Pilot Launch- Mentoring Monday

“ She is not only a mentor. She is a sage guide on the side”-Margaret Spence

Photo Credit: UWI photography

Over the last few weeks, I have been hinting that soon I will be launching

a new section on the webpage that will address the topic of “The Impact

of Mentorship on Authentic Leadership”. The segment is entitled

“Mentoring Monday”. It is a series of interviews of elite leaders and their

mentees from Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Barbados. In the

subsequent series, I will be talking to people in the “distinguished

diaspora” who are making significant strides on the world’s stage. You

will get insights into their life stories and their relationships with their

mentors and the positive and transformative impact that they had.

These authentic leaders are all giving back and mentoring young ones at

all levels, individual, national and community levels. They would be

sharing tips and takeaways from these high quality relationships and you

would see that not only does the leader teach the student but the

student also teaches the leader a lot. There is a reciprocity in the

relationship – each one pours into the other and there is an irreplaceable

bond that exist between the mentors and their proteges. At the same

time a new generation of leaders is being groomed.

The authentic leader is likened to a highly acclaimed chef who has a

vision for offering the most luxurious menus of refined dishes using top-

tiered ingredients. The staff are highly motivated and there is high

follower development. The Michelin Chef’s high self awareness,

balanced decision making, admirable moral perspective and showing up

as their true self infuse the authentic leadership of the restaurant to be

at the pinnacle which offers food that is served with finesse. You will get

to hear to the career trajectories of people like Angela Leeloy, Sandra

Glasgow, Kerry Ann Iffil and Mrs, Sharon Clarke Rowley to name a few.

You are probably wondering how food, leadership and mentorship are

related. But as you know, we all have to eat to survive and I want to use

food as a powerful bridge to authentic leadership. An example is that in

the first interview, there is a story about “the hops bread and condensed

milk”, which was used as a metaphor for a story about core value

incorporation on “honesty”. Look out for that story. I would offer that the

leaders practice “authentic leadership” as their “signature dish”. And,

their style is a secret recipe. Food is universal and everyone eats!

Mentoring Monday matters and it is not only a podcast of regional

excellence but also about the proven transformative impact that these

leaders have had on peoples’ lives. The growth flows both ways for the

mentor and mentee in a symbiotic relationship. You will get invaluable

tips and takeaways as well as a call to action from each and every

episode. I invite you to taste the secret recipes of authentic leadership

and mentorship from these Caribbean masters.

I assure you that you will be inspired with these stories! Three episodes

will be posted each week! Enjoy!

Bon appetit!