Friday, June 14, 2013

Repost, with comments: Why Mentorship is the gift that keeps giving

http://smartblogs.com/leadership/2013/06/13/why-mentorship-is-the-gift-that-keeps-on-giving/



I couldn't agree more with the author of this article.  I have acted as an informal mentor over the years.  It is extremely gratifying, and rewarding, to see your mentees grow, thrive, and succeed as a result of coaching, advise and guidance. 


For those of us with some longevity in the automation industry, we know that there is a shortfall of resources, and it would help us to actively develop those starting out in our industry.  If each of us could mentor just 2 or 3 people, image the impact we could have in a few years!  Additionally, as the article says, it helps us become better managers by honing our skills and understanding of the mentee to refine and enrich our knowledge base.

A fundamental issue of mentoring is to have a goal in mind.  Just talking with someone, for the sake of communication, doesn't do much good in improving their chances for advancement.  So I will work with them to set out a finite set of objectives for the next year or two.  In that way, their activities have focus and you can measure their progress.

So let's make a pact--each of you, my readers, select one person to mentor for the next year.  Or, if you already have done this, let me know how it is working for you, do you have tips to make it more streamlined, easier to execute?

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