Mentorship

"Will you be my mentor?" is the worst way to start a mentorship. It puts pressure on the other person, frames the relationship as a burden, and usually comes from someone who hasn't done the groundwork to make the relationship valuable for both sides. Real mentorship happens when you bring specific problems to someone with relevant experience, follow through on their advice, and report back on what happened. The formal "mentor/mentee" label is almost never necessary — the best mentorships look like regular conversations between two people who respect each other, one of whom happens to be further down the road. This skill covers both sides: how to find and learn from a mentor, and how to mentor someone when you're convinced you're not qualified (you almost certainly are).

This skill references and extends: adult-social-skills, difficult-conversations.