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I used to offer mentoring in a certain programming language via email. It soon became too time-intensive to continue with it, mostly because the people appeared
by defined 9y ago
I used to offer mentoring in a certain programming language via email. It soon became too time-intensive to continue with it, mostly because the people appeared unwilling or unable to do the necessary groundwork and just wanted answers without much effort on their part. They wanted, basically, supervision.
I recall reading a very short book years ago, I think it was "The One-Minute Manager", and the biggest takeaway I got from that is that you have to adopt different styles according to people's motivation and skill (a 2x2 grid similar to [1]).
It appears "mentoring" (coaching) is appropriate for people who have skill but lack motivation or confidence. This definitely correlates with my experiences.
[1]: https://goo.gl/images/EvBi7x https://goo.gl/images/EvBi7x
- skylark 9y agoI used to love teaching people things, but as I've gotten older I've gotten more jaded. We all want to work with people in the bottom right square - those with potential and tenacity seeking to accelerate their progress. But the reality is that the vast majority of people (I'm guessing 95%+) are on the left side - they just want to be sold a dream. At least for me, it's too soul crushing to work with people who completely lack motivation.