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It's absolutely challenging when you're mentoring people and work starts to look like a revolving door. I've learned over time to reframe my thinking around men
by scruple 8y ago
It's absolutely challenging when you're mentoring people and work starts to look like a revolving door. I've learned over time to reframe my thinking around mentoring and I believe that it has led me to a better place (or, I'm perfectly willing to accept that perhaps I've just deluded myself).
I mentor the juniors and intermediates on my team (and others in the company), but I also consider the activity to be a sort of mentorship for myself, in an abstract way. By mentoring, I'm frequently discovering better ways to teach and better ways to learn. I also seek their feedback about designs and code on the spot and those conversations that I have, with people who aren't encumbered by a lengthy career in technology, help me keep a sort of "beginner's mind," as it were.
The primary motivators that most people appear to have when they talk about mentorship, i.e., tangible benefits to the company, on-boarding, leveling up juniors, etc... are the side-effects to me. The primary motivator that I have when I mentor others is instead the learning and growth, career and otherwise, that I get to experience that would otherwise be off limits to me.
edit/ words.