MENTORING: A Perspective 
By Chandresh Thakore
President (Retired)
Puerto Rico Operations Warner Lambert
A lot of people wonder: what is ‘mentoring’? Let us try to understand that with a simple preamble. … To start, let us explore a simple question: What is common amongst Xerox, Google, and Mentor? Give up, so soon?? … Well, all these nouns started just as nouns. In course of time, however, they started being used also as verbs. For example, it is very common these days to hear: Will you please xerox this for me? … I am going to google CAPA. … I wish I find someone to mentor me. How did the noun Mentor become the verb mentor?
Some 2700 years ago, the Greek warrior Odysseus was often gone to escapades, such as the Trojan Wars. Being gone from home often, Odysseus, as a concerned father, entrusted the schooling of his son to one of his trusted advisor. The name of this advisor was Mentor. Thus, Mentor was a teacher. Not sure exactly when, but the word Mentor got in to the dictionary that defines it as a ‘wise and trusted adviser’ to someone who is less experienced, to someone who can use some coaching. Pretty soon, the noun Mentor became the verb Mentor.
So, in a practical sense, a mentor is a teacher; mentoring is teaching or, better, guiding. In a more meaningful sense, mentoring is the relationship between a mentor and a protégé (the person being mentored). It simply implies that if mentoring is based on a relationship that is both serious and purposeful, it is more likely to succeed.
Thus, ‘Mentoring’ is not a revolutionary, space-age discovery! It is not rocket science! It is a simple concept that has been around, in some form, for ages. It has, however, acquired considerable amount of interest, at least in the business world, over the last 10-15 years. Plethora of material is available on the topic. Folks in business management and, specifically, human resources have spent considerable time and money and energy to see how the business organization and individuals can benefit from ‘mentoring’.
Again, what is mentoring? It is teaching. It is guiding. It is holding hands, in a way. Every organization has experienced people. By definition, ‘experience’ imparts knowledge and wisdom, it enables the individual become well-versed in handling situation, finding a way out, pointing the right direction, etc. By implication, the ‘mentor’ has been in the trenches or on the front line. That has, supposedly, given that person an edge over others not in a similar situation. He/she is wiser to know what works and what does not work. … On the other hand, there are folks new to the work environment. They may be smart but, obviously, do not quite know the ropes, so to say. It would not be uncommon for such individuals to struggle, even falter. They may not understand an effective way to accomplish their tasks and goals. In spite of a lack of experience, some may be successful to a degree. But, the process of accomplishment would, indeed, be facilitated and, even, enhanced if someone, experienced and wise, is willing and ready to help.
The key is to match such two persons. An organization interested in developing its younger folks with potential would make sincere efforts in getting such two individuals together, and develop a process to achieve the objective of passing on the wisdom and experience of those who have to those who don’t and, hopefully, benefit from them.
There are certain elements vital to the success of such a mentoring program: (1) proper selection and match of the mentor and the protégé; (2) sincerity of purpose on the part of both individuals; (3) commitment of time on the part of both individuals, along with frequency of interaction that is both practical and useful ; (4) a clear understanding of what is to be achieved; and (5) a periodic review of how the process is going, with an implied willingness to change course, if necessary. Both mentor and the protégé have their individual responsibilities. They must be understood and fulfilled.
Mentoring can be both formal and informal. Formal mentoring has a strict structure to it, with defined procedures re various aspects. Informal mentoring does not depend on such formalities and, at times, it comes out of personal relationships. Both have their pluses and minuses. There is no reason to not have a combination of the two, building on the best aspects of both.
While ‘mentoring’ is more common in the business world, it is not uncommon in other fields, such as: athletics, education, public affairs, politics, arts and sciences, etc. In fact, everything else being equal, the most valuable benefit an aspiring young person can have is to have a mentor to help enhance his/her career.
I feel so strongly about the value of mentoring, I’d actively look for a mentor if I had the opportunity to start my career all over again. I am not complaining about what I got out of my career. But, undoubtedly, the process would have been faster and, likely, enhanced.
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