When Mentors Have a Negative Impact

Today on Stop. Drop. & ROLE, we're asking a hard question: What happens when the people we trust to develop and spend time with our young or new talent, mentors, aren't actually equipped to do the job? Maybe they're stuck in old ways. Maybe they’ve internalized poor habits. Whatever the case, the cost is high - for our teams, our culture, and our business. Employees with effective mentors are 2.5x more likely to stay longer than five years. But when mentorship is misaligned, it becomes unhealthy and 43% of employees in a recent survey reported quitting a job due to poor leadership or mentorship. Join Jen today as she explains why a person's manager should not be their mentor as well as the trouble with mentor programs that are mandatory and mentors in a queue, assigned by HR. Without a plan of frequent check=in's, you could be hurting your talent more than developing them. A true mentor program should be seen as "specially selected" - a prestigious opportunity to impact the organization and a chance for development and recognition. Follow along with the important steps to awareness through Stop. Drop. Reflect. Observe. Listen & Evolve - to grow into a intentional, healthy mentorship program. *There is an underlying notation to construction and manufacturing industries here as examples due to Jen's experience and subject matter expertise. © 2025 Perpetual Capacity Coaching & Consulting, LLC. The Stop. Drop. & R.O.L.E.™ and The Great Outgrown™ frameworks are original, proprietary works created by Perpetual Capacity Coaching & Consulting, LLC. All concepts, names, processes, and stories shared in this episode are protected by copyright. Reuse, reproduction, or republishing of this content — in part or whole — requires prior written permission. This episode contains early ideas and concepts that are being expanded and refined in The Great Outgrown™. All rights reserved.