Author: Srihari Yamanoor

National Mentoring Month and I am a Mentor Day are here

In the US, January is National Mentoring Month, and January 11th is “I am a mentor day”. I am excited to write this post for this day!

Starting from when I received a lot of mentoring from cherished and loved ones, including my sixth-grade teacher, the Late “Master Williams”, when I didn’t even know what mentoring is, I have really cherished the activity. I continue to seek out mentors and also try to give back myself. If you are on this page reading this, you also appreciate it as much or more than I do!

If you read about how many industries and areas of endeavor in life, ranging from fundamental skills to cooking and the arts evolved, it was all through the art of mentoring. A lot of it was through the model of apprenticeship but has now expanded to other areas.

An Ever Expanding Landscape

Resplendent

The world of mentoring is ever-expanding, ranging from formal models to informal relationships, short-term to long-term, individual to group sessions, and more! And yet, I would venture, we have only begun to scratch the surface. Clearly, not enough people engage in mentorship, on either end of the relationship and that needs to change. People can lead better lives, enjoy enriched careers and become role models themselves creating an enduring chain that makes society all the better. Very briefly, let us discuss this.

Mutual Benefits

One of the pillars of mentoring is that the exchange happens through the lens of past experiences – the gathering of wisdom. While knowledge itself is forever becoming easier and easier to access through the seemingly endless books, videos, and other forms of absorption and dispersal, wisdom comes through experience. Now, one might accidentally assume this is unidirectional, but this would be a mistake for more than one reason.

  1. Personal Growth: Whatever stage of your career you are in, when yourmentees ask you incisive questions and you dig deep to answer those questions and provide them with solutions, suggestions, roadmaps, or ideas, you grow with them. You may then be able to go back to your own work and alter it for the better, you may be able to mentor your own team or other mentees based on the enrichment you experience. You can write blogs, go on podcasts, and write books, the possibilities are nearly endless.
  2. Reverse Mentoring: As a novel concept, reverse mentoring is taking its place in many places from informal to formal career engagements and the board room. Since the very act of mentoring draws from experiences, when one looks at people who come various ages, races, backgrounds and other factors, those experiences can be exchanged. Suddenly, a Gen X-er is able to absorb the way a Gen Z-er sees things. This helps everyone benefit in the workplace, in the boardroom, do a better job at Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and beyond.
  3. Satisfaction and Enrichment: Helping any number of people advance in life or careers through the lens of mentoring helps us gain immense satisfaction and enrichment. This has been true in my case at least. Many of us want to feel useful. What better way to experience this than by lending your wisdom to help someone solve a problem, or complete a body of work, or just through the free exchange of ideas?
  4. A hiring pipeline: Now this might not always be a pathway, but it would work in some cases. The best hires happen through one’s network. In that sense, if you were mentoring people in the early stages of their career, or in the end stages of formative education, a sense of mutual familiarity develops. This can allow one to easily hire team members, with a sense of confidence in their fit and performance, the former being so much more important! But, don’t forget this also works both ways – the mentor themselves can be a candidate at some point, and the mentees may be able to make the right introductions.

So what is holding you back? 

There are a few things that hold many people from mentoring:

  1. “I don’t think I have anything to contribute”: Imposter syndrome and accompanying emotions and beliefs make several folks think they have nothing to offer. On the one hand, this is rarely true, and on the other hand, mentees would be so thrilled to spend time with you. At a minimum, you can match and try. Most of the time I suspect people would be surprised, at how their experience and knowledge are valued by mentees. So once again, give it a try.
  2. Time – There is never enough time. Yes, it is easy to say make time. But difficult as it might be, thinking about all the advantages that we gain, making time is very important. Mentoring doesn’t take a whole lot of time. Most interactions never last more than a few hours a month, if that.
  3. Guidance and Resources: Of course, we can all use a helping hand. Guidance is available in the form of books, articles, blogs, videos, podcasts, and more from an immense number of sources, such as mentoring.org, alumni groups, libraries, and others. Peruse the resources and get going!  Someone out there is expecting your generosity!

References:

  1. Cover Image: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-men-having-conversation-935949/
  2. Persons shaking hands: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-men-shaking-hands-3182831/
  3. Image of branches: https://www.stockvault.net/photo/165258/green-branch
  4. Young and Old Person: https://www.pexels.com/photo/fashion-man-people-woman-8527069/
  5. Image of Cornucopia: https://pixabay.com/photos/cornucopia-fruit-thanksgiving-3719247/
  6. Thinking Lady: https://pixabay.com/photos/african-black-woman-model-profile-5505598/

Sharpening Language Skills through Fiction

You know how you feel you know something in your gut but have a hard time proving it? Underused as they are, I always thought my reading, writing, and editing skills in English have been good and have improved over time. And though I have dabbled in 9 languages with varying degrees of proficiency, Hindi being the next closest in overall proficiency to English, I felt like my skills in the latter arose from the prolonged and varied interest I have had in reading all manners of fiction. I have even tried to read a couple of romance novels and just could not get into the genre.

Essentially, I have read a variety of fiction, and I have tried to dabble past the genres that generally interest me. I always had this gut feeling that fiction is very good at improving language skills. It turns out there is now some evidence that fiction actually does help you learn and be more proficient at a language.

First, the motivations

Most people get to language skills improvement only when it comes time to take standardized tests or write college/graduate school application essays. Even then, people rely rather heavily on study materials, cramming, mnemonics, and such. Some get away with great scores, some with average scores, and some struggle quite a bit. Clearly, it is the wrong time to get started.

Some, like me, spend their childhood consuming fiction voraciously. Mine included Enid Blyton, Dickens, Agatha Christie, Erle Stanley Gardner, Dick Francis, and later P.G. Wodehouse, among several others. Wodehouse is among the best in taking English and bending it into poetic pretzels, which he then stuck into prose. If I started quoting my favorites here, we’d run into a few thousand words, so let’s move on.

So, when it came time to take the GRE and write not just my essays but review those of several others, first my classmates and later several dozens through a non-profit I informally ran, the language just flowed. And I had this nagging feeling that it is a consequence of reading fiction, not non-fiction. I just never dug into doing research of any depth into this particular aspect of erudition and expression.

Non-fiction Vs Fiction

Now, don’t get me wrong. I have co-authored non-fiction books and papers. It is just that, we can all admit, fiction is a LOT more interesting. And it turns out this is true (Research summary article attached below). Even when there is a deep-seated intent to read non-fiction, reading non-fiction will not help improve language skills much.

We also saw this with the Harry Potter series, before J.K. Rowling revealed herself to possess unforgivable biases towards transgender members of society. Children who could not wait to get their hands on the novels were sharpening their language skills at a pace rarely seen around that time.

If you then go back to motivations, to do well in standardized testing, and even in critical non-fiction exercises such as college and graduate school essays, research publications, class work, and beyond, you actually need a healthy dose of both fiction and non-fiction. You especially need to practice the latter.

Going beyond the research

I am writing this more purposefully for people with one or both objectives:

  1. Folks who will clearly depend on study materials, such as SAT and GRE word lists and other such study/test materials.
  2. Folks who need to improve their language skills for reasons that go beyond just tests and study exercises.

Sandwiching Language Study Methods

For the first case, it helps to do a sandwich technique. It is okay to read non-fiction, study word lists, make and peruse flashcards and other study aids.

Then, and this is the critical step. Read fiction. Get into it as much as you can. It is never too late, and nothing is too little. Remember, listening and reading are different in their effects, including with retention. You are better off reading more than listening, though a mix of activities might not be bad. It is also good practice to have a dictionary at hand and understand how authors use words, their sentence structures, and so on. Don’t be shy to note examples, make flashcards and create other study aids that will help you.

Closing the sandwich

Following this, if you revisit your study aids from before, the last portion of your sandwich act, that is, you will have a much better handle on the English language. This can also be especially true with exams such as SAT and GRE, which also have a reading comprehension component to them.  You should also take quizzes and engage in word games, such as those found in Reader’s Digest, Hangman, and any others that you find educational, informative, reinforcing, and, more importantly, entertaining.

Lather, Rinse, Repeat

If you mix your habit of reading non-fiction and going through your study materials with reading fiction, you will have an excellent chance at improving your language skills. Also, mix in listening, watching, and reading, as well, to get the best results. Years ago, when I was preparing for the SAT, the listening section was seen as a bugaboo among test takers. Even though I used to spend a lot of time reading back then, I didn’t spend much time watching or listening to shows, talks, news, etc., in English. I started listening and watching things – mostly movies, haha. In a very short while, I was able to improve my proficiency farther than just reading had taken me. Anecdotal? No. There’s research on that as well, and a general write-up is referenced below.

What about tools such as Grammarly?

Given my penchant for getting things right, I have been heavily using Grammarly, the premium version. There is, of course, a free version you can use as well. That said, I don’t agree with the tool quite a bit, as it is still very poor at understanding context, especially in informal and semi-formal writing such as blog posts. For example, it doesn’t really understand the differences in writing using “chance at” and “chance of”. So, you should screen every single recommendation such a tool makes before implementing the recommendations. Otherwise, you could end up with poor quality writing as a consequence. This principle extends to any and all software tools used for language improvement.

There are many other sources of evidence to support all this. You are more than welcome to dig deep. Pragmatically speaking or writing, and maybe in your case reading, the evidence should be enough to get you going on the path to enhanced language skills.

References:

  1. Reading Fiction to improve language skills: https://theconversation.com/reading-to-improve-language-skills-focus-on-fiction-rather-than-non-fiction-179552
  2. Listening Vs. Reading Fiction: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/friendly-interest/201812/why-listening-book-is-not-the-same-reading-it
  3. Watching: https://theconversation.com/watching-foreign-language-tv-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic-can-help-you-learn-a-new-language-141170
  4. Grammarly: https://app.grammarly.com/
  5. Cover image: https://pixabay.com/photos/typewriter-vintage-old-1248088/
  6. Image of  Bruschetta Sandwich: https://www.pexels.com/photo/appetizing-bruschettas-with-fresh-vegetable-slices-on-plate-4969892/
  7. Dream Big Image: https://unsplash.com/photos/U2eUlPEKIgU
  8. Image of a person washing dishes: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-person-washing-a-white-bowl-in-the-sink-4440618/

Quick Post: Add this to the reading list – What’s the right way to find a mentor!

Introduction: One of my goals for this website is to create a reading/listening/viewing list, along with explanations for the various articles, books, and other items of interest for my mentees, and others who can avail themselves of the opportunities for professional and personal development.

The current recommendation: an article

What’s the Right Way to Find a Mentor? by Janet T. Phan

The Link: https://hbr.org/2021/03/whats-the-right-way-to-find-a-mentor?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=hbr&utm_source=facebook&tpcc=orgsocial_edit

Janet really put a good deal of effort into this excellent article, on the fundamentals of the method of getting to a mentor. She starts off by recalling how she found her own mentor and the ways in which the experience benefitted her.

Then she proceeds to write down how to court potential mentors, including templates for emails and suggestions for follow-ups, and everything in between! I am certainly recommending this article to all my mentees, and to anyone who stumbles across the list!

Going beyond the article: other avenues

Going beyond the article though, remember, that there are other ways to find mentors. Here are a couple:

  1. Your existing mentorship structures – whether you are a student or an alum, recent or not, teachers current and past, though burdened by heavy workloads at times would only be happy to provide mentorship. And, because of the pre-existing relationship(s), you might not hesitate so much in approaching them for advice.
  2. Schools, colleges, and universities at times have more formal mentorship opportunities. You can reach out to such organizations and groups and get matched to a mentor based on your interests.
  3. There are various independent non-profit organizations that provide mentoring opportunities to members. One such example: the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), offers mentoring to its members.
  4. When you work in the corporate world, organizations of varying sizes also offer mentoring pairing opportunities for newer employees and veteran employees.

So, the opportunities to go look for mentors and find them are nearly endless.

Conclusion: Remember, you lose 100% of the chances you never take! All you have to do is reach out and ask! The worst you might hear is a no, or a not now, but with persistence and effort, you will find that special person or group of people who will help you out! Good Luck!

References:

  1. Cover Image: https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-and-white-books-education-facts-433333/
  2. Image of a person presenting to small group: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-beside-flat-screen-television-with-photos-background-716276/
  3. Image of avenue: https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-and-blue-concrete-building-2317956/
  4. Image of checkered flags: https://pixabay.com/vectors/checker-flag-race-checkered-flag-1648337/

On delegation – a fundamental skill for leaders

Leadership is a rather unique string of cheese. Of course, this is perhaps not the place to start the discussion on whether you are born a leader or can be taught how to be one. Let us assume that both are possible. Leaders can still use some lessons or refreshers on the various aspects that compose the whole. And that brings us to delegation.

A rather rare skillset

I do differentiate managers and leaders. That said, both clans if you will, lack delegation skills. There are all manners of delegation issues out there. Few managers/leaders think they have the right delegation skills, and most companies are concerned about delegation skills among their leaders, and yet few, if any, offer training. Read more in references [1] and [2].

Don’t drink and drive, er..

Of course, once there is enough stress on delegation, one may choose to delegate, but if that person is also a micromanager, then the whole thing gets worse. Micromanagers are NOT leaders. They are the scourge of society. And if they simply pretend to delegate, then constantly breathe down the necks of their reports, the consequences can be devastating for teams and entire organizations.

Thus delegation must be done appropriately, taking into account the skills of the team members, the resources handed to them, and most importantly the level of empowerment and guidance they receive.

How do you teach leaders to delegate?

If you read books, listen to podcasts and watch conference presentations, you hear enough about how leaders should learn to delegate. However, that is easier said than done, especially for managers. And nothing can help power-hungry managers who are only interested in lip service. However, there are a few avenues that will teach you skills of delegation.

  1. Military Service

In various branches of service, in well-run militaries across the planet, delegation skills are drilled into service members, pun unintended. That is one of the reasons why, in certain settings, ex-service members make great leaders, as they are able to translate and effectively moderate military discipline into leadership in civilian settings. Of course, this is not an option available to those who do not serve, and not all those who serve turn into effective leaders.

2. Business School

I never went to business school, but I am certain business schools, classes, lectures, and case studies are a good way to learn anything to do with leadership, so clearly this is an avenue. However, we know that reading about something and actually managing to reduce it to practice can be quite different from each other. Plus, it would be a bit challenging to tell someone to go to business school and spend several thousand dollars for the possibility that they might learn about delegation.

3. The school of hard knocks

Almost anything is best learned by doing. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that one of the best ways to learn how to be a good leader can come from consciously and deliberately learning to hire and trust team members, allowing them to take on small and large programs, projects, tasks, and responsibilities. This involves a high level of experimentation, but for the motivated leader, presents immense opportunities.

The best way to get started with ad hoc delegation is to engage in the following:

3.1 Discuss delegation with your team, both in group and individual settings, and gather their inputs, desires, and wishes for guidance and limitations.

3.2 Start with the right amount of delegation. An intern can take on a few tasks, a junior engineer can take on a project and a senior engineer or manager can take on an entire program! Make sure you get their buy-ins before turning things over!

3.3 Keep in touch, but keep trust. If you have done other things well, you have a team that innately wishes to succeed, with members cherishing both individual and group success. Therefore, it is quite possible that they would take delight in the programs, projects, and tasks they have now taken over.

3.4 Fix problems, provide resources and change things up if and when the experiments fail.

3.5 Have closing meetings for programs and projects, check off on tasks, and share learnings with the team to keep things moving into the future.

3.6 Keep talking to your mentors and peers on how they delegate and lead their teams to success.

3.7 This is not a final step, but a guideline. Giving up complete ownership is hard. Very hard. But you have to constantly remind yourself that this is how you get the team to the finish line and create a new generation of leaders. Remember, people tend to imbibe good practices, and when you promote your own team members to lead their own teams, delegation will be that much easier for them, because of you! That should be motivation enough!

4. Starting them young!

When you are training leaders of the future, you might give them their chops as early as possible. I know this from personal experience. When I was 16, my parents decided to start a textiles company at home, in the upstairs unit. This became my first entrepreneurial venture, and my first dip into leadership as well. I hired a supervisor to manage my 40 or so employees, and had her lead the charge, of an almost fully women-driven company, while I simultaneously attended college.

Recently, I had an intern work with me at a prior employer. This intern, is now an engineer in my team. So, when we brought on a highly driven high school intern to the team, I paired the engineer with the intern. I even reminded the engineer how I doled out tasks to him when he was an intern. We have had a smooth sailing journey so far, and I am almost certain the engineer now has a good foundation on delegation, and perhaps so does the high school intern!

Conclusion

Giving up ownership might feel counterintuitive. Not doing so, is in fact counterintuitive. Learn to pass on ownership at the right levels to the right people, follow up with resources and guidelines. Be honest, receive feedback well, learn from your mistakes, and then lather, rinse repeat.

With the appropriate amount of delegation, you will become a true force multiplier!

References:

  1. https://mailchimp.com/courier/article/delegating-work-effectively/#:~:text=An%20often%2Dquoted%20statistic%20from,not%20enough%20people%20do%20well.
  2. https://hbr.org/2012/07/why-arent-you-delegating
  3. Featured Image Credit: https://www.flaticon.com/free-icons/people
  4. Military Icon: https://www.flaticon.com/free-icon/military_2614734?k=1648450681571
  5. School Bus Icon: https://graphicsurf.com/download/2596/
  6. Classroom Icon: https://www.flaticon.com/free-icon/presentation_1064587
  7. Bull’s Eye Icon: https://www.flaticon.com/free-icon/bullseye_124160