Meera Chakravarthy and Ruth Wambui Wagatua
Mentorship is a two-way street. It is a dialogue led through the exchange and continuous refinement of ideas through which the mentor learns just as much from the mentee. Strong mentors listen and provide perspective on both professional and personal growth based on each individual mentee’s unique cultural and societal experiences. They embrace and support across countries, disciplines, genders, and perspectives.
But traditional forms of mentorship have not always embraced this approach. Influenced by the Eurocentric educational structure of training and guiding “protégés,” traditional mentorship tends to cultivate individualism and meritocracy. Under this dynamic, the mentor is in a hierarchical relationship with the mentee and is helping the mentee become better at a skill or discipline. This creates a perception that the mentee is lesser, and that the mentee is lacking something that only the mentor can provide. This stark power difference often hinders growth and confidence in those seeking to grow.
We must shift the notion of hierarchy where there is a “right” way to help someone grow and embrace a model that builds confidence and provides tools to meet the needs of each unique mentee. We must democratize mentorship.
Here at ThinkWell, we are attempting to create a democratized model of mentorship through the Samya Stumo Fellowship. Over the past year, we have developed the fellowship for changemaking women in global health from Kenya, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The fellows are given monthly unrestricted stipends and two forms of mentorship. The first form consists of mentorship from a local expert in global health who is able to provide country context as well as subject matter expertise. The second form of mentorship is through a weekly course during which the fellowship manager guides fellows as a collective group to share ideas and learn skills regarding project design and entrepreneurship. We believe that this transdisciplinary approach to mentorship is vital because there is so much more to learn from collective mentorship that spans disciplines and countries.
Ruth Wambui Wagatua, a Fellow from Naivasha, Kenya building infrastructure to treat fluorosis-affected communities, has been learning the boundaries and benefits of an even mentor-mentee relationship.
“An effective mentor-mentee relationship is one that ensures that mentees remain very much themselves and that they accomplish/activate all the potential they have, through very encouraging guidance.”
Through her experience, Ruth has expressed how she and her mentor are cultivating the balance between having a manager and having a mentor. It has been a positive growing experience for them.
Later in her career, Ruth herself will become a mentor to another young changemaker. Her experience today will affect their relationship in the future not only by showing Ruth the power of equality in learning, but by showing her what she can do when an expert treats her as a peer.
This year, we have documented six key lessons learned so far and hope that by sharing these lessons, more models of democratized mentorship can be formed around the world.