THE ART OF MENTORING:

Mentoring as defined is a process of helping or advising to an individual or a group of individuals who wish to strive for a similar goal or mutually agreed goals for a win –win situation.

The word ‘help’ or advice makes the process not only different from ‘guide’ but also connote it as an art rather than a mere an activity. Had it been only a science than of course there are many guides on all issues available. This is a complex and subjective activity hence it is an art. The reasons:

1.      Mentoring is based on case to case basis dependent on the nature and the competency of the seeker.

2.      The seeker or the mentee takes his own decision of coming to an individual who can help him

and takes initiative in seeking advice based on the competency or the availability and also the need  for the help.

3.      The mentor desires to help the seeker with a view to make a change in the mentees competency and also knowledge.

4.    Unlike delegation, mentoring is not only the part of the task assigned to the mentor, but it is beyond that .It presumes an effective percolation of the mentor qualities into the mentees for conversion into a talent of core competency.

5.      The mentor is assumed to have certain core competencies and is willing to part the same to the individuals without a competitive feeling. The sole idea is of replicating rather than replacing to get a synergy.

6.      The mentor in this process has to be a part of the activity rather than be a distant visualizer or a spectator. The end result may or may not be a part of task achievement of the mentor, but it definitely enhances the knowledge and competency of the mentees.

7.      The learning imparted by the mentor in form of a help necessarily is from his own experience and performance making this process a tested one and also an effective one. This cannot be a trial from the mentor’s end to the mentee.

8.      The mentor has to invest his time and also mind in studying the seeker’s strength and weakness and thereafter give him an opportunity of growth through effective mentoring and give him power of handling the threat.

9.      Mentoring is not only a competency percolation, but is also an emotional involvement. The mentee should be in position to feel motivated with the help of knowledge/help procured.

10.  Mentor is a team leader rather than a boss who never percolates frustration and is a tank of inspiration.

It is because of the above reason that makes mentoring an art. In life knowingly or unknowingly we do copy many celebrities and it changes our talent. However they are the model for us but not the mentor. The moment such people play a role by effective help in our life than they become mentor. This leads to a conclusion:

All talented people cannot be a mentor and even vice versa. The moment the desire to help somebody becomes your virtue than you are mentor for some needy person

Similarly it is believed that mentors are born not made. This is because the virtue of extending support and advise at times even without fees solely comes from the upbringing and also the grooming an Individual has undergone.

However these days mentoring has become a profession and one can develop his mind to the feeling of extending advice and support with commercial aspect, but that cannot be done without an humanistic orientation and possession of an outstanding competencies.

References:

1.      Madam Jayanti Ravi Commissioner Higher education Government of Gujarat. Gandhinagar.

2.      Mr. Narayan  Spiritual and Management Mentor Vadodara

www.sunderkandsatsangsamuh.org

AICTE A LAUGHING STOCK

AICTE  a prime controlling body for professional colleges has become a laughing stock.It has lost its credibility like present government.

Look at the way the management colleges and engineering colleges being run in Gujarat. Businessmen enter the education to convert their black money into white and get the approval for MBA and engineering college.They line up for approval , make the official happy later to line up for seeking permission for closure.

AICTE officials consider themselves king and are the breed of Licence Raj.They frame rules so that the college remain their puppet through out their tenure.Colleges are suppose to have a director who is a PHD.A businessmen wants to run the college like a corporate with a profit maximization.Surprisingly the academician can well understand the Break Even Point in theory and can give best case studies,but when it comes to implementation they fail.They lack corporate orientation .Now what is corporate orientation?Executive here whether from IIM or a non MBA are suppose to perform come what may.For this they adapt their mind set and become practical.The unique feature of these academician is they are highly enlightened {.....},and sharp but they suffer from

1.High ego level.They shall not leave their chamber for anything as this is below their protocol.

2.Self centered.They talk with their likes and dislike hardly bothering for others.

3.Students are their dreaded species.

As a result of this most of the colleges with so called PHD Directors have closed because they do not get admission.They do not get admission because they are least bothered about customer [students] orientation.As a result they fail .This is further aggravated if the promoter is a pure businessmen who understands the language of profit only.Worst is if the promoter is a real estate businessmen.He treats people as spade and tools for digging a pit and creating a building only.The blame goes to whom?.If a promoter is from outside Gujarat he will blame Gujarati students for being ignorant and business minded and going to Bangalore because he has more money.They come here to make money but if that does not happen they start blaming the students,the culture,the mentality than CM etc but not his own self.

If this position is taken up by an MBA from a corporate than he understand the woes of investor.But AICTE do not acknowledge.The worst is nobody is bother not even AICTE to understand the phenomena for downward trend in MBA /professional admissions and worst not interested in doing any practical solution.They are good at giving approval and sending notices .Even the so called educationist also are not bothered.It is finally the investor who invest for a quality education and gets a setback and victim are the students.

POOR DIRECTORS WITH PHD.HATSOFF TO AICTE FOR SUCH A CLAUSE .I DO NOT KNOW WHETHER PEOPLE WITH PHD HAVE EXTRA WINGS?

Departing

DEPARTING

Departing is the way of life.Departing is painful.Professionally in my life I have faced 8 departs on a way to Joint CEO.Any professional if he wants to grow he need not be emotional but has to be practical.It is a strange feeling,when you leave the place,the people created by you. I find these days  it is very difficult to get the right choice of appreciative peers,juniors and even students.

Having blended experience of corporate world and academic world I always find people from corporate to be more courteous,polite and attached.They do not understand the word 'depart' and also the word welcome.Though academicians are supposed to be the model for the breed to come,they seldom understand their duty.Highly egoistic,self centered and spineless.

I always love students who are sentimental and courteous.I have great contribution value for them.Unless you vibe at the same wavelength you cannot produce results.Though you may have vested interest in anybody, academicians conclude a lot.It is these reasons that students fear calling their beloved 'Sir' a guru and appreciate them openly.

Growth in life is above such petty things.Do what your conscious say is my motto of life.

PHDs available on rent.

I really fail to understand the mentality of Management Colleges.The birth of course lie in its requirement to the corporates and the industry,however very few management colleges are receptive to the people from industry.Even AICTE which is the apex body to frame the rules to make it more effective and authentic discourages the people from industry by making PHD compulsory and giving option to colleges for recruiting industry people.The colleges do not take risk of displeasing AICTE and hunt for PHDs and when they do not get,they enter into unfair practice of getting PHDs hiring on contract.In the process they save money which is their main aim and would not resort to hiring people from industry who works out costly.In the process we are witnessing the fate of MBA students passed out from such colleges.

MBA colleges want good placement from industry,but would not hire people from industry.Imagine the fate of networking or placement task given to an 100% academician who is full of his esteemed value,ego,status etc would not visit any lead without due fanfare ,respect,appointment etc.Thereafter the college expect industry to come begging to them to hire students.Poor students are getting victimized .

The best option is to have a blended person at the director level on performance linked basis.

Meditation

Meditation is one of the important tool which lightens the stress at office.It is the most simplest form of knowing self.However we do not have time and interest in knowing self and we spend lot of time in knowing others for our success.We appease,please and surrender to others for getting success,but we do not surrender to ourselves.The day you know your self ,success is not far off.Even if you fail you do not get frustration.Not getting frustrated on trivial or even major failures is the first step towards success.My way of mediation is sitting alone with empty stomach in the morning with total disasscoaition from worldy noise.

Government Working

It is nice to be in touch with your followers.The blog is working like a friend.I have not shared with you since long ,.Lot of things have happened in my life.It is good some of your friend remind you about blogging.

It is a normal belief that the people in government are a 'Typcial' lot .No passion no desire except pay and holidays.No ambition .Top of it highly corrupt and expecting 'Service charge" for whatever work he does [if at all he do].I am so happy that the same is not true with me.In the environ I am working,I find a corporate culture wherein the boss is so much passionate for work that at times people could not keep pace with her speed and dyanmism.One of my colleague gets upset on off days.Payments to vendors are strcitly adhered to within the time frame.The team is always poised for challanges.

Should I say the wave of change has started?.

Anti Tobacco Day

It was nice becoming a judge for evaluating an Ad Copy drafted by the employees of ONE Advertising Ahmedabad.The concept of encouraging participation dates back to the days of the birth of Principles of Management.Of course very few really implement it.The theme Anti Tobacco day was really interesting.I made the evaluation sound scientific. The message of Tobacco being a weapon of Mass destruction touched me after the furore created by the than dictator of Iraq Mr.Saddam Hussesin possessing those bilogical weapons.