who can guide one through the ins and outs of mentoring, keeping them abreast of what they are bound to expect through the mentoring process, can help someone decide if they want to take on the challenge. 

Still, mentoring is a two-way street, and the needs of the mentor need to be addressed. If those needs are ignored, the mentor is likely to experience burnout. Needs can be addressed through recognition, awards, and giving the mentor periodic breaks, acknowledging their need for rest and balance within their role. 

Mentors Are Human, Too

To mentees, and often to those on the outside looking in, effective mentors can seem superhuman. But, rest assured, these inspirational folks are human and have quirks and flaws just like the rest of us. 

The mentor/mentee relationship can be high stakes, especially if the mentor has become highly invested in their mentee’s personal life. It can be easy for expectations to build that the mentor will always be available and that superhuman expectation can lead to disappointment when it cannot possibly be fulfilled. 

As such, it is imperative that mentors learn self-care approaches that can help them step away from the overwhelming responsibilities of the mentor/mentee relationship. They should check in with themselves, and ask trusted colleagues to check in with them as well, to avoid the signs of burnout. 

In addition, the tasks associated with mentoring should be well-divided so that the mentor doesn’t get bogged down with extra work. The mentoring journey should be fun, and making it fun can help stave off burnout. For this reason, it is to the mentor’s advantage to seek advice from multiple sources and to diversify their role and their approach as much as possible. 

The Value of a Mentee 

One positive return that a mentor can expect from the mentoring relationship is the value that a mentee provides. The ROI for their mentoring efforts can be rewarding and make the entire process worthwhile at the end of the day. 

Entrepreneurship is all about giving and taking on the role of a mentor, which means being placed in a position of service. However, mentorship should still act as a mutual transaction in terms of giving and receiving. When a mentee returns a mentor’s service with gratitude, belief in their abilities, and an increase in their own capabilities, they are making the relationship mutually beneficial and ultimately worthwhile for the mentor. 

When one decides to take on the role of a mentor, they are putting themselves out there as a beacon for up-and-coming talent in their field. It is a heavy responsibility that can easily lead to burnout if one is not careful. With attention paid to self-care, the equitable division of responsibilities, and seeking advice from one’s own mentors, the mentor/mentee relationship can be ultimately successful for both parties. 

Saniya Sharma is a trained lawyer specializing in dispute resolution and international arbitration. She is the founder of Peoplenovate, a platform where she discusses people-centric issues at the workplace and challenges conventional narratives through story-telling and her personal experience and knowledge.