The Dao of Maslow: A New Direction for Mentorship.

This article examines mentorship through the lens of Abraham Maslow’s humanistic psychology and his engagement with Daoism, proposing a growth-centered model of mentorship that emphasizes self-actualization rather than mere skill acquisition. It highlights mentorship’s psychological benefits for both mentees—such as enhanced self-esteem, well-being, and career focus—and mentors, including generativity, while critiquing the reduction of mentorship to transactional or skill-based relationships in modern contexts. Drawing on Maslow’s traits of self-actualizing individuals and his concept of “Taoistic” qualities (e.g., spontaneity, openness, and authenticity), the authors argue that effective mentorship involves guiding mentees to recognize their calling, overcome psychological barriers like the Jonah complex and imposter syndrome, and engage in a mutually synergistic relationship fostering growth for both parties. The article situates Maslow’s unfinished work on Daoism as a valuable framework for revitalizing mentorship as a holistic, transformative human relationship.