BY PETE PARIZO, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST, SARGENT
The textbook definition of mentorship is “the guidance provided by an experienced person in a professional or educational setting.” At Sargent, we build a mentorship relationship into all our team interactions. It can be as simple as welcoming a new employee-owner to the jobsite with a firm handshake and a smile, or offering guidance on how to perform a new task safely.
The thing that sets Sargent apart is our culture. Most anyone can rent equipment, purchase materials, and build a project. What makes Sargent successful and a leader in the industry is our commitment to Invest In People, our exceptional team of employee-owners, and our culture of mentorship. All of us can name someone (or many people) that helped us get to where we are in our careers. No one gets to where they want to be without guidance and mentorship. The more experienced among us have many seasons of successes and failures that can be passed on to less seasoned folks to foster constant improvement and individual development.
To be a mentor does not require a specific title or status, rather, it is an attitude and a choice. It has been said “everyone is a leader” — the question is, which way are you leading? The same is true for mentorship. Anyone can be a mentor, regardless of their position within the company. If an employee-owner has considerable experience in some area they can pass on that knowledge to less experienced teammates. That’s mentorship.
We pay it forward through mentorship and repay the people who have spent time and energy mentoring us. There are direct benefits to the mentor as well. Through guiding others, the mentor can gain leadership skills, boost their knowledge, and help expose the mentor to new perspectives. “If you want to master something, teach it.” Teaching something reveals weaknesses in one’s own knowledge and requires one to truly understand all aspects of the process to break it down to its most basic form to explain it to someone new. Lastly, to be a mentor is a personal choice summed up best by asking, “What do I want my legacy to be?” A meaningful legacy includes helping to guide the river of knowledge given to us for the benefit of those downstream.
We must look for those worthy of mentorship. A seed planted on a ledge face will not grow regardless of how much you water it. For the less experienced people showing up every day with a great attitude, a willingness to learn and ask thoughtful questions, and the ability to take action when given constructive feedback, mentorship is the reward. Seek out opportunities to take someone under your wing and show them the right way to do things — safely, productively, and with good quality.
