Some people need to use a cookbook approach to any task. They need to know exactly what they are supposed to do, how to do it, and when to do it. They find a flexible approach distressful, all those options, variations, perceptions. Yet that is part of mentoring. It is the special spark, which reveals new insight into aspects of life in a flash.
History records many examples of helpful mentoring relationships.
Each of us will be able to recall relationships no matter how short which changed our lives. From my own experience, I recall meeting Professor Taylor, Chair of the West Midlands Autistic Society Education Committee when I first joined in 1992, and then an Emeritus Professor at the University of Birmingham. He offered me treasured nuggets of advice, which undoubtedly changed my life. I never met anyone who displayed such extremely controlled aggression, persistence and compassionate understanding. Perhaps I just got him on a good day because he was not always that way, but he was on that day and I will always remember how he took the time to explain.