Why did you become a mentor?

The opportunity to develop a mentor/mentee relationship is a gift and a privilege. It is a chance to share lessons learned and to continue to learn lessons about yourself.  You share your knowledge and experience and in return you develop an interpersonal relationship that gives you the gift of pure joy knowing you helped a fellow professional be a more complex thinker, concentrating on solutions after identifying the problem.  Ultimately, it is as Emerson said, “The only true gift is a portion of yourself”.

Why is mentoring important to the profession?

We live and work in complex times with complex problems that have few simple answers. Leading people and managing challenging work requires competent judgment and good reality testing. A mentor/mentee relationship built upon unconditional support and structured engagement helps the mentee refine judgment, test reality and develop a relentless consistency of thought and action.

What impact has being a mentor had on your life?

I am reminded of an old African proverb, “ If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” I believe that every everyone can benefit from a relationship with someone who has already climbed the mountain and can share important perspectives. 

ARE YOU MENTORING ANYONE CURRENTLY OR IS THERE A MENTORING RELATIONSHIP THAT HAS BEEN PARTICULARLY IMPACTFUL FOR YOU?

All of my mentor/mentee relationships have been impactful to me in some way. I believe strongly in the importance of personal analytics and each of the relationships have given me an opportunity to refine my thinking on the critical strengths necessary to harness talent, maximize effectiveness and execute strategy.

HAVE YOU HAD A MENTOR/MENTORS WHO IMPACTED YOUR LIFE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO THANK?

 Two influential mentors in my life are Stan Kennedy, a past ICMA President and Dr. David Morrison. Stan had the faith in me to give me my first job in the profession and taught me what it truly means to be an ethical professional. Dr. Morrison has taught me the importance of knowing yourself, understanding interpersonal relationships and managing and using emotions as data. I am hopeful that they both know the impact they have had on me and it is my privilege to share the important lessons they have taught me.