There is much discussion of the positive effects mentoring can have, for the mentor, the protégé, and the organization. According to Robert Kreitner, “mentoring can serve to embed an organization’s culture when developers and the protégé/protégée work in the same organization. First, mentoring contributes to creating a sense of oneness by promoting the acceptance of the organization’s core values throughout the organizations. Second, the socialization aspect of mentoring also promotes a sense of membership.” There is less discussion about what happens when mentoring goes wrong, and the fallout from these failures.
According to a study by Eby, McManus, Simon, and Russell, 54% of those mentored reported being in at least one negative mentoring relationship. Mentoring, like all interpersonal relationships, is a very complex and ever changing situation. Negative events happen even in the healthiest of relationships, and are not necessarily a bad thing. The focus of this essay will be on particular behavioral patterns that have negative repercussions for an organization.
In order for a mentoring relationship to have value to the mentor, protégé, and the organization, there needs to be a certain level of trust between the parties. Sometimes this trust fails to develop due to simple personality differences or styles of work, but in other situations, it is the direct result of intentional behaviors on one or both parties.
In a 2010 Q&A with the Wall Street Journal, Dawn E. Chandler, Lillian Eby and Stacy E. McManus stated that simple neglect of a protégé, which is often unintentional, could have serious consequences that affect an organization.
This often is not the intended action when someone enters into a mentoring relationship, but usually a reaction to concerns about their own career, personal life, or standing in the company, that causes the mentor to put