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Mentoring at its best by Clive Simpkins

Mentoring at its best

A daunting challenge facing South Africa at present is the creation of employment. This requires people with either qualifications or capability to be drawn into the economically active sector. Most important of all, it requires a commitment from as many skilled South Africans as possible, to mentor other people without expectation of a return. How do you develop people capable of eclectic, creative, visionary and usable thinking?

The first challenge is that qualifications are not the same as capability. A certificate or university degree will theoretically testify to someone’s ability to think at a certain level. Example: Kwame, the highly personable, formally well-educated young black man in Donald Trump’s ‘The Apprentice’ TV series, was pipped at the post by a seat-of-the-pants entrepreneurial young man who could make up the script as he went along. Even though Kwame was American educated, he typified a certain element in South African business today. He was described by Trump’s insightful female marketing guru as a ‘text book man.’ There can be no greater curse. If it was between the pages of a marketing manual, or in a Harvard Business Review article, or in an MBA case-study or syndicate discussion, then it will be applied almost to the letter. But the ability to round-trip that information, compare it to a host of other scenarios and come up with a creative leap that can be applied to a fluid or volatile marketing demand, is another kind of ability altogether. It’s a talent which develops with rare exceptions, only from being joined at the hip of a genuine mentor.

Not all mentors are genuine. I have experience of some in South Africa’s multinationals who claim employment equity (EE) commitment. They’re hellishly good talkers, but backstage, are racists of note. Their stock modus operandi is to ‘set up’ young black executives in their company, and then systematically erode their status and self-esteem through a series of subtle but denigrating ‘failure’ experiences. At the end of which the pseudo-mentor probably sits back and says, “See, I told you ‘they’ wouldn’t be up to it.” This isn’t a theoretical scenario. The HR director of one of these companies had a literal tantrum in his office when I accused his executive of complicity and culpability in this conspiracy-to-fail. In paraphrased Shakespearean terms I fear he protested too much. There were other creepies in their woodwork too. Like dictating to staff how they would complete certain assessment forms so the company would garner specific awards - nauseating and disgracefully dishonest. But they make a killing, in literal and metaphoric terms whilst their black talent revolving door spins apace.

Anglo American Corporation quietly understood the process many years back. They created the position of ‘executive assistant.’ You were joined at the hip with one of the luminaries in the organization. Perfectly implemented, such a mentoring becomes (excluding lala-time as we say in Zulu) a 24x7 exercise.

Not only should that young person be with you every business minute – regardless of the confidentiality of the situation, they should go with you to clients, be there when you negotiate, be there when you assist a staffer in crisis, be there when you hire or fire someone. They should go to business luncheons, be taught the finer points of globally acceptable business and social etiquette, be exposed to the vagaries of cultural differences. They should go to the theatre and movies with you. They should learn to play golf or squash or some other ‘networking’ orientated sport. They should be sponsored to join a country club so they get to understand how an old-boys or girls network operates. They should be made to read voraciously outside of their specific career interest so they become interesting conversationalists. They need to travel, to see and experience how the proverbial ‘other half’ lives.

The genuine mentor is she or he who will allow the one being mentored to suffer if necessary if that’s the quick route to the learning. People never truly learn from just theory and intellectual input. They learn experientially. Teach them to be utterly and completely honest. Explain the simple distinction between diplomacy and truth. If you’re in the office and the person says ‘She’s away at a conference today’ that’s a blatant lie. The simple and truthful answer is, ‘She’s unfortunately not available at present. May I take a message?’ Got it? There are no white lies. They’re lies. If you wish to mentor well, leave behind a legacy in which your protégé is committed passionately to a moral and ethical path personally and professionally. You will contribute not only to your company and the community but to the planet.

A final thought for the one being mentored: Please don’t compete with your mentor. If they’re genuine they’re seeking to have you grow beyond where they are. Appropriate humility and receptivity are essential prerequisites, if you’re to benefit.

Author Info:

Clive is a marketing and communications strategist and published book author. His speciality is facilitating sustainable change in individuals and organizations. Website: www.imbizo.com

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