When a group of renowned CEOs, CFOs and entrepreneurs come together to mentor others, it is bound to be a great evening. And when all of them – organisers, mentors, mentees – are women, it’s a different level of brilliance all together! The unique group speed mentoring organised by Back to the front, associated with Rize @ People Konnect kicked off last evening at The Good Wife, BKC. Back to the Front is a venture of People Konnect which helps women with opportunities, coaches them and provides them with resources to get back to their careers. Anjali Gulati, who owns these brands is herself a successful entrepreneur and trust her to come up with something to unique and useful to women!
This is how it worked: The tables around the restaurant were numbered 1 – 9 with the name and designation of the mentor on each. We were assigned 3 numbers based on the mentors we chose when we registered. The group speed mentoring was for a total of 60 minutes giving 20 minutes to each mentor to talk/discuss with the mentees at the table.
The event was well organised. Although I was skeptical about the venue since the last two times I went to the restaurant were on noisy weekends. But it turned out to be pretty smooth. The slots were timed well. And the groups moved on to their next mentor without much delay. There was no confusion that would lead to lost time.
A few words about the mentors: Not to take away any credit from the organisers but I was very impressed with the collection of mentors for the event. Each one is an authority in her field and was very approachable. In fact, I was lucky enough to get chatting with Aparna Sharma (the author of a recent book on HR: Reality Bytes: The Role of HR in Today’s World) and Padmini Misra of Cox and Kings before the event started. And she was nice enough to start chatting up and helped with a mini mentoring session right there!
The sterling mentors at the speed mentoring program (Photo credit)
Notable was the mentors’ ability to quickly understand the query/situation and come up with very practical advice. Like I said, each one is so experienced and good at what she does that it took no time to understand the context of what we are grappling with. Some of the mentees would decide their life course depending on the mentors’ advice and I think the mentors did full justice to this responsibility.
The time management (at my tables, at least) was brilliant. The mentors had time for each of us and had very practical pointers about what would work and wouldn’t too – even if it wasn’t congruent with what we thought we wanted to do. In fact, I thought it wasn’t about just individuals. The nuggets of wisdom doled out were so relevant to everyone in the group.
And that’s not all! This session was just an introduction to mentoring. Back to the Front has a follow up package for 6 months which includes mentor meeting every month, coaching and image consulting sessions, workshops, networking events and assistance in job search! And at throwaway prices. You can get in touch with them at backtothefront@peoplekonnect.co.in for more details. You can also look up event partners, Extra Mile.
I am lucky to have been featured on their womenspiring wednesdays blog – inspiring women who featured on their blog on wednesdays. You can read my story here: Passion sustains all
(Disclaimer: This is an genuine review and isn’t a paid promotion of the organisers)