The Power of Mentoring
I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to mentor hundreds of engineers throughout my career.
Sometimes when we enter mentoring relationships at work, we don’t realize the impact it can have on our personal lives.
For instance, my youngest daughter entered her senior year last month with no idea what she wants to do next, so we went to a cabin on a lake in Ohio to talk and think together.
It started as 2 days and ended up as 6. She thought what she did next would be forever. I had an epiphany, and It came to me instantly. No! What you do NEXT doesn’t have to be forever. What you do next is a step toward your forever. Her face lit up like all of the engineers I’ve mentored who’ve had the same concern.
She wants to be a meteorologist and now has a focused mission to figure out what her next step is.
We should all spend more time mentoring people.
Yes, in the current illusion of social media where you will see only extreme results of positive or negatives. There's a need for proper mentoring and guidance required. Need to coach them right so they can realize their full potential.
So true! There are now more people entering college or the work force who, through no fault of their own, have had not one positive role model in their life. They are plowing ahead, desperately needing someone to come alongside of them and show them what hard work, vision, and integrity, to name a few, looks like. You never know how your mentorship is going to affect someone’s life. It could be the difference between a person succeeding or failing. But you’re right, Geoff. More of us need to take the time to mentor someone. It’s a worthy investment. I’ve mentored many over the last 25 years and I’ve shared one of my favorite quotes with each of them....simple, but true. “If it is to be, it’s up to me”. That has to become their mantra.