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In Australia, and internationally, mentoring is proffered as a powerful professional learning experience for both early career teachers (ECTs) and their mentors alike. However, authentically beneficial learning partnerships have proven challenging to achieve. This paper provides a theoretical and practical response to this issue, arguing the criticality of genuine conversations cultivated through balanced, non-hierarchical questioning to position ECTs and mentors as co-learners. Drawing on positioning theory in conjunction with the concept of genuine conversations, the contents of five recorded mentoring conversations involving Australian ECTs and mentors were analysed. These findings have important implications for mentoring practice across educational contexts. • Learning partnerships between early career teachers and mentors are challenging to achieve, regardless of experience. • Innovative use of positioning theory in conjunction with the concept of genuine conversations. • The criticality of genuine conversations cultivated through balanced, non-hierarchical questioning for learning partnerships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]