Writer: Dr David Mukunya. PHOTO/COURTESY
On a cold and chilly day in 1967; a young man looked out of a window and realised he had reached the end of his ability. He had spent the entire summer trying to build an electronic device. Just as he was about to give up, a thought crossed his mind. He would look up the telephone number of the owner of the biggest electronic company in America and ask for help.
He picked up his phone and called Bill Hewlett, co-founder of the famous Hewlett-Packard (HP) company. He was shocked when a husky voice answered the phone. And with a trembling voice, he introduced himself.
“Hello, my name is Steve and I wanted to know whether you can help me with parts to build a frequency counter,” he said.
You guessed right, the young man was a 12-year-old Steve Jobs, and he not only got the parts, he also got an internship at HP, justifying the saying we have not, because we ask not.
I was thinking about the courage and boldness in a 12-year-old boy when a not-so-young man reached out to me on WhatsApp, having read my article last week.
“I want to be mentored, but where can I find good mentors?” he asked.
“They are around you,” I replied, “Just ask one to be your mentor.
“How can I identify the good mentors around me?”
Moses asked a fundamental question. Allow me to share my experience and some thoughts on characteristics I have observed in the great men and women I have been privileged to call mentors.
First, good mentors have more experience than their mentees. It is difficult to lead people through paths you have not traversed. As such, a good mentor should be someone you consider successful; because then you can listen to them.
However, not everyone successful is a good mentor. One of the most brilliant people I crossed paths with was not a good mentor, at least for me. The person was so obsessed with their success and victories that it felt like we were an inconvenience around them.
This leads me to the next characteristic of a good mentor. A good mentor should be selfless and have a heart that thinks beyond their benefit. Look for someone who could do something for someone without considering their own benefit. We all know people whose first question in every task is “nfunilamuwa” (how do I benefit from this). These people are often called hyper-ambitious; they prioritise individual success above all. However, too much of anything is bad. And I have found that to mentor someone, one must be willing to make selfless sacrifices.
A good mentor should be a person who has faith in people. We all know someone who has something negative about everyone. They will tell you how Peter did not finish their Master’s research, and that Andrew does not completely understand what they are doing. We also know people who are so paranoid, and think everyone has evil intentions. From such, run away.
Next, a good mentor should be mature and forgiving. Mentees will make very many mistakes. They will disregard your advice and go silent for long periods. But like the good man in the Bible, a mentor should have a heart that welcomes back prodigal children.
Finally, a good mentor should be direct. They should be able to share with you their honest opinion without the fear of offense. Look for someone who is bold enough to tell you their opinion. This will save you a lot of pain. Look around you, there is a person waiting to mentor you. Just like Steve Jobs, get the courage to approach that person today, and go knock on that door. However, for you to make the relationship effective, it is imperative that you honour the fact that the mentor has accepted to take you under their wings.
The author is a medical doctor and associate professor of Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology at Busitema University
