Mentor-ship - The Initial Call

Mentoring is an important aspect at all stages of life. While we were kids our parents mentored unconditionally. Be it to the fullest extent to explore our strengths or barely putting child on track to get employment, mentorship is a part of growth.

At the initial stage of identifying a candidate for mentorship program, it is very important to get the mindset right for the mentee. In the recent interactions with few prospective mentees I get the candidates come straight on to their problem area and wanting a solution immediate. This gives a small window of hope for the mentor either to be in the chair to pick the candidate for further mentoring or politely walk away from taking the assignment.

In the age of instant gratification and quick results, people could have a skewed vision about what they are hitting upon. Some of the questions are straight on to funding aspects while I am not even briefed about what is the concept they are working on.

Patience is highly recommended for both mentor and mentee and ample dose of listening skills helps arrive at a good mentorship journey.

Bringing the wild thoughts of the mentee to a streamlined process of identify his “Why” is so much a mentors job and that is the key success factor which helps taking the relationship to the high.