The dark side of mentoring: A Viewpoint

Purpose: This paper examines the dark side of mentoring, its far-reaching effects and organizational interventions for navigating it. Design/methodology/approach: Literature review and narrative analysis are adopted to achieve the objective of the paper. Findings: Review of extant literature highlights the multiple consequences of the dark side of mentoring. Recommendations include specialized training interventions, period appraisals of formal mentoring arrangements, zero-tolerance ethical frameworks and employee assistance programmers. Originality/value: A substantive portion of literature on mentoring has lauded its benefits for career progression and competitive advantage. This viewpoint explores its limitations and liabilities in an organization.