‘Be the change you wish to see in the world.’ This is one of the Mahatma Gandhi’s famous quotes. Throughout my over 30 years involvement with operations, this quote was used through each passage of mentoring prot é g é s, not just for the prot é g é but for myself as well. I would analyze the above quote with the prot é g é at the start of the grooming process.

First, mentoring prot é g é s is a partnership. Taking the word ‘change’, the mentor must accept the fact that there is no such thing as ‘seamless’ transition. The change in leadership of the organization or part of the organization, no matter how big or small, is an executed change process. It is often said that mentoring is difficult. I would like to add that letting-go is equally, if not more, difficult.

Based on Gandhi’s statement, the mentoring process terminates once the new leader takes over. Thus, the status quo will no longer exist. The organization will run along the lines as the new leader sees appropriate. This is often the result of a positive relationship where during the mentoring process the prot é g é was encouraged to innovate. This is particularly true where the prot é g é was a much younger person and the mentor was open to new ideas.

I often take the mentoring process as an opportunity to evaluate existing processes from the perspectives of character, form and design. I find the 7S framework which covers from strategy to structure and systems; from staff to skills and style, a useful tool for such an organizational audit. The six peripheral dimensions of the framework all point back to the central shared values of the organization thus ensuring the prot é g é innovate from the old fault-lines, if any, or develop new processes without losing sight of the organization’s, mission, vision and objective.

Second, mentoring is not cloning. We live in a world of constant change. We cannot progress if we continually look back to old strategies and pine on old successes. Thus, both the mentor and the prot é g é must look at the world through current lenses with the future in anticipation. In an environment where collective decision-making is necessary, it is important to evaluate the mindsets of the team members.

If the composition of the panel has not changed year after year with no renewal, the prot é g é will face an uphill battle to breathe new life into the organization. In such a situation, the degree of success in mentoring is likened to degrees of similarities as in cloning. If this is what the organization wants, the question here is how will it sustain in the face of threats from the external environment. Has the prot é g é been prepared to manage the organization to meet these new risks and challenges of the new millennium?

Third, the prot é g é must justify and conduct a self-evaluation for each of the processes he innovated, amended or retained. Like the president of a political party, he must ask the question, ‘Is this what the ordinary party member wants?’ Perhaps, the party members may wish to conduct an audit to find out the tenure of each of the division or branch heads and those hundreds of central committee members. How much more longer does each of them wish to remain in his/her position? How will the party benefit by each of their continued existence?

Throughout the process of grooming, the mentor would have reconfirmed his/her choice of candidate and gained sufficient confidence in the potential leader before letting-go. Mentors who are quick to criticize or chide their own prot é g é s may perhaps need to ask themselves, ‘how much was I prepared to let go?’

For myself, I left behind checklists of unfinished tasks complete with cupboards full of my work for the new leader. I will not be available to comment nor criticize my own creation.