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Early Mentorship – lay the foundation right and start mentoring early

by Manvi Pant

“Even though we have eyes, we will not be able to see anything without the help of the Sun and we will be as blind as ever.” – The Bhāgavata Purāṇa, 11th Skandha, Page 470.

The quote above is from one of the eighteen great ‘Puranas’ (Hindu texts) dated back to 16th- to 19th-century, whereby Lord Shri Krishna (The Guru or Mentor) is giving guidance to his favorite śiṣya (disciple)/mentee Uddhava. Over here, a ‘Mentor’ is being acknowledged as the ‘Sun’. This brings me to an understanding that the practice of ‘Mentoring’ is not new, it’s been present and diligently followed since ages.

According to American Psychological Association (APA), “A mentor is an individual with expertise who can help develop the career of a mentee. A mentor has two primary functions for the mentee. The career-related function establishes the mentor as a coach who provides advice to enhance the mentee’s professional performance and development. The psychosocial function establishes the mentor as a role model and support system for the mentee.” From a career standpoint, a mentor performs the role of a coach. It helps define a career path for its mentees, gives a definite shape to their goals, it fosters within them a sense of accountability, builds their skills and competencies, gradually making them a perfect fit for a professional environment. The approach is goal-focused and performance-oriented. However, from a psychosocial standpoint, a mentor plays the role of an anchor reinstating the mentee’s inner confidence, emotional stability, giving them more power over themselves, letting go of their anxieties and most importantly helping them find their ‘inner voice’.

The need for mentoring arises right from an age from when we gain our basic understanding of human emotions, when we are fragile, clueless, lack direction and are susceptible to any sort of distractions. Early Mentoring signifies early care, an early response to a child’s calling. When we talk about ‘Mentoring’ or the term ‘Mentor’, we strongly align both the terms with a sort of a specific corporate setting but in fact, from a broader spectrum, researchers have referred to mentoring as the oldest form of teaching (Bell, 2002; Cole, 2004; Johnson & Ridley, 2004; Stone, 2004). A mentor is a difference-maker and anyone who has the ability to see, embrace and uplift someone’s highest potential without any intention to mislead can be a mentor. Quoting from my own experience - I remember as a kid, in my formative years, my mother used to often ask me, “What do you think? Shall we do it your way or my way?” and happily we used to try both. Her confusion wasn’t because she did not know how to do a particular thing but in a way she was helping me develop my own rationality by gently caressing my inner confidence. Parents are our first mentors and parenting is the most natural and unintentional form of early mentoring. We don’t ask or wait for it, it’s rather bestowed upon us. According to a study by (Dawson & Ashman, 2000), early parent-child relationships have powerful effects on children’s emotional well-being, their basic coping and problem-solving abilities, and future capacity for relationships (Lerner & Castellino, 2002). It’s always your parents who first ask you, “Hey, do you want to try this?” The transformative power of early mentoring emanates naturally with right parenting. We achieve success much later, we attain the ability to perform much before. The moment a child is born, it is subjected to all sorts of judgments based on its gender, color, caste, community or status. Amidst all judgments, that child’s ability to perform largely depends on how it receives its early mentoring. »

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