Vivian Stoffels UKUNUKA Educational Trust ENDURANCE OR PERSEVERANCE AND PATIENCE by Mentor Vivian Stoffels Given the role that we play as Mentors and Mentees, I thought that I would say something about Endurance or Perseverance and Patience The dictionary defines perseverance as “steady persistence in adhering to a course of action, a belief, or a purpose.” It defines endurance as the idea of continuing under resistance or adversities, to carry on in spite of. Endurance is “the state or act of persevering. Patience refers to the quality of enduring, hardship, provocation, annoyance and the willingness to tolerate delay. It further refers to Patience with people and the endurance or perseverance with conditions, circumstances, and purposes. With this in mind: The Mentorship program within the NYDA is a vital part of its mission because it provides leadership and guidance for our young aspiring entrepreneurs ………..... with may I say. Endurance or Perseverance and Patience. Mentors provide that bridge from the successes and the knowledge gained from their own failures of the past. Most successful business people will tell you they have had a Mentor or two — in some cases, even a network of Mentors. To quote — John Donne, a 17th century English poet and cleric, "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main” You may be able to do things on your own ………, but why? The advice and guidance of others is extremely important in helping to shape character, and knowledge. Mentors can provide guidance in all areas of your life. In fact any area of your life that provides an opportunity for growth can benefit from Mentorship. A Mentor, provides two primary areas of benefit. First off, there’s a sense of satisfaction in being able to help someone else in his or her career. Also, you can personally benefit from the introspection that’s part of the process. A popular saying goes, “The best way to learn is to teach.” Sometimes, sitting down and discussing challenges and solutions with someone else can provide you with an insight about how to handle yourself in a new way, further maturing your own character. The Mentee Mentees are responsible for devoting their time to the Mentoring relationship with on-going interaction with the Mentor. Face-to-face communication is critical to the success of the Mentoring program. Mentees are encouraged to: Work with Mentors to establish a schedule of regular meetings To ask questions and discuss issues openly Arrive promptly to all appointments Share information and ideas Continuously seek feedback in order to understand and clarify issues or questions Listen non-defensively, expecting and accepting open and constructive ideas for change Take the initiative to make things happen Keep the Mentor informed of progress/difficulties In essence, a Mentor should be: Someone to help refine your ideas into practice. Sometimes ideas are raw and will need refinement to implement Your Mentor would have a vast knowledge of almost every aspect of business and what makes them work effectively Your Mentor should be someone that has a wealth of ideas to grow your business. Especially when you've just 'run out of ideas' on how to sell your products and services Your Mentor should be someone that has the contacts that you need and who knows where to find information Your mentor should be someone on the outside, looking in. After a while, you find that you don't see the business with the same clarity that you used to. Like living next to a busy road; after a while you don't hear the traffic. Your mentor is there to take a fresh look at you and your business. Business today is a race for productivity and uniqueness. Many new business owners try forcing a path through the thick undergrowth of 'trial and error', 'traditional' thinking and 'lack of information'; exhausting themselves far short of their finish line. The Mentor has run the race before you, creating an excellent freeway of knowledge and experience. They've "been there, done that". Their role is to share with you lessons from their experience in the hope that you can learn them a bit more quickly and easily. Your Mentor has no ulterior motive — no service or product to sell you. That combined with their experience creates a good foundation for trust. The rewards are many, and the risk is non-existent. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by finding a good Mentor. Every entrepreneur should have one. I feel that our mainstream corporate community has neglected mentorship; Not enough CEO’s. MD/s and top management take the time to pursue or take on the calling to become Mentors. The corporate industry could, and should, provide more opportunities for Mentorship and connecting young entrepreneurs with more seasoned ones. However the process also relies on you ……….. The Mentee. You the Mentee must take the initiative to find people whom you look up to, or whose experiences you value, and ask them if they would advise you and Mentor you. Mentorship does not have to be a formal relationship; it can simply be a lunch, or coffee with someone to bounce off your ideas or problem areas. Why did I become a Mentor? Mentoring gave me the extraordinary opportunity to facilitate a Mentees professional growth by sharing knowledge I learned through years of experience. While the primary intent of my Mentoring was to challenge the Mentee to think in new and different ways, the Mentee was not the only one who gained from the arrangement. As a Mentor, I benefited as well. It was a way of giving back to a new emerging society at large. And Mentoring also works in both directions — we learn about new ideas just as Mentees learn from us …….. Why become a Mentor? Small Business is a vital function of any economy and needs to be nurtured. The experience you gain by Mentoring someone can facilitate your own professional growth. Mentoring allows you to strengthen your coaching and leadership skills by working with individuals from different backgrounds and with different personality types. As a Mentor you can help bridge the gap between generations that have varying workplace values and styles. It strengthens your ability to manage people different from yourself, which is a valuable skill, especially as our society continues to grow more diverse. Your role as a Mentor can contribute to the success of our entire economy by playing your part and creating successful entrepreneurs who in turn create the badly needed jobs in SA. Mentoring brings us together – across generation, class, and often race – in a manner that forces us to acknowledge our interdependence, to appreciate, ‘we are caught in an inescapable network of support, tied to a single goal’. In Mentoring, it enables us to participate in the essential but unfinished drama of reinventing a community, while reaffirming that there is an important role for each of us by becoming a Mentor, you create a legacy that will have a lasting impact on your Mentee. Not only will you gain the satisfaction of helping to develop future entrepreneurs’ talent, the knowledge you foster in your protégé can inspire new ideas for generations to come. In closing …….. Through Mentoring, you can help carry on your own legacy by passing on your knowledge and experience. Without Mentoring, our mission to create a new level of an informed economy - and new generation of success and wealth is lost. Mentoring can be a truly rewarding experience. So can being Mentored - and this comes with Endurance or Perseverance and Patience. Print Top