FLAVORS OF MENTORSHIP
“A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself.” ---- Oprah Winfrey
“The mentor-mentee relationship is ideally like that of the guru and the disciple: motivated by the desire of the guru to impart knowledge to the disciple.” ---- Vivek Wadhwa
The word “Mentor” was first coined to mean a wise teacher in ‘The Odyssey’ by Homer. A right person who shows the path of life, empowers us to see and obtain a possible future is a true mentor. Every mentorship and mentor is different but they all have something unique to add to the life of mentee. The strict parameters, high goals, key milestones, great habits and a good discipline can be considered as the hard tasks of mentoring. Mentorship is all about a clear and strong foundation through which the essential functions of a mentor role towards a mentee can be expressed. A mentor is like a guardian to the mentee.
Mentorship can be termed as the addition of all the processes like intentional, nurturing, insightful, supportive and protective. A mentor intentionally carries out his roles and responsibilities which nurtures the development of the mentee ; from which the mentee acquires an insight of his wisdom and with the strong support of his mentor, the mentee keeps himself protected and safe all around.
Mentors can help mentees provide a standard style of behaviour to make them available to a sense of empowerment. Mentorship programs should be embedded in a definition of mentoring that captures the essence of mentor-mentee relationship. A strong and conceptual foundation of mentoring can establish the effectiveness of the mentor-mentee relationship. A mentee is someone who may lack a piece of information, whereas a mentor can provide the whole of the informations to the mentee. Mentors can act as a human touch which fosters deep personal connections with mentees to provide essential guidance for academic as well as personal growth. A mentor-mentee relationship turns sweet when the mentor strives a healthy balance in their relationship. This involves providing support and empowering the mentee to make good decisions, being independent and being optimistic & realistic in the journey of life. This relationship can be termed as reciprocal when being flexible in acceptance from both sides occur. A mentor-mentee relationship with a strong mentorship can always be an incredible tool to experience with, and it will always play a pivotal role in life’s basic needs. The strong connection and engagement of mentorship provides a channel for the progress of the mentees they deeply desire and the purpose they crave.
Mentoring is a compilation of 3 P’s i.e. Philosophy, Purpose and Process which can be achieved by following the 4 C’s i.e. Counselling, Correction, Connection and Consequence. Basically, mentor-mentee relationship is a mutually beneficial partnership.
The mentor-mentee partnership is a really huge and valuable network. We can end up by saying that great mentoring equals great progress and great progress equals great personal and career development.
Ranu Choudhury, Associate Professor,
Rangia College
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