Mentors must be prepared to explore the substantial gray area of the real world rather than settle for the illusory comfort of simple black and white solutions which may be preferred by mentees. To be effective in the subtle art of constructive confrontation, the mentor must therefore demonstrate competence in handling four important variables:
(1) identifying an unproductive mentee idea, behavior, or strategy, which if unchallenged, may create the mistaken impression of mentor agreement and thus the false message of concurrence with a self-defeating approach
(2) engaging in an intellectual dialogue about a serious topic that also usually involves some reasonable degree of mentee ego investment, and thus may very quickly trigger defensive responses
(3) questioning the mentee’s experience and judgment by pointing out inconsistencies arising from such complex causes as inadequate facts, misinterpreted information, limited knowledge, or distorted perception
(4) determining that the actual challenge occurs at a point in the interpersonal relationship of probable receptivity, which therefore requires that the mentor be especially alert to the joint problem of coordinating the development of mentee trust with the proper timing of the confrontation