“Teaching how to fish is better than providing fish” that’s the basic mantra of mentorship.
The word “mentor” comes from “the Odysseus”, written by the Greek poet, Homer.
As Odysseus is preparing to go fight the Trojan War, he realizes he is leaving his only heir, Telemachus. Since Telemachus is still a child, and since wars tended to drag on for years,
Odyssey recognizes that he needs to be coached on how to be king while Daddy is off fighting.
He hires a trusted family friend named Mentor to be Telemachus’ tutor. Mentor is wise & sensitive.
He gives the mentee a chance to explore themselves by way of getting advice and feedback from the mentor. The mentor is one who never gives a direct solution but pushes someone to a bag full of solutions. They never give a ready-made serving but believe in self-service system.
I did my internship in a reputed Leather Export House based in Chennai (in Design & Merchandise Department) under the mentorship of General-manager of the factory in year-2010. When I joined the factory as an internee with full of fear & excitement in me it was the mentorship only which made me comfortable. It gave me sense to understand the environment in which I was trying to thrive in.
On my first day the mentor gave me a parental touch which helped me suggest to him a particular designing solution in sampling department order which later on got converted in to an international consignment. It was like to giving a good shot on the first ball itself not by coaching but by sheer motivation of my mentor. Why this happened not because I was very intelligent and prompt but I was given the chance, the authority, the trust, the space required and the parental touch which motivated me one way or another.
I was new to professional life & factory environment was completely new to me.I had never seen 5oo workers working under one roof in different divisions but for one goal .
But it was the mentoring only which tuned me to the treble and bass of production floor. I was given the full freedom and support to utilise all the resources in the factory from raw material procurement to workers support.
The role of any mentor is like a gardener in the orchid. It is he/she who gives us a chance to bloom and blossom in a harsh-odd environment. The whole credit goes to them for our success in an organisation. They create a niche for us to thrive in the odd times by way of exploration and self-help.