Three essentials must be at hand before an aspirant pursues to be a mentor cum coach - the acronyms of the 3C's: * CARE; * CONCERN; * COMPASSION.

* CARE ...... Care for the well-being of group members under his purview. Offer of helping hand to a member in need of consolation,

* CONCERN ...... Concern regarding the situation of a subordinate who shows signs of slackening in performance. Open communication to understand the underlying reasons. Appropriate exhortation and support where applicable.

* COMPASSION ...... Being empathetic of prevalent difficulties. Be righteous and fair, Not dictatorial. Need for understanding the specific issues and weaknesses faced by individual members and team. Not contentious. 

On the other hand, a revered mentor cum coach avoids deployment of another 3 C's, viz. * COMPLAIN; * CRITICISE; * COMPARE.

* COMPLAIN ...... Vehemently and openly expresses disgust about the unsatisfactory performance of a subordinate. Such caustic approach may likely spark severance of the individual from the team, including resignation. Unless a subordinate has committed a gross misdeed that warrants penalty, a leader who is discerning should examine the actual facts causing the surficial faults; if unintentional anomalies are rectified via elaborative counsel, the leader could then consolidate his team to efficaciously turn things around.

* CRITICISE ...... Criticise is of lower intensity than Complain. Being critical. It involves comment in negative perspectives, lowering the dignity of a subordinate by highlighting the latter's weaknesses. Being critical will invariably dampen the spirit of the subordinate concerned. Prudent leaders will try to exhort rather than criticising without positive advice. 

* COMPARE ...... By comparing the below-par performance of a subordinate with a more efficient member, that will curtail the confidence of the former, thus discouraging him from pursuing future improvements. 

An astute leader may be caring in disposition, yet he is firm to uphold righteousness in respect of executing appropriate decisions befitting the issues at hand. If a subordinate is beyond redemption, the right decision is either to re-assign him to another role or execute dismissal if warranted so. 

Leadership profundity exudes management accountability. Although not directly responsible for any fault caused by a subordinate, yet the paramount mentor cum coach deems he is still accountable for shortcomings that emerge under his overall jurisdiction. It is thus incumbent on him to mete appropriate corrective measures - reflecting the aspect of righteousness.

Astuteness also entails deciphering prowess for analysis of facts and situations. The ability to decipher with prudence lends weight for deriving the right decisions. Invariably, attentive listening and scrutinous observation contribute as the fulcrum to pivot sound judgements. Pertinent quote as guidance: DON'T JUST "HEAR" WITH YOUR EARS. IT IS BY "ATTENTIVE LISTENING" WITH THE DECIPHERING BRAIN THAT BEARS FRUITFUL JUDGEMENTS AND RESULTS.