The Value of Mentoring in Career Development

A few weeks ago, I noticed that someone had viewed my LinkedIn profile. We all have had this happen, and often it will be recruiters or business development professionals looking for contacts, or people who wish to remain anonymous for some reason. (Really? Do not be so sneaky.) But once in a blue moon, it will be an individual from your past with whom you have lost contact. For a brief moment, you take a trip down memory lane and reflect on how that person influenced you. Fortunately, most are positive influences and the recollection brightens your day. The viewer of my profile was one of my first bosses, Keith. He was the senior vice president of sales and marketing for a defense contractor in southern California, where I started my career almost 30 years ago. I remember him being larger than life in both size and presence. He was intimidating initially, but I soon came to realize that although his personality was strong, his management style was fair. He would certainly bust your chops when you made a mistake (I made a lot), but he would also ensure that you recognized the lesson learned from the mistake. I remember submitting an expense report in the early tenure of my position on Keith’s team. Because I was in the field for long periods of time, Keith permitted me to replace a few articles of ruined clothing. The company’s comptroller paged me one afternoon (Al Gore was still inventing the Internet, so email was not yet an option) and proceeded to chew me out for not complying with company procedures. When Keith heard about this, “it hit the fan” and he dressed down the comptroller with me listening to the conference call. The discussion included the signature for approval and why the issue was being addressed with me. After the call, I knew that my boss “had my back.” He looked out for his team. It gave me confidence in executing my job, knowing that no matter how I might mess up ... he would support me. A few years later, another boss affected my career development. Bill was a stickler for the correct writing of reports. Automatic spelling and/or grammar check did not exist on computer programs, so we were left to our own devices to “get it right.” Initially, Bill returned my reports, marked up with red ink and appearing as if they had been used to clean up a gruesome scene from a movie. Over time, I seemed to be getting the hang of it and the red markings became less frequent. It was a challenge to submit a report and to see how few comments were returned. I am fortunate to have been guided and molded by Keith, Bill, and others and have drawn upon their mentoring and management styles throughout my career and in interactions with junior colleagues.