WHEN PROTEGES DEFY AND CROSS THE PATH OF THEIR MENTORS, BOUND TO REMAIN IN SOME POOR LIGHT IN THE TIME LINE OF HISTORY

 

The meaning of “Protege” is a person who is guided and supported by an older and more experienced or influential person. The older and more experienced or influential person who guides and supports for the progress of a protege is called as a “Mentor”. Most of the times, the Mentors try to project and promote their proteges to act as their successors as well.

In an article published in “The Chronicle of Evidence-based Mentoring” on September 13, 2015 written by Jean Rhodes, the following 25-Top and Celebrated Mentoring examples of recent times were cited and I am placing here under the quotes:

Quote :

1. Best known for her talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, Oprah Winfrey was mentored by celebrated author and poet, the late Maya Angelou. “She was there for me always, guiding me through some of the most important years of my life,” Winfrey said. “Mentors are important and I don’t think anybody makes it in the world without some form of mentorship,” she added.

 

2. Former Apple Inc. CEO the late Steve Jobs served as a mentor to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The two developed a relationship in the early days of Facebook and often met to discuss the best business and management practices for the company. When Jobs passed away in the fall of 2011, Zuckerberg posted on his Facebook page, “Steve, thank you for being a mentor and a friend. Thanks for showing that what you build can change the world. I will miss you.” 

 

3. Former Morehouse College President, Dr. Benjamin Mays was an outspoken critic of segregation before the rise of the modern civil rights movement and a mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The two men first met during King’s undergraduate years at Morehouse College, and remained close until King’s death in 1968. Mays’s “emphasis on two ideas in particular—the dignity of all human beings and the incompatibility of American democratic ideals with American social practices—became vital strains in King’s language and in the civil rights movement.”

 

4. The first woman to co-anchor CBS Evening News, and the second woman to anchor one of America’s major network newscasts, Connie Chung was a mentor to Fox News reporter Kyung B. Yoon. In an interview on the significant role that mentors play in helping people achieve their professional goals, Yoon explained that she did not view television journalism as a practical career option growing up, but was inspired by Chung’s work later in life.

 

5. Musician Woody Guthrie, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children’s songs including “This Land is Your Land,” mentored fellow singer-songwriter Bob Dylan.  As a high school student in the 1950’s, Dylan listened to Guthrie’s music, eventually moving to New York City and befriending the musician.  Dylan played and wrote to his idol, which was often met with Guthrie’s approval.  In 1962, Dylan released “Song to Woody,” an ode to Guthrie.

 

6. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg is largely considered one of the most powerful women in business today. Like most other successful figures, she sought the guidance of mentors at various stages of her career. Specifically, Sandberg’s former college professor, Larry Summers played a pivotal role in her career as both mentor and sponsor. Sandberg worked for Summers at the World Bank and the Treasury Department, and has called him her first and certainly “most important” mentor in various interviews.

 

7. Former Super Bowl champion Darrell Green was mentored by his middle school football coach.  “I had a coach who in a different way encouraged me that I could be a great running athlete… He was always encouraging me to participate, and I did. And so I think he helped me to identify the possibilities, which–I never even thought about,” Green said.

 

8. Astronaut and former U.S. Senator John Glenn was mentored by his high school civics teacher.  He is an advocate of mentoring and has spoken about the importance of being a mentor. “I think a mentor gets a lot of satisfaction in a couple of ways. They’re doing something constructive, so they feel good about that. And when they see the results of this, with the young people they’re working with, it’s very, very rewarding,” Glenn said.

 

9. A landscape photographer and environmentalist, Ansel Adams was best known for his black-and-white landscape photographs of the American West, especially Yosemite National Park.  He was greatly influenced and mentored by his father, Charles Hitchcock Adams, who he credited with “tenderly keeping alive [his] inner spark.”

 

10. Mother Teresa committed her life to helping others and was recognized as one of the most admirable people of the twentieth century, operating orphanages, AIDS hospices and other charities worldwide.  She led a remarkable and revered life, but may not have achieved all that she did if it weren’t for her mentor, Father Michael van der Peet.  The two met while waiting for a bus in Rome, and quickly developed a close friendship. They spoke regularly and confided in each other over the years.

 

11. Retired basketball player and MENTOR board member Bill Russell played center for the Boston Celtics from 1956 to 1969.  His mother was his greatest mentor.  “My mother taught me to stand up for myself, to use my brainpower on my behalf,” he said.  Russell’s mother died when he was twelve, but he continued to live through her guidance.  “More strongly than ever, she stayed with me–in my thoughts, my goals, my aspirations….her presence, her teachings, remained with me when she was not around.”

 

12. Former CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite was influenced by his high school journalism teacher, Fred Birney.  “He taught me so much in those high school [journalism] classes, and by securing me those early jobs, he cemented my desire to be a reporter for the rest of my life. He was my major inspiration. I always credit Fred Birney for my career,” Cronkite said.

 

13. Fashion designer Christian Dior mentored fellow haute coture designer Yves St.

Laurent.  After he moved to Paris, St. Laurent was introduced to Dior by the editor of French Vogue.  “Dior fascinated me. I couldn’t speak in front of him. He taught me the basis of my art. Whatever was to happen next, I never forgot the years I spent at his side,” St. Laurent said.  At 21, St. Laurent replaced Dior as the designer of the Dior couture house, sparking his career.

14. An American actress, dancer and singer best known for her roles in musical theatre, Chita Rivera is the first Hispanic woman and the first American Latina to receive a Kennedy Center Honors award. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009, and largely credits her former teacher, Doris Jones, for her success.

 

15. Former U.S. Secretary of State and U.S. Army General, Colin Powell considered his father, Luther Powell a powerful mentor. Powell believes that all Americans should make a commitment to mentoring.  “All… of us have the ability to serve as a mentor – to step forward and say, ‘I’m going to be a mentor, because I want this next generation to take America to a higher level, a better place.’”

 

16. Baseball Hall of Fame legend Cal Ripken, Jr. looked to his father, Cal Ripken, Sr. as a powerful mentor.  “He tried to give us the value of being a good person,” Ripken, Jr. said.  “The value of a mentor…I don’t know what value you can place on it, but the right words spoken at the right time from a person that’s been through it before…can make all the difference in that youth game,” he added.

 

17. American business magnate Warren Buffett is often considered the most successful investor of the twentieth century.  The Berkshire Hathaway CEO mentored Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates.  Gates first met Buffett at a dinner organized by Gates’ mother, where the two spoke about business and philanthropy.  Gates admits that over the years he has turned to Buffett for advice on various subjects, and has often referred to Buffett as “one of a kind.”

 

18. Musician Ray Charles mentored music industry legend Quincy Jones. In speaking about Jones, Charles said, “He was just an energetic young kid and he really loved music. You could tell that he wanted to learn, he wanted to know. And because I was able to show him some things, that made me happy, that’s what stirred my heart. I could help this kid.” In turn, Jones has mentored numerous young musicians in his time and has been a long-time spokesperson for National Mentoring Month.

 

19. Physicist and astronaut Sally Ride became the first American woman in space in 1983.  Ride’s graduate school professor, Dr. Arthur Walker was her life-long mentor and initially encouraged her to apply to NASA’s astronaut corps. “He instilled confidence, and made me believe that I could accomplish what I set out to accomplish,” Ride said.

 

20. A major figure in the abstract expressionist movement, Jackson Pollock was well known for his unique style of drip painting.  Pollock’s first mentor was painter and muralist Thomas Hart Benton.  In 1930, Pollock left California before finishing high school to study under the famous regionalist painter at the Art Students League in New York.  Benton’s rhythmic use of paint and his fierce independence had lasting effects on Pollock’s later works.

 

21. PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi looks for mentors in all aspects of her life: “If I hadn’t had mentors, I wouldn’t be here today. I’m a product of great mentoring, great coaching… Coaches or mentors are very important.”  She credits the mentoring she received from people around her for helping her break glass ceilings in business.

 

22. Virgin Group co-founder Richard Branson has personally benefitted from a mentor-mentee relationship. Branson asked British airline entrepreneur Sir Freddie Laker for guidance during his struggle to get multinational conglomerate Virgin Atlantic off the ground. “It’s always good to have a helping hand at the start. I wouldn’t have got anywhere in the airline industry without the mentorship of Sir Freddie Laker,” Branson has been quoted as saying.

 

23. Victoria Rowell is an Emmy-nominated actress who spent the first 18 years of her life in foster care. The love, guidance and support of her foster mother Agatha Armstead, instilled in her the confidence and drive to succeed. Armstead encouraged Rowell’s ambitions and was the gateway to what she would later call her “passion,” which was fine arts. “…Without her mentoring, without her guidance, without her courage, I could never have experienced such a rich opportunity,” Rowell said.

 

24. Actor and director Clint Eastwood was mentored by his grandmother, who encouraged the Dirty Harry star to always work hard and pursue his dreams. “I’ve had many mentors in my life…my grandmother…was always encouraging. She always thought I was going to be something, when nobody else, including myself, thought I was going to amount to anything,” Eastwood said.

 

25. A leader of the transcendentalist movement, Ralph Waldo Emerson was perhaps best well-known for his essays concerning individualism and self-reliance. He mentored and worked closely with poet and transcendentalist writer Henry David Thoreau. When Thoreau graduated from Harvard University, the young writer was inspired by the older man’s views on the natural world, which would later influence Thoreau’s writings, most famously his master work on living in natural surroundings, Walden.

UNQUOTE

 ( Source link for the above quoted part of the text: https://www.evidencebasedmentoring.org/top-25-mentoring-relationships-in-history/ )

Some of the illustrious Mentoring examples of India that appear in the time line of history are:

1.   Gopal Krishna Gokhale mentoring Mahatma Gandhi ….  When Mahatma Gandhi (given name: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi then), a successful England educated barrister returned from South Africa to India to help India and his own countrymen in getting independence from British Rule after getting thrown out of the first class compartment of the train near Durban, in spite of having a valid ticket, as someone having a black skin color not allowed to travel first class, and realizing that he should do something for Independence of India; he was not fully aware of the then situation as well as contours of political landscape and independence efforts existing at that time. It was Gopal Krishna Gokhale, senior leader of Indian National Congress then who provided mentoring to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi to make him duly aware about the issues and holistic knowledge of Indian situation then and on understanding the issues facing common Indians at that point of time.

2.  Mahatma Gandhi mentoring Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru ….  Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru came from a rich family of his famous Lawyer-Father, Motilal Nehru and was also an England educated freedom fighter greatly inspired by Mahatma Gandhi. Pandit Nehru was mentored by Mahatma Gandhi during freedom movement of India and his mentored imprints on Pandit Nehru made him the most successful First Prime Minister of India. Because of the imprints of Mahatma Gandhi’s mentoring for Pandit Nehru, made Pandit Nehru work in consolidating India’s position at a very critical period after post-independence in the most considerate manner and that makes Pandit Nehru as the Architect of modern India post-independence as the First Prime Minister of India.

3. Mahatma Gandhi also mentoring important leaders like Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and even at initial stages of entry of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar into Freedom Movement …. The other Great Leaders like Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and even at initial stages of entry of Dr. B R Ambedkar to freedom movement; were also mentored by Mahatma Gandhi during the freedom movement of India. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as the First Home Minister of India, consolidated the Geographical Integrity of Sovereign India post-independence and well respected for this invaluable contribution for India. Dr. B R Ambedkar’s invaluable contribution as the Architect of the Indian Constitution in force, is the Greatest Contribution of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar for the people of India.

4.   Mahatma Gandhi as a mentor to Nelson Mondela of South Africa ….  Records show that Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mondela of South Africa never met in their life time, however, Mahatma Gandhi is considered a mentor to Nelson Mondela. Nelson Mondela was greatly influenced by the Books and Writings of Mahatma Gandi. He drew inspiration from the works of Mahatma Gandhi to work for South Africa as Mahatma Gandhi worked for India.

5.  Ram Krushna Paramhans mentoring Swami Vivekananda …. Ram Krushna Paramhans ( born as Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya ) is  well respected as mentor of Swami Vivekananda, the most respected Social Reformer of India.

There could be also other and many instances of mentors and proteges celebrated and recorded in India, may not be possible to list all here, however, the above are the illustrious mentor and protege instances that were seen most prominently in India’s history.

However, there have been also instances when the Proteges have tried to defy and/or cross the path of their very mentors. When the Proteges defy and/or cross the path of their mentors, such Proteges remain in poor light in the time line of history for such acts towards their very mentors.

I am going to mention some instances where the proteges have also defied and/ or have crossed the path of their mentors in contemporary times for the purpose of examples only. For obvious reasons I am not going to call the instances of the examples of the Proteges by names here.

The Milkman of India, Dr. Verghese Kurien who had pioneered the Dairy Industry of India and is well regarded as the father of White Revolution in India for the dairy development; had faced defiance and crossing of his path by his own “Protege”. Dr. Kurien had worked through his life time for development of the mass of Dairy Farmers of India through Co-operative Model. The model of assembling and organizing Dairy Farmers of India by forming Co-operative Societies at Village level, with a Co-operative Dairy Union of Co-operative Societies at District Level and with a Federation of Co-operative Unions at State Level; was advocated and adopted by Dr. Kurien through his life time. He had shown success ( still that success is a live example as on today ) through the famous “Amul” model of Dairy Co-operatives in Gujarat State in Western India, that was subsequently implemented throughout India in many of the States of India through the Co-operative Model under the giant project named as Operation Flood under the aegis of National Dairy Development Board also headed by Dr. Kurien then, and many of the Co-operative Dairy Federations existing in different states of India are also successful live examples of the success of the Co-operative Model today. However, the person, a “Protege” of Dr. Kurien who succeeded him as his successor in the National Dairy Development Board after he demitted office, defied and deviated from the Co-operative Model that was advocated and upheld by Dr. Kurien through out his life to bring in another model called as “Farmer Producers Company“ model for the purpose of Dairy Development in India. The Farmer Producer Company model advocated by the Protege of Dr. Kurien envisaged that the Co-operative model was based on Co-operative law which was dogmatic and the Farmer Producer Company model under company law, would be an improved and more efficient structure to run the Dairy Development activity in India. There was struggle undertaken by Dr. Kurien during his life time to ensure that the Co-operative Model is upheld and not broken by the advocation of Farmer Producers Company Model pushed by his Protege while the person held office as head of the National Dairy Development Board. There were quite some public spats in media and media out-cry on this matter.  In fact, empirical evidences stretched over about 2-decades since the Farmer Producers Company model was brought to light for Dairy Development and pushed by the Protege, show that the Farmer Producers Company model pushed by the Protege could not cut much ice even during the two decades that have flown in time line. Some organizations that were created under the Farmer Producers Company model, rather have been mired in undue controversy and alleged bad management practices. While Dr. Kurien remains and continues as a celebrated celebrity as the Milkman of India and the Father of White Revolution and Dairy Development under the Co-operative Model of dairy development, the Protege can not escape some poor light in the time line of History for defying and crossing the path of own Mentor (Dr. V. Kurien).

In a large Political Outfit, a National Political Party, the Mentor who had a long standing prominent leadership stature and also rose to become the President of the Party, is also well known and credited for driving the party through its growth and consolidation phase significantly and for its well establishment over decades together, while he had also risen to occupy the Chair of Dy. Executive Head of the Nation, had mentored his Protege in such a way, that the Protege was rewarded to become the Executive Head of a large Western Indian State. Even during a communal flare up in the Western Indian State, the Mentor sought to support and protect the Protege to continue in office, while he was almost on the verge of being removed from office by the concerned outfit. However, after about a little more than a decade, while the Protege aspired to occupy the Chair of the Executive Head of the Nation, crossed the Path of the Mentor by the help of the incumbent party-colleagues then. A preventive Rule-75 ( Rule of Age 75 years ) was brought in so that the Mentor was permanently barred to aspire the Chair of the Executive Head of the Nation further during his life time on grounds of age.  Whether the Mentor could have further made to the Chair of Executive Head of the Nation through elections or not, remains an unanswered question without being given opportunity and tried further, however; the Mentor’s path was crossed by the Protege, it remains, well known and in the time line of the history. In this case, my opinion would say, the history would not excuse the Protege from throwing some poor light on him for having crossed the path of his own mentor.

In other Political Outfits, the Proteges crossing the path of the Mentors has been seen as common instances also.

Another example of very recent time is an Eastern Indian State, where the Protege of the Executive Head of the State, crossed over to a major rival political party putting the mentor in a very awkward place and even contested the state election against the very Mentor. Whether the Protege succeeds or not is a question that has to be seen after a while, however, it is a case where the protege can not escape some poor light in the annals of history.

In a central Indian state last year, it was seen that the Protege crossed the path of the Mentor to shift to a rival political outfit to pull down the sitting elected state administration of his own political outfit. Although the Protege could achieve the objective of pulling down the sitting elected state administration simultaneous with his shifting to the rival political outfit, however, some poor light will not be spared on him by the time line of the history.

The Mentor-Protege relationship is definitely a noble relationship and it is a celebrated relationship that is empirically proved to be sacrosanct out of so many bright and illustrious as well as successful examples shown above and drawn from the time line of History, it goes without saying. Mentors normally put best efforts and place best supports out of the way to elevate and put their Proteges on the path of progress and achievement. However, there are also some or few instances of Proteges defying and/or crossing the path of the Mentors that has been seen and it does happen in some cases. When the Proteges defy or cross the path of the own Mentors, it is also a fact going to stay; that some poor light will be bound to be shed on such proteges in the time line of History.

[Disclamer : Although any or some situations where names have not been mentioned may seem similar, the author has not targeted any specific situation in such cases by name and description. The disclaimer is placed to that effect.]

About the Author : Dr. Nimain Charan  Biswal is a B.Sc.(Agri. Science and Technology), M.B.A. and Ph.D.(Management Area ) by qualifications and he has 35+ years of work experience in both  industrial and development sectors in diversified fields of social importance. He has been educated at Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT)-Bhubaneswar, Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) and Gujarat University (with Resource Support of IIM-Ahmedabad). Dr.Biswal is further educated at IIM-Calcutta, XLRI-Jamshedpur, Apple Computer Industries and Spar Inc., USA. He has worked for reputed National and International Organisations in Senior/Top Management Capacities. He is a management expert covering extensive areas from management in agriculture, industrial management, development management to management of public systems. He is a prominent professional of India and known Internationally as well. He lives at Mumbai in India.