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Mentor fresh

Jul 21st 2009

Mentor fresh

What’s as good as the perfect job? A good mentor. Mitali Parekh speaks to people who have been nurtured by some.

Expert-speak

• It encourages a culture of learning on the job, builds a strong support system and utilises the company’s resources to the fullest.

• Mentorship is essential for people who are finding their feet in the organisation as also those who are promoted to a new role. It should come from someone who has been there before and can provide support, reassurance and help ease the learning curve.

• It benefits both parties: the mentor derives personal satisfaction from sharing knowledge and experience, while the protégé improves self-confidence and develops expertise. And throughout the organisation, people feel more connected.

• Organisations should allocate a designated number of hours for the purpose. It should be closely monitored, feedback should be sought and the mentee’s work should be reviewed.

• Mentorship should not be forced on anyone. People should have the liberty to choose to be one, depending on their bandwidth and abilities. Similarly, an individual should be able to request for a mentor, if he/she feels the need.

• The codes of conduct regarding the confidential nature of the relationship should be clearly defined and understood. When mutual trust develops between the two, it can give the protégé the confidence to challenge the ideas of the mentor, and vice-versa.

 (From Julia Chacko, general manager (HR), Hutchison 3 Global Service and Ankush Agarwal, GM of Talent Acquisition, Directi)


Mentorship is another name for the guru-shishya tradition, and today many corporates have made it a mainstay in their workspaces. Here are a few protégés who tell us how they have benefited from being under the wings of their respective seniors.

Hard drive

I have learnt much from Abbasali Gabula, the CEO of Sultanallys Solutions Ltd, where I started out in 1990. I learnt from him how to be street-smart and work honestly. He was a step ahead of everyone and invested a lot in his people. He sponsored management training courses for employees and had experts come and offer hands-on training. He didn’t let age come in the way of a person’s growth — if he thought you could handle the responsibilities, he would give them to you even if you were young. A lot of employees left the company to become entrepreneurs. This shows how much he contributed to their growth and confidence. In those five years, I learnt to live and work in a principled manner. We used to fight hard and dirty in the market, but still maintained honesty.

— Jeetendra Jagwani, business planner


Think out of the box

My mentor Arvind Vinayak, and I have a tradition. I take him out for a drink every Guru Poornima. That’s my way of thanking him. Vinayak took most of the modules for XIC Marketing and Advertising class of 1997. He was harsh and strict and was often referred to as “the b*******”

I worked my way through post graduation, and when I enrolled for a specialisation, my fee cheque bounced because we hadn’t been paid on time. The office accountant fired me and I had lost my seat. I was trying to reason with her when this gentlemen took me to his chambers, pulled out a bundle of notes and said, “Take this, you fool. Couldn’t you come to me?”

That’s when I started looking at him in a different light. I was one of the rebels in class. We had many head-on arguments, which I later realised, was his way of opening my mind and teaching me to think laterally. He taught me to not be happy with the first five ideas, but come up with a seventh or eighth one because those would be different and sell.

Through my 12 years of advertising, he was my toughest critic; any idea that got his approval was sure to succeed. Eventually, I got bored with my field and considered film-making. Everyone was against the idea, but he was the only one who told me to do what made me happy. He predicted that the first year would be tough, and that I’d have to struggle. “But that’s what you’ve always done,” he said, “and I’ve never seen you fail. You can always come back to advertising if things don’t work out.” And I haven’t had to go back.

— Rohit Bhiwandkar, filmmaker



Recipe for success

I joined Ambience Advertising as Elsie Nanji’s assistant in 1996 and worked with her for 12 years. She was the vice chairman and chief creative officer then. She taught me to be organised, patient and always to look at a situation from a human angle. She placed me in a series of jobs in various areas of the organisation for small periods so that my learning would be comprehensive.

She has an eye for hidden talents and knows how to nudge them to the forefront. Once, on her birthday I decided to cook a dish for her. Elsie was so thrilled that she asked me to make it for a few of her friends too. Little did I know that these people were from Mumbai’s A-list, including a famous food critic. They loved my food and I got written about in the newspapers and as a result, I have consistently been in a city food guide for five years.

— Sameena Shaikh, production manager