Coming to the next yuga, Dwaparayuga, in which Lord Krishna lived, he performed the role of mentor to Arjuna, as we see in the Baghvat Gita.

Even in the present Kaliyuga, mentoring dates back to the era of rishis and munis who used mentoring as the basic method to develop their disciples under the gurukulvas system. So it is a concep t, thousands of years old, (if not in millions) in the Indian context, that has worked well.

The concept works well even today, since the most cherished value for every Indian is “to respect elders and seniors.”

Therefore, mentoring as a concept and system continues to be accepted and respected by one and all. This is one of the best and oldest methods of developing human beings.

The Western world too believes in the mentoring system though they have another name for the mentor: FPG or Friend, Philosopher and Guide.

The corporate world has chosen this path for developing human resources and to derive benefits from the mentoring system to achieve not only employee development but also organisational development.

Mentoring is an activity aimed at developing knowledge and skills. Consider the case of a one-year-old child.

When it tries to stand and walk, it needs physical support. Similarly, everyone needs such support to learn a new activity, whether it be cycling or swimming.

As the child grows, there is a need to identify its potential and channelise its mental energy in the right direction, for which mentoring would be the most effective process.

In the corporate context, it is defined as “a developmental, caring, sharing and helping relationship, where one person invests time, knowhow and effort in enhancing another person’s growth, knowledge, skills, and responds to critical needs in the life of that person.” Mentoring can also be perceived as an act of communicating useful knowledge and skills to someone who wants to learn and who need the same.

The world is changing so fast that the value systems are unable to keep pace with such changes, rendering some of them obsolete. Employee loyalty to serve in one organisation is an example.

Given the numerous opportunities for employment and career progression, it is difficult for any one to continue in any employment for a long period. So the employee turnover rate is as high as 30 per cent in some industries. At the same time, there are examples where employees choose to return to their former employers after experiencing difficulties with a new employer.

The employee compensation and benefits in the private sector are so high, that some employees venture into undesirable paths , such as addiction to drugs, alcohol, night clubs, etc.

That happens to be the first destructive step in their life.

Take the case of call centres, and some of the BPO companies that recruit young boys and girls immediately after schooling with a lucrative offer.

As a result these boys and girls do not even attempt to pursue their education, and do not spare a thought about developing their potential and so as to start their careers at a higher level.

For students pursuing higher studies, mentoring can help them overcome the various problems they face, particularly those who live away from their parents.

They could be helped with physical, emotional, and psychological support issues. Even engineering and management graduates need mentoring during their education, so as to ensure that they choose the right career and organisations during campus recruitment.

In the orientation phase of any new employee, mentoring helps them understand the do’s and don’ts of the organisation.

Besides, from the management’s point of view, it helps a great deal not to allow them to fall into the net of wrong people (people with negative attitude, frustrations).

Mentoring helps in identifying the potential of the employees and preparing them for the future, particularly for leadership positions.

As mentoring is a relationship that extends beyond working hours, it provides support for sociological and psychological issues encountered in work life.

Considering all these aspects, renewed thrust is needed for this concept and system.

Mentoring is the final phase of hand holding of an employee. I would prefer to call this phase “mind holding” of an employee.

It starts with teaching, then training, moves on to tutoring, then coaching, followed by counselling, and ultimately mentoring.

All these steps together ensure that the mentored receives caring, sharing, and help.

If we analyse the process from the leadership’s point of view, it follows the path of telling, selling, participating and delegating (Hearsay and Blanchard leadership model), depending on the maturity of the mentee.

The success of mentoring depends on the extent of the relationship between the mentor and mentored and the degree of interaction between them.

Builds a relationship and personal rapport

Build teams

Supplement and complement the needs of team members

Tap and bring out the best in employees

Develop employees for leadership positions

Develop a culture of caring and nurturing

Develop competence

Facilitate group learning

Motivate and empower

Problem solving

Render family kind of support

The success of the mentoring programme depends on three factors:

Mentor: his competence, attitude, roles played, responsibilities taken, and interest shown

Mentee: his commitment, interest shown, learning skills, attitude, etc.

Mentor-Mentored pair: the strength and type of relationship built, mutual trust, communication, dedication, time spent, mutual support, sharing and caring, taking feedback in the right perspective, without ego clashes, and a spirit of mutual empowerment.

If the mentoring programme has to succeed, organisations should spend adequate time to identify the right type of mentors who can effectively perform their role and become role models to their mentees.

The organisation should provide the right climate, support, and spare the required resources for the mentoring programme and make this a way of organisational life.

(Dr N.G. Kannan is Advisor at the Institute for Technology and Management and former Director (HR/Marketing), Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. Mrs Rangapriya Narasimhan is a research scholar at the University of California, LA.)

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