Industrial Leadership – Find a Mentor/Be a Mentor
In my Industrial career a constant theme has been the power of Mentors. These are individuals that are Positive, Encouraging, Knowledgeable, they Challenge and are committed to your personal and professional Success. They give of themselves expecting nothing in return only your growth and success. GO BIG, Find a Mentor/Be a Mentor!
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Podcast Transcript:
[00:01] The industrial talk podcast go big in just six minutes a day, building a legacy of success in a rapidly changing industrial market. All right. How are you guys doing out there? I'm doing well. This has got McKenzie with industrial tech podcast. I'm so glad that you are here. Forget we don't have time to waste. Let's get going. We're going to be doing these quick snippets. Six minutes. Okay,
[00:22] got you guys covered. I want to make sure that you guys are successful and why we're doing a go big is I want to make sure that you guys have all the tools necessary for you to make meaningful advances within your career each and every day and we're going to just get right into it and we're going to talk a little bit about mentors and and the importance of mentors in your life. First off, you can't do it yourself in first, and secondly, you don't have all the answers. Mentors are fantastic to share with you. A couple of examples of mentors in my life. Of course I've had plenty and they're still more out there, young, old, I don't really care if they possess the information and they truly have a desire to help and, and have a, uh, a focus on the betterment of, you know, you or me or whatever.
[01:11] It's a very powerful and important component to your career. So the first gentleman don't want to really highlight, his name is Richard Harmon, Richard Harmon, Dick Harmon, Richard Harmon. And uh, he was a foreman and when I was an apprentice alignment apprentice, uh, he was formative in my career, right? He was formative in my apprenticeship going up as a journeyman lineman and he always had a truly my best interest. He challenged me each and every day because sometimes the work I'm telling you, the work was challenging a climbing 115 foot bear pole, uh, in, in the middle of a city, challenging. But he, he, he always knew what I could do and what I need to be trained on. He would always challenge me in my education. And, and, uh, he made me a very good journeymen alignment to the point where I was running crews and, you know, working in very congested areas.
[02:18] And so, um, he, he, he really formed that mindset and he was very encouraging for me to go to school at night as well. And so, uh, that was an impact of a mentor in my life that created a career path for me that, you know, quite frankly, that's why I'm here now and why I'm passionate about industry. The second gentleman is, is a gentleman that, uh, uh, it, it was funny because I, um, I went to school at night, I a Grad, I got my Undergrad in business and uh, this gentleman, his name is Tom Gibbs, and I remember him vividly because what happened was there was an opening. I was still doing line work. I was still climbing towers. I was still climbing tall poles, but I got my degree and I, and I went into, of course, uh, uh, look at a posting and, and fortunately they called me in and I said, oh my goodness, I, I don't know.
[03:18] Okay. And, and at that time I wasn't really good at interviews or, or then even know what to do, quite frankly from a corporate point of view, but this was in corporate and so I, I battled on down and I went on down there and uh, there was Tom Gibbs and uh, uh, he started asking me questions about, uh, um, generation facilities and he was saying, Hey, can you find this thing on this map? And I said, oh my gosh, no. And then what he did is he took the map and cut it in half. And he says, now that thing is right here. And he said, can you find it down? I said, no. Well that went on for about three or four times to the point where he folded the map so small that it was just, it was in the middle, right? It was in the middle of the map.
[04:09] And so I just took a swipe at it and I said, there it was. So after that I came home and my wife said, well, hey, how did the interview going? I said, there is no way. There was no way I'm going to get that, uh, that position and a couple of days later I get a call, they said we want you on board. And uh, from that point on, he was, he was always, his door was always open. He was always a wealth of knowledge. He had tremendous insight into not just engineering but also just how corporations ran, but the best part about him is he was always encouraging. He was always there for me. He was always positive. And, and once again he was a gentleman that impacted my path to where I am today. And so my challenge to you, everybody out there is one, first off, make it a point, this moment right now to identify a couple of individuals that need to be a part of your mentor approach.
[05:18] It's important and, and it's not quote coaching. It is truly a desire, a philanthropic desire to make you better at what you do. Right? And that's what's so cool. And that's what's so important is that a mentor type of relationship is vital because you need that insight. And then the other challenge I want you to consider is being a mentor for other people. So find mentors. It's important you need to do it and be a mentor. There is there you give without expecting anything in return. That is the premise behind a mentor. And so for me personally, do that. That is job number one, find a mentor, be a mentor, because I'm telling you right now, it is the most rewarding thing that I've ever done and I've ever experienced. And I still, it has no bearing on agent because I mean being in the, this a digital realm telling you right now, there's a lot of young pups that know a lot more than I do. So we are going to wrap it up. I really appreciate, uh, your time. Now we're going to continue on the next couple of classes that we're going to be or the programs of the six minute days we're gonna be talking about no like trust, right? Plus carrying a friendship that equal success that is vitally important to your career. So get out there, find a mentor, a mentor, and don't let me down. So thank you very much. Go big. Do not shy away. Go Big in 2019.
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About the author, Scott
I am Scott MacKenzie, husband, father, and passionate industry educator. From humble beginnings as a lathing contractor and certified journeyman/lineman to an Undergraduate and Master’s Degree in Business Administration, I have applied every aspect of my education and training to lead and influence. I believe in serving and adding value wherever I am called.
