Leadership story: What can you learn about mentorship from flying a kite

Once a father and son went to the kite flying festival. The young son became very happy seeing the sky filled with colorful kites. He too asked his father to get him a kite and a thread with a roller so he can fly a kite too. So, the father went to the shop at the park where the festival was being held. He purchased a kite and a roll of thread for his son. He knew this was a good opportunity to teach his son something about mentorship.

Shortly his son started to fly a kite. Soon, his kite reached high up in the sky. After a while, the son said, “Father, It seems that the thread is holding up a kite from flying higher, If we break it, It will be free and will go flying even higher. Can we break it?” The father looked at his son and said “Maybe the rope is there for a reason?” But the little boy insisted. So, the father cut the thread from the roller. The kite started to go a little higher. That made a son very happy.

But then, slowly, the kite started to come down. And, soon it fell down on the terrace of the unknown building. The young son was surprised to see this. He had cut the kite loose of its thread so it can fly higher, but instead, it fell down. He asked his father, “Father, I thought that after cutting off the thread, the kite can freely fly higher. But why did it fall down?”

The Father explained, “Son, At the height of life that we live in, we often think that we are tied to some things and that they are preventing us from going further higher. Today I hope you have learned an important lesson about mentorship. That is that the thread was not holding the kite from going higher, but it was helping it stay higher when the wind slowed down and when the wind picked up, you helped the kite go up higher in a proper direction through the thread. The thread was playing its role as a mentor does in your life. And when we cut the thread, it fell down without the support you were providing to the kite through the thread. I tried to help you but you decided not do listen. Chose your mentor wisely and listen to him. Let him be your thread.”

The son realized his mistake.