Aparna Ranadive
Founder, Gateway to India
Aparna has served as a HR Leader with brands such as Sony, Sahara group in a career spanning 25 years. She worked in varied industry sectors and currently leads a strategic consulting...
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Meet the mentor
TALK SHOW VIDEOS
Tricky Workplace Situation Handled
- 1. In this case, you would have lost the whole equation. If the mentee is a bully or otherwise difficult and you run away, chances are the behaviour will keep repeating and the mentee will no longer have any respect nor feel that s/he is contributing to their life in anyway. This is never an option. 2. An eye for an eye, only makes the world blind. It increases chaos, noise and no conclusion is reached nor is there an environment that can be conducive for anything developnmental. 3. The best way to be. Maintain decorum, balance, and the right balance for a healthy and mutually benefitting environment. 4. Not healthy, as the emotions would be real. By neutralizing them one is simply pushing the problem under the carpet and the anger / frustration if at all / or the neutralised emotions will raise their head in some other place.
- This skill is about helping a colleague or a team mate come up to the same level, or giving a helping hand when s/he needs it. The example to give would be that of a relay race, wherein unless the player runs alongside the other player, who has already picked up some speed and hands over the baton to the other, the game cannot go on. Besides the success of the entire race, depends on each ones capability, speed and accuracy in judgement. However, if one is slower the other needs to adjust and make up in a manner where the lack of skill is compensated for and the player is also pulled up ahead in terms of his/ her own competence.
- One understands the exact issue correctly, is able to place it in context and hence offer a perspective. The mentee feels valued in the relationship and looks forward to have a more respectful relationship knowing s/he will only stand to gain and learn. More confidence in the mentor.
- I would feel rather reassured, knowing that my mentor understands my issue and is willing to help me overcome my shortcoming. In the previous scenario, there was complete apathy toward what the mentee had experienced and was feeling or going through, or the fact that she would have wanted to simply vent out. That can be very frustrating to top the feeling that the mentor may not be able to offer any valuable advice/ guidance since she has not understood the main issue. That was not the case in the second scenario, and the mentor ticked all the boxes necessary for a healthy and value adding mentor-mentee relationship.
- Absolutely unheard, even more dejected, and quite dissatisfied and unhappy.
- When the focus is put on the collective strengths of the teams, it tends to overcome individual shortcomings. This is a conducive environment for growth and innovation.
- Patient, and powerful listening skills, ability to correlate the experience to some of my own in the past and hence the relation, compassion, articulation of thoughts, ideas and views
- It will help build confidence in the mentee, I will be able to understand deeper about what the objective of the mentee is and the specific need, More value addition to the relationship
- I have always mentored my team members, whether officially or unofficially. The fact that some of the people I have mentored still come back to me expressing their happiness and value that was added to their life, with the mentoring, in itself is proof to show that the mentoring benefited teams. I would in turn ask the mentee to pick on someone in their circle who could do with this help. As we go along I would make the mentee share experience about what s/he did or can be done and how it should be done. Something like this is a skill that needs to be shown and shared.. it cannot be taught by just books or teachings. Showing will be far more effective.
- The best example of coaching would be in the field of sport where players are coached to better their performance and game, and become experts. Mentoring on the other hand is more developmental. While both are interchangeably used, mentoring can be taught giving examples from history or business life, where one professional grew as a result of being mentored by another senior one.
- I have always worked with people, including mentees from varied cultural backgrounds. Apart from the language barrier, in some cases, there was never any issue.
- Same as above
- As a teacher, it is important to ensure that everyone feels included and participating and contributing. I would encourage the student to contribute equally and as passionately, and also work alongside to ensure that s/he does not fall behind and gets the requisite help needed to ace the competition and win the prize.
- Spending time with all sudents from different cultures to understand the culture better, as well as get an insight into the nuances, so that one can learn from the differences thus showing the team that you are as interested to learn about them and their cultures.
- I have worked with colleagues from varied cultural backgrounds, ethnicity as well as countries. Right from my school and college days, I have grown up and always worked in a multicultural environment, and understand the nuances involved. I have also worked with people who bring in gender diversity as well as physical and mental disabilities. As an HR professional, a complete blend of inclusiveness in all it's ways, only added to the richness of experience
- Non Assertiveness as a trait has some deep seated reasons. It therefore needs to be handled with sensibility and sensitiveness. For a mentee who is non assertive, one needs to identify and show the areas where s/he has been non assertive, and what an assertive response could have been as well as digging a bit deeper to identify the reason for the non assertiveness. It will also help to ask what would be the choice that the mentee would have exercised in regular circumstances and showing her / him what the best way forward could be, and an ongoing behaviour modification training/ lesson/counselling would help.
- This skill seems to be managing and maintaining the balance between task and people.. The most creative example would be to share the experience of an Armed forces officer. Unless and until s/he understands his / her people and their shortcomings and strengths, and also develops a bond with them whereby not only do they abide by the order but love him/ her equally to risk their life on his command, s/he cannot be a successful officer. s/he has to maintain that thin line balance between task and people and help his teams achieve what they set out, not just by delegating work, but by giving clear instructions, helping along the way, if required and also managing people. It's only then that the team works like a well oiled machinery and functions effectively
