If you’ve had the chance to read up on the future of the workforce both domestically and globally, you’re no doubt aware that we are facing a significant shortage of critical skills across nearly all industries. A substantial subset of this trend is the lack of leadership development or succession planning currently in place to groom the next generation of executives. Corporate leaders everywhere are, or should be, planning how to address these issues. While many critical skills could be developed by increasing investments in apprenticeship programs, this type of process does not work as well for the soft skills or critical competencies associated with becoming an effective leader. For leadership development, the best solution may be as simple as implementing effective mentoring.
I am grateful that I was able to connect with an external professional mentor at a crucial time in my career. As I began planning my ascent up the corporate ladder, I sought out new learning opportunities to provide me with an edge. Through a local community college, I stumbled upon a class entitled Organizational Development and Business Leadership, lead by one John R. Bierer, PhD. This class was a deep dive into understanding market forces, product positioning, operational strategy, and developing actionable vision. Professor Bierer had been a VP of Marketing for a global tire manufacturer, had owned his own advertising and marketing agency, and had had ownership stake and input in over 100 companies around the world as a Venture Capitalist. Though for all his professional and financial success, he was by far most proud of his status as a Vietnam Veteran, for which he received a Silver Star, Bronze Star, Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, and Purple Heart.
John was prolific in his time and willingness to share knowledge to those who were interested. Over time, I came to lean on him as a formal professional mentor. It’s no coincidence that as I rose from sole contributor to supervisor to manager to director, I was in regular contact with John. As I weighed business decisions or new programs, or considered opportunities to perform stretch projects, or evaluated horizontal and vertical promotions, I would talk with him. His perspective and ability help me better define my own goals was, and has been, invaluable. As a true mentor, much of his advice came by way of questions. Not only questioning me about my own motivations and desires, but also providing me with the questions that I needed to ask related to whatever issues I was facing. His conversations helped me better understand short and long term effects of business decisions I made for myself and for my company. While I have learned a great deal from formal education and practical professional experience, the development of my own critical thinking skills and emotional IQ were most impacted by my opportunity to work with a mentor.
If your organization is serious about grooming the next generation of high impact leaders, don’t underestimate the true and lasting value of effective mentoring. It may in fact be the only way to develop and refine the core skills necessary for leadership.
It had been a few years since I spoke with Dr. Bierer, as I had moved away and had gotten immersed in being a father and husband, while learning a new role with a new company. Yesterday, I sent an email hoping to connect when I’m back in Maine for the holidays, and I started to look around online to see if he was still teaching any courses. What I found was his obituary. While not surprised by his passing at such an early age (he had only moved to Maine originally to live out a terminal lung disease for which he was given a year to live nearly 10 years ago), I was surprised by the effect it had on me. Not only did I feel sadness for a tremendous loss and for my own feelings of guilt as I failed to let him know just how valuable his time had been for me, but also an overwhelming feeling that I had to pay his efforts forward.
The simplicity of his obituary mirrored the simplicity with which he faced business and life…
BRUNSWICK — John R. Bierer, son of John H. Bierer and Florence C. Bierer, passed away on Oct. 28, 2010, after a long battle with lung disease from exposure to Agent Orange while serving with the 173rd Airborne Rangers in Vietnam 1967-1968. He was born on June 10, 1940, in Pittsburgh, Pa.
John was predeceased by…
John was an entrepreneur, educator, and a proud Vietnam combat veteran. Dr. Bierer was educated at Columbia University, Lewis & Clark College, and Oregon State University.
No public service will be held.
Memorial contributions may
be be to either:
The Coastal Humane Society
30 Range Rd.
Brunswick, Maine 04011
or the H.A.R.T. Shelter
302 Range Rd.
Cumberland, Maine 04021
Jason,
Great post. Thanks for sharing. My condolences on your lost.
I have been fortunate enough to have been under the wing of quite a few mentors in my career, as well as had the privilege of having the opportunity to provide for a mentee on two occasions. I couldn’t agree more that having these types of relationships is one of the single best ways to grow ones skills, knowledge and ability as they relate not only to the world of work, but life in general.
One thing I have begun to question, however, is the effectiveness of “implementing” a mentoring program. In my experience, those relationships that have proved most valuable for me have blossomed in an “organic” way, as opposed to what is typically a company’s “systemic” approach. Not to say that they just occur naturally, as mentoring relationships require a great degree of proactive effort for both parties, and it is always best to formally recognize the relationship as such, but rather to say that not every manager is capable of being a mentor, and not every employee sees the value in being a mentee (although an organization could certainly hire with an eye towards those qualities).
Unfortunately, as the world of work has changed over the past decade, so has the capacity for these relationships to grow to their full potential. Employee tenure is down nearly across the board- particularly for younger employees- and management has been tasked with “doing more with less”, which leaves precious little time outside the day-to-day business of doing their actual jobs. Unless you are lucky enough- and work hard enough- to have a relationship with an individual outside of your day-to-day business operations, then you’re on the right path, but more and more that is proving to be more difficult. And while there is always the option for “digital relationships”, mentor relationships typically are focused not only on professional development, but also personal development, which really does require more consistent interaction.
As with most things of value, the mentor/mentee relationship requires a lot of hard work and dedication on both sides… but as with all great challenges, those met the right way will lead to the greatest reward.
A key component of every succession plan should be knowledge retention. As employees exit the workplace, they take with them their intellectual capital. Employers must capture that well before the retirement party. Mentoring programs are designed to both develop the talent of the next generation but also to ensure that the knowledge, experiences and wisdom of the existing employee is retained.
Touching reminder that most of us are indebted to many and infrequently thank them.