Why is mentoring important to an IT career? Because we have so much technical information to consume, and a mentor can add context to any given challenge. But for mentoring to work the chemistry has to be right, and both parties have to agree to their roles. Mentoring and being mentored requires mutual respect and keeping egos in check.

But mentoring doesn't always work. Someone may mistake basic initial training for mentoring, annoying the "mentor" who doesn't want that kind of involvement, and certainly doesn't want to feel like he's teaching his job away. It could be even more complicated if the mentor is younger and doesn't have the patience for an older colleague.

So what to do? Have you ever been an unwilling mentor? How did you shake yourself loose without hurting yourself in office politics? Let us know by posting a comment below.

-- Dino Londis