A520.7.3.RB - Importance of Having a Coach and Mentor

A520.7.3.RB - Importance of Having a Coach and Mentor

My mentors have helped me tremendously, and I really enjoy mentoring others. Part of that enjoyment is that I probably learn as much from my mentees as they do from me. This is because they often see, hear or interpret things about company differently than I do, and this helps me realize where I might need to adjust my thinking or do some more work. So from every aspect, mentoring has been a very rewarding experience for me.

I’ve been in the aviation industry for 20 years, 13 of them as a contract structural or A&P mechanic. The last 6 years I have been fortunate to be given the opportunity to work for The Boeing Company. Coming from a maverick type of atmosphere as a contractor to a well plan and organized company was a huge cultural shock.

I was able to me older more experience mechanics that mentored me informally, just talking to me telling me not to waste the opportunities that Boeing offered.  They motivated me to apply for jobs other than mechanic positions, pushed me to continue my education. It was because of their informal mentoring that “work with my head instead of my back” (Ruffin, James).

I’ve also have been blessed with very good formal mentoring. Boeing has and offers a very well structured mentoring program, but it is up to the individual employee to take advantage of it. My mentor was also a technical mentor. When I start out as a manufacturing engineer he showed, guide, and suggested ways to use my past experience a mechanic to become a better engineer. He saw a leader in me and help me focus on what it took to be a leader.

And because of these mentoring guidance both informal and formal, I am in the position that I am in. Mentoring, whether formal or informal, is an important aspect of employee development. The purpose of mentoring is to help one another to learn new things and to grow personally and professionally. Mentoring is a developmental partnership that facilitates the transfer of knowledge, skills, abilities, information, and perspective to foster personal and professional growth.

Mentoring is an important aspect of employee development. It is a technique that ranges from very simple, informal processes, to a rigorous set of milestones as part of a formal plan. In this process, mentoring partners are encouraged to create a learning environment tailored to meet their needs and the needs of the organization. At the fundamental level, you can't go wrong if you remember the purpose of mentoring is to help one another to learn new things and to grow personally and professionally. Mentoring has the potential to benefit everyone.