WEBVTT

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(soft, soulful music)

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- I can probably think of three reasons

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why mentoring is important.

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The biggest reason is

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I think its important for the nation.

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So, one of the things I always like to tell myself

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everyday is that

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I'm not going to be around forever.

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And so its really important for our nation,

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for the survival of our nation,

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for the next generation is developed.

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So I consider it a personal responsibility

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to be part of that.

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So number one is the nation.

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And then after that

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I would say its for the actual mentee,

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because everybody's got hopes and dreams.

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Making sure that they understand

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what possible futures are out there

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that they may not know existed

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and then what the steps are to getting to that future

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I think that's a responsibility of our

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senior leadership as well.

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And the third reason

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is probably a selfish reason

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and that is for me.

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I love interacting with the younger workforce.

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It's pretty satisfying.

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And it helps me connect with them

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to make sure I learn what's important to them.

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It's easy sometimes, I think, to get separated

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from the younger generation

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if you're not talking to them

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at a very intimate level.

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(instrumental music)

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The first thing I would say is tailored.

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And what do I mean by that?

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I think, and sometimes, I fall into this trap

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when I'm mentoring somebody

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You gotta make sure that you don't turn the mentee

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into yourself.

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And so you always start that conversation with

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"What are your goals?"

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and then tailor the mentoring session

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to that person's goals

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and not try to turn them into what you've become.

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Another characteristic that's important

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is honesty.

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As you've assessed somebody that you're mentoring

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you've got to be honest with them.

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If you think that there's things that they need to work on

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you've got to be very clear on what those things are.

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If they've set a goal that might not be a good match

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to their characteristics and their skill set,

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you should be able to tell them that.

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But also give them other options

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for something that might be

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better suited.

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I think that's what mentees are looking for.

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They don't wanna come and just be

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they just don't want to hear what you think they want.

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They want you to be honest.

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And I think those are probably the two

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that I would point to.

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(instrumental music)

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Mentoring is not a meeting.

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It's a mentality.

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The meeting is important,

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but so is every single work experience everyday.

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The second thing I would say is

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just if you're asked to mentor somebody

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you should say yes.

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And so, up until now,

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I've never said no to a mentor

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or a mentee that's asked me to mentor them.

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You find time.

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Because it takes a lot of courage

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to come to somebody and ask for

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advice, or assistance, or help.

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And so, the answer for me is always yes,

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and then you just have to find a way to get it done.

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So, those are the two things that I would close with.

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(soft instrumental music)