I started doubting the gospel of mentorship a few years ago after a good friend expressed frustration about not having someone who played that role in her life. We were in our early 20s and, professionally, she was doing objectively well at worst, at least in my opinion. She, however, felt like she wasn’t doing as well as anyone expected of her, including herself; she had no one to ask all those “dumb” questions no one wants to say aloud, and she needed advice from someone senior — someone who had come out alright on the other side of all this doubt — on how to handle the workplace politics unique to her job. The upshot of all these worries: She felt stuck. Without a mentor, she thought, how could she trust that she was doing anything right or well?