Making the most of a mentor
According to Greek mythology, Odysseus appointed Mentor to look after his son, Telemachos. This ancient story has led to the term mentor, and the rising prevalence of the practice. But what is a mentor’s role? And how do we separate the good from the bad?
The mentor’s role
Attie Lotz and Justin Zondagh entered the programme with an idea for a financial affordability modelling platform. They describe a mentor as “a sounding board, a connector, and someone with experience who can provide advice.” Their mentor, says Lotz “completely ripped our business model apart. He was brutally honest, but it was refreshing to be shaken up like that. It forced us to write down what was in our heads.”
Honesty is a central theme for both mentors and mentees, says Matsi Modise, Managing Director of SiMODiSA: “Mentors should be honest knowledgeable, experienced, patient, accommodating, approachable, objective and fair. Mentees should act with the same honesty. At the same time, they should also be flexible, inquisitive, open to constructive inputs and respectful.”
This could be a destructive process, if the chemistry between mentor and mentee is off-centre, says Gys Kappers, the team’s mentor: “If the personalities don’t work together, it’s a non-starter.” He defines a mentor as “someone with sector-specific or general business experience who has also travelled the entrepreneurial route.” With his father, Kappers had built up a successful concrete masonry business, which, when sold, employed 600 people and produced well over half a million tons of concrete every year. He is currently the founder of Wyzetalk, an enterprise social network and workforce engagement company.
What not to do
Modise also refers to the chemistry between mentor and mentee, saying “The relationship doesn’t work if either or both parties are not respectful of people’s time and inputs. If mentor or mentee are too self-important, lack focus or experience, then the process will not work.”
Chemistry is not the only factor that could damage a relationship between mentor and mentee. Writing in an article titled Discovering the riches in mentor connections in Reflections on Nursing Leadership Magazine (2000), the researcher Vance describes the behaviours that could derail the mentoring process: judgmental attitudes; grabbing the wheel and overtaking decision-making; dropping ideas; or posing as a false expert by, for example offering advice on a technology platform that is not the mentor’s area of expertise.
Structured listening
The mentor-mentee relationship could be formal, informal or a combination of the two. But, say Lotz and Zondagh, the key is that the mentor is able to provide an unbiased guiding hand. In this, listening is critical. “A mentor needs to listen to what I’m saying without being influenced by their own preconceived ideas. And the mentee needs to listen in the same way. We learned how to listen intuitively,” says Lotz. Kappers agrees with this: “Both need to really listen to each other. The mentor needs to be able to ask pointed questions about the problem that the entrepreneur needs to solve. You’re the itch they need to scratch.”
It’s a difficult journey which requires empathy, but equally important is the ability to have a ‘big-boy’ conversation. Kappers explains: “Candour is necessary, but you need to back up that candour with respect. A mentor cannot have any ego.” Zondagh also suggests that the mentor needs to be “critical in a friendly way, providing constructive feedback, without being instructive. He questions your assumptions, but doesn’t tell you the answer. He guides you towards it.”
The mentor need not be a subject matter expert, but, says Kappers, “they have a duty to understand as much as possible about the sector.” This helps, say Zondagh and Lotz: “The mentor can open doors and make strategic introductions to others.”
Strategic pivots
During the incubation and mentoring process, Lotz and Zondagh realised that the market simply didn’t want their initial idea. Rather, it wanted something that didn’t resonate with the founders’ personal values. They decided to terminate the concept and instead pivoted to another idea. They returned to one of their earlier ideas — Agri Apps, which involves hardware and software solutions that help farmers improve their profitability.
Both founders agreed that they had learned a lot throughout the incubation process. In contrast to their pivot away from their original idea, Agri Apps has followed a more successful path. In a local pitching competition, they won tickets to Slush, Europe’s leading start-up event, in Helsinki. They were the only African team to pitch.
While they are still in touch with Kappers, they are currently actively seeking others to participate in their advisory board. This in itself is part of their own business and personal evolution, in which the team understands what they are seeking in a business advisor.
We explore the role of advisory boards in future articles in this newsletter series.
Making the most of a mentor: key insights
What to look for in a mentor?
- Competence
- Availability
- Enthusiasm
- Communication
What to look for in a mentee?
- Initiative
- Commitment
- Listening
- Consideration
What detracts from the relationship?
- Judgment
- Overtaking decisions
- False expertise
- Ego
