With the increasing number of start-ups—which change their complexion very fast—and with increasing job changes and career changes with mergers and acquisitions, the whole concept of steady, long-term mentorship is also undergoing change.
In the past, we would often hear the comment: ‘How did he get so far? He seems to be such a fool’. And the quick response: ‘He’s lucky to have a godfather somewhere’. This would be true in corporations around the world. So, it was not exceptional to have a mentor.
In fact, it would be rare to succeed without having one. A mentor is someone who will take a young person under his umbrella; who will have a feeling of kinship; who will give the corporate equivalent of paternal care.
The executive cub selects a mentor or the mentor selects the cub. It can work either way—although, generally, it may be the latter. This can occur on a one-to-some basis, or a one-to-one relationship. The mentor/ mentee relationship can occur for different reasons—the mentor wants an aide or a following; wants to show gratitude for loyalty; to show partiality to someone from his family or community; or perhaps, he is just looking for a prospective son-in-law!
I remember the first batch of two management trainees in Glaxo India in the early-1960s were under the special charge of the finance director Mr Ghandi. In most companies, trainees were under the care of the personnel department but not in Glaxo, perhaps because he had mooted the idea, and it was his special interest to groom trainees. Whether the trainee was posted in sales or production or anywhere else, he reported to Mr Ghandi, who kept in regular touch. It was a purely professional mentor-cub relationship, on a one-to-one basis.
In another company, Roy, the bright young marketing manager in India, was promoted and transferred to Indonesia as general manager. He had many strong qualities and some noticeable weaknesses. One of these was that he had strong likes and dislikes. He would do anything for those he liked. In return, he asked for undivided loyalty.
And when this big break came to this 35-year-old stud from the executive stables, Roy could not resist the temptation to reward those who had accepted him as their undisputed leader. He became a mentor— one-to-some. He goaded the management in India to allow him to take three of his mentees with him to Jakarta: a marketing services manager, a sales promotion manager and a design artist. The staff in Indonesia was not very enthusiastic about this move. The influx was resented.
Over a period of time, the level of cooperation of the local staff reached so low that it showed in the results every quarter. Finally, after just three years, the general manager was replaced, and the cubs had to go with the mentor.
The one-to-some relationship based on favouritism did not work and did damage to the mentor and those who had sought shelter under his umbrella!
There was Robin, the chief executive officer (CEO), who was seeped in the customs of his people, with a very soft corner for them in his heart. Even in cosmopolitan Bombay, he remained essentially parochial. So, when he had a vacancy for a marketing manager and he advertised, he selected someone who was least suited for the assignment but came from his part of the country.
Tom was a Master’s in statistics, who had worked in the market research department, and with no marketing experience. Against his better judgement, and that of others whom he generally consulted, Robin went ahead with the appointment. For the next three years, Tom became Robin’s alter ego. Robin was the mentor; Tom was the cub, who could do no wrong!
He was the son that Robin had wanted but never had. Tom made rapid progress up the executive path—a one-to-one mentor-cub relationship that was unprofessional and did considerable damage to the general morale among all other company executives.
Or it may have nothing to do with kinsmanship. It could just be old loyalties.
When Sam was general manager of a large pesticide company, he had nurtured Anil as his cub. He had begun as an executive assistant and, over seven years, moved into the grade of deputy general manager. When Sam resigned to become managing director of a large firm, he took Anil with him soon after, to become general manager of one of the company’s subsidiaries.
Some years later, when Sam became chairman, Anil moved in smoothly as his successor—many other senior, and perhaps more deserving claimants, notwithstanding!
Very few can really succeed right to the top, without a mentor. Doing it alone is doubly difficult. It becomes a daunting and formidable task. However, the brilliance of the cub is to ensure that he hitches his wagon to the right star—the star that is shooting upwards and forwards. Also, that he chooses a star who will not perceive him as a threat to himself.
Such a hitch should not cause problems with one’s own immediate boss with a conflict of interest and objectives. It is important that the tie-up is not so evident and die-cast that, with the mentor leaving the organisation, the cub will be left bereft and bereaved. The cub should be able to go on. Finally, the cub should get the mentor to want to take him under his umbrella, because he can also be useful to the mentor.
It is best that the mentor-cub relationship is based on a foundation of mutual professional benefits, than any other consideration of family, community, and old-school ties. But this is an ideal situation—it may not always be possible.
After taking all these factors into account, you just have to go ahead with finding a mentor, without worrying too much about what may go wrong!
(Abstracts from the book Winning Manger by Walter Vieira)
(Walter Vieira is a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants of India- FIMC. He was a successful corporate executive for 14 years and then pioneered marketing consulting in India in 1975. As a consultant, he has worked across four continents. He was the first Asian elected Chairman of ICMCI, the world apex body of 45 countries. He is the author of 16 books, a business columnist and has been visiting professor in Marketing in the US, Europe, and Asia for over 40 years. His latest books are ‘Marketing in a Digital/Data World’ with Brian Almeida and ‘Customer Value Starvation Can Kill’ with Gautam Mahajan. He now spends most of his time on NGO work and is presently Chairman, Consumer Education and Research Society, India)
