Most people have had a mentor who didn't really mentor them. The sessions happened, the conversation was pleasant, and nobody was sure what the point was. Mentoring ranked number one in LinkedIn's Learning Report for L&D priorities — yet only 52% of those who say a mentor is important to their career actually have one.

In this episode, Claire and Sarah cover what makes mentoring genuinely valuable versus a well-intentioned waste of time, how it differs from coaching, why the mentee carries most of the responsibility, and how to find the right mentor in a small or standalone HR role.