Mrs Jasmine Adaickalam : YSS Service Director

In current times the subject of leadership is not only a well-trodden subject but also a much-stampeded subject. It has given birth to many gurus and mahagurus and even mega gurus on the subject. There is tons of material available on this topic. People do not mind paying a lot of money to be trained in leadership. Even after all these if the principles are not practised there isn’t going to be any transformation in the community. Training of any kind without a value base will just be a mental robotic exercise rather than human moulding experience. For the potential equation should be,

Human being + Training/Education = Better Human Being
OR
Human Being + Training/Education = Human Being + Competencies + Human Values

Who is a leader? What do we mean when we say be a mentoring leader? This is the irony. The word ‘leader’ simply means a person who leads followers. In other words one cannot be leader without followers. In a case of a mentoring leader the followers not only follow what he/she says but also closely follow their actions and life style. This is what differentiates a mentoring leader from just being a leader. Community needs such type of mentoring leaders. This is where the leaders live just not to be human sayings or human doings but human beings. Just by seeing them, and by being with them, not alone by hearing them followers become their disciples.

Where does this word, ‘mentor’ originate from? In the Greek epics there is a story about the Trojan hero called, ‘Ulysses.’ Here this well-acclaimed hero could not prohibit himself from the incessant urge of his exploring nature. During his explorative voyages he wanted his son Telemachus to be under a good guidance. He entrusted him to the care of one of his very able and wise friends called Mentor. According to the story the Greek goddess Athena took the form of Mentor and gave valuable guidance and counsel to Telemachus. Now the name of the able and wise friend of Ulysses and the guru of Telemachus has become an accepted word in the English language with a lower cap.

Indians are no strangers to this concept of mentoring leadership. In the ancient days guru – sishya relationship or in the master teacher and disciple relationship we see this concept of mentoring. Here we see the disciple living with his master and learns the skills and values. We see this concept prevalent in many of the major religions if not in all religious practices. Where does this mentoring leadership lead? We can put it in another simple equation and that is,

Mentoring Leader = Leader + His (Being + Saying + Doing)

Even when one of the three aspects is missing from the equation, it becomes a wrong calculation that has implication for future leadership.

What does a disciple, a mentee or a protégé needs to receive from a mentor? A life by example should be the answer. It is not so much comfort they look for but how to cope with discomforts as challenges. It is not always consent from the mentors but real hard challenges that can make them tenacious. It is not cocooned learning they look for but a real first hand experience in their capacities being built. They also want to see commitment, conviction, character, competence, conflict management and communicability within them. In other words there is yet another equation and that is,

Mentoring Leadership = Character + Value base + Competence

Let us summarises with Dave Kraft who says a mentor is someone who,

Models what he/she teaches &

Makes a commitment to invest time

Exhorts guides, counsels and listens to the protégé &

Encourages the mentee to set goals and attain them

Nourishes by wisdom &

Nurtures through affirming

Totally commits to transparency in own life &

Teaches to mentor others

Openly confronts the weakness of the mentee &

Offers himself/herself as instruments of God

Realising the importance of multiplying leadership &

Recognises the potential of the learner

In community leadership if we can find such leaders who are mentors, we are able see motivation in the community, mobility in the community and also mobilisation of people which then leads on to multiplying leadership.

(Extracts from the talk given by Mrs Jasmine Adaickalam during the Leadership Forum conducted for women leaders at Trolak Country Resort fro 28-30 November 2003)

(Submitted on 20th December 2003)