What basketball can teach us about the mentor’s dilemma 

The mentor’s dilemma is the choice that many managers and leaders face between being highly critical and being too kind.

When an NBA team selects a 19-year-old rookie in the first round of the amateur draft, the rookie usually feels confident and proud—not to mention flush with millions in cash. This confidence can be threatened when, soon after the player is picked, the team’s shooting coach tells the player that they need to change their shot—the very thing that got them drafted in the first place. It leads to serious questions, such as: Does the team think I’m not good enough after all? Or even: What if messing with my shot makes my shot worse—causing me to get benched or cut from the team? The answers to these questions have huge implications, ranging from public humiliation to going broke.