Often, proximity to the problem makes it harder to see what is apparent. In such cases, having an outsider look at the problem gives one a perspective that one may not have.
We have been working with founders and business leaders for the last decade and a half and in this time we have been able to help businesses with various challenges they face.
Mentoring is the best way to support business leaders by providing them an ear and facilitating them to see the “here and now”. It provides them the space to look at things in a non-critical manner while at the same time focusing on their performance and the gaps that exist.
Mentoring can also be useful to optimise and increase productivity. It does not have to be a tool that one utilises only when something is amiss. You can opt for coaching even when things are great and you wish to leap to the next level in your venture.
Methodology
There are two broad areas in which mentoring plays a role in supporting your growth and acceleration.
Functional Knowledge
Mentors can help you identify functional ideas such as statistics, design, system analysis, etc, to see your own business in a different light.
These concepts and skills may be something that you already know but have not been using in your daily business execution. A mentor can bring to light the value it can add and the advantages that it can highlight
Strategy
Mentors come with experience and have seen multiple industries and verticals. In our case, we pride ourselves on the fact that our mentors have worked in more than 10 industries and have worked in every area of business – finance, marketing, HR, operations and sales. This makes it possible for them to provide you with strategic input about the approach you are taking to grow your business no matter which stage you are at.
You will get diverse strategies
Evaluation
There is constant evaluation of the direction of the company that needs to take place in order to make sure that everything is headed in the right direction.
Mentors provide you with an opportunity to evaluate yourself. As founders, the buck stops with you. Unless you have investors, you are not answerable to anyone. A mentoring session can force you to assess yourself and make course corrections.
Our Approach
Typically our engagement is with founders who work with us in finding the best way for their organisations to grow in a sustainable way to deliver the best output.
The engagement is structured at 2 to 3 sessions a month where we dive into every aspect of the business where the founder is facing a challenge and look at the segment from a distance and also in-depth to understand the challenges from the standpoint of structure as well as processes.
We also work with teams within the organisation to help them understand various facets of the business and also to help put together processes that work for the organisation and help the organisation grow more robustly and efficiently.
When organisations face an issue with specific functions that are causing problems with the smooth operation of the company, we come in to both diagnose and design potential solutions that can be adopted to fix the problems. The engagement often involves developing processes for the organisation that would minimise friction in the system and standardise operating principles.
Importance
Mentoring provides clients with a means to improve their effectiveness and performance and help them achieve their full potential.
It can provide an environment where the leader can speak freely without worrying about the repercussions of issues. It helps identify solutions that may exist within the organisations that have been overlooked. It also forces the leader to look at the here and now instead of dwelling on the future constantly.