Boundary Setting & Dual Relationships Flashcards
7 cards from real CPM practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Boundary Setting & Dual Relationships flashcards as text
A mentor discovers their mentee is dating someone from the same professional circle and asks the mentor for relationship advice. What is the best response?
Answer: Redirect the conversation to professional development and note this falls outside the mentoring scope
Mentors must maintain scope boundaries by redirecting personal matters outside the professional development focus back to appropriate topics.
Which of the following best describes a 'role conflict' in mentoring?
Answer: When a mentor holds two incompatible roles with the same individual simultaneously
Role conflict occurs when a mentor holds two incompatible roles—such as supervisor and mentor—with the same person at the same time.
A mentee gifts the mentor an expensive watch after a promotion. According to ethical boundary guidelines, the mentor should:
Answer: Return the gift and explain that accepting it could compromise the professional relationship
Accepting expensive gifts can create obligation dynamics and blur professional boundaries, so returning the gift with a clear explanation is most appropriate.
A mentor who previously supervised the mentee at a prior employer is now in a formal mentoring relationship with them. This situation is best described as:
Answer: A pre-existing dual relationship requiring transparency and boundary clarity
Pre-existing relationships create dual relationship dynamics that require open discussion about how past roles will be managed within the current mentoring context.
What is the PRIMARY risk of a mentor self-disclosing extensively about their personal struggles to a mentee?
Answer: It shifts the relational dynamic so the mentee feels responsible for supporting the mentor
Excessive self-disclosure can reverse the helping relationship, placing emotional burden on the mentee and undermining the mentoring purpose.
A mentor and mentee begin socializing outside sessions as close friends. Over time, the mentor finds it difficult to give honest critical feedback. This illustrates:
Answer: Boundary erosion where personal closeness compromises professional objectivity
When personal closeness makes it hard to deliver honest feedback, the professional boundary has eroded in a way that diminishes mentoring effectiveness.
Under the CPM ethical framework, when is it acceptable for a mentor to enter a business partnership with a current mentee?
Answer: When the mentoring relationship has been formally closed for an appropriate period
Business partnerships with current mentees create conflicting interests; such arrangements should only be considered after the mentoring relationship has been formally ended for an appropriate period.