In June, we spoke to Swati Pandey, the laureate of the 2018 Cartier Women’s Initiative (CWI) and Meena Vaidyanathan, the founder of Niiti Consulting and Swati’s CWI mentor about their mentor-mentee relationship.
1. How did your mentoring relationship start off back in September 2018 and how has it evolved since then?
Swati (laureate): In the beginning, it took us about two months to connect in person. We connected much better once we had met in person than over emails. Since then, we have been discussing more than just business, but also personal stories and Meena became the person who is just a message away.
Meena (CWI Mentor): I insisted on the meeting because I didn’t want to start off our relationship over an email. We have met about 7 times in the last 9 months. When we meet, as Swati mentioned, besides business, we talk to understand each other’s personal and professional lives.
2. Based on your experience, what is essential in a mentor-mentee relationship to make it work?
Meena: The mentor-mentee relationship is different from a formal relationship where there is a clear give and take, it goes beyond that. I believe that the mentor needs to feel the need to give and the mentee needs to feel the value in what s/he is getting out of the relationship. The mentee needs to value the advice that the mentor is giving. So from that perspective, the mentor-mentee relationship is less formal, but more productive, than a very structured relationship.