Mentorship

Mentorship refers to a developmental relationship between a more experienced person to
help a less experienced person referred to as a protégé, apprentice, mentee, or (person)
being mentored develop in a specified capacity.

The roots of this practice is lost in antiquity but the word itself is derived from the character
Mentor in Homer’s epic Odyssey.In this story the goddess Athena takes on the form of an old
man to guide young Telemachus in his time of difficulty.

Some traditions of mentorship include the guru-shishya relationship from our ancient
traditions, the discipleship from the Christian church, the apprenticeship from medieval
times.

Some famous mentor-protege pairs include Krishna-Arjuna, Socrates-Plato and Plato-
Aristotle.

There is both formal and informal mentoring. In companies new hires are paired with
experienced managers to obtain information, good examples and best practices. Also
employees are groomed to leadership positions by pairing them with experienced managers.

In the case of entrepreneurs mentoring is even more important. Some of the reasons
why every entrepreneur should have a mentor:

1.Where else do you turn ?

Now that you do not have a boss to ask for direction or turn to for advice, who do you
turn to for advice ? If you are a entrepreneur just starting out, you might not even have
any employees yet to sound out your ideas. So you require a sounding board, second
opinion or maybe just emotional support.

2.They have “been there, done that”.

The mentor can share his/her successes and failures with you. They need not be from
the same industry or be up to date with the latest advances in technology but they can
advice you so that you do not make the same mistakes. You can learn more quickly and
easily what they have learnt through experience.

3.Expand your social network

Your mentor being an experienced business person will have an extensive business
network. He can open up this network of experienced decision makers to you which
will be far more beneficial than some person who you have met at a networking event.

4.A trusted long term relationship

Your mentor has no product or service to sell to you so there is no hidden agenda.
That combined with a good relationship forms a foundation for an extended
relationship that becomes more valuable over time. Also your time with the mentor
becomes more efficient as they become more familiar with your business over time.

How do you go about finding a business mentor ?

In some countries there are government organizations that can help you find a mentor. There
are also professional organizations like MentorSquare, TIE(The Indus Entrepreneurs), and
other informal entrepreneur clubs that can help you find a mentor.

Some service organizations like Rotary Club, Lions Club can also sometimes help you find a
mentor.

Direct Personal contact. – Explore your network of friends, relatives, family friends, former
professors, former bosses, even online social networks.

Whom do you admire ? Who has been helpful to you earlier ? Who has been your role
model ?

Ask the person whom you have chosen as your role model whether they are willing to have a
more in-depth relationship with you.

If you are a first time entrepreneur then do not spend too much time searching for a role
model. Choose somebody and develop a relationship with them. You can always change a
mentor if things do not work out, it is not a life-long commitment.

Mentorship in Organizations

Some of the ways in which mentorship improves the organization are :

• Helps retain the next generation of leaders
• Improves managerial skills
• Develops new leaders
• Enhances career development
• Puts high potential individuals on a fast career track
• Promotes diversity
• Improves technical knowledge within the organization

In conclusion it can be said that mentoring is a must for all new entrepreneurs who are
just starting their businesses. For entrepreneurs who have got funding from venture
capitalists, the VC can be their mentor and guide them because he is usually
an entrepreneur himself and has gone thru all the successes and downfalls of
entrepreneurship. He can also open his network to the entrepreneurs he has funded.

Mentoring is not just for individuals but also for organizations, both new and existing ones.

Written by Deepak Thandassery  in Mentorsquare