Entrepreneurs who are in the mentor and coaching business face many challenges. This is because mentoring is not always a straight road. It requires discipline and focus that will help you build your clients and guide them towards self-development. Lourissa Setu, a New Zealand-based 6-figure affiliate marketer, mentor, and coach, shares her challenges working with clients in the mentorship and coaching industry over the years and how she has overcome them.
Uncommitted Mentees
Mentors often have a vision for a mentee that they may not be willing to live up to or commit to working on. “My biggest struggles have been giving too much of myself to those who are not fully committed to themselves or want me to do all of the work. I get upset when people don’t get the results they want. I can’t control people’s efforts, but it can upset me,” shared Lourissa.
“I want to be working with people who are just as committed to themselves, their future, and their team as I am. I am ready to be talking to those who embody a 6/7/8/9 figure mindset.”
Not Finding a Balance
Especially if you are a mentor or coach who is determined to see your mentee make it, you may find yourself doing too much of the work, being unwilling to allow them to grow on their own. Lourissa, about her team, stated “I probably do too much for my team, and they have it very good.” Though she says this “isn’t always a bad thing because my direct team is growing the fastest in our entire movement.” While Lourissa may reap benefits from doing much of the heavy lifting, mentors must be careful not to stifle or suppress their team’s development. For Lourissa, this is sometimes a struggle as her leadership tendencies make it natural to take over.
Being Afraid to Get Help
Mentors may wear themselves thin from taking on the issues and challenges of their team. It can become complicated, and at times self-evaluation is necessary. Lourissa shares how she copes. “During the tough times, I think deeply. I will reflect on where I should go from here, assess what is working and what isn’t. To cope, in the middle of last year, I invested in two mentors to guide me in shifting a lot of things I was holding onto and made me aware of a few blind spots.” Mentors should not be afraid to get help and accept when they may need to realign with their goals.
Despite the challenges, mentors can have significant accomplishments, especially when they watch their mentees and teams grow and thrive. Lourissa says that one of her most notable achievements is seeing the lives of those she’s helped change. “I know it’s still and always going to be a process, but the lives I have changed so far, people leaving their jobs, their relationships with those around them, and seeing them experiencing change, that is motivating. I’m also proud of my growth over the years, especially from where I was just a few years ago.”
