Choosing a successful mentor is not an easy task. The
following are some of the requirements that person should possess.
1. SHOULD BE A CARING PERSON I witnessed a sheet metal worker who was very much a loner (but a very skilled craftsman) become an excel- lent mentor. Sadly, we all thought that he lacked the social skills to impart that knowledge. When we had a surplus of bent metal from accidents filling the back of the hangar, the company hired a learner to assist our lone wolf sheet metal worker. At first, if the kid asked how to do something, he was told that it was in the manual and to go and look it up like he had to do when he started. But something happened and in time we watched in astonishment as he began to go out of his way to show the learner how to do things. It was as if he became a “mother hen” to this young person who we had predicted would quit in the first month. Our only fear was that he was going to create a “clone” of himself, which would limit the kid’s chances of ever advancing.
2, MUST HAVE SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE It’s not enough for the person to be a nice guy. He or she must have the knowledge to assist the new person in his work.
3. MUST BE WILLING TO SHARE
INFORMATION As simple as that sounds, there are some people who can be reluctant to share information. Perhaps for fear the person will become better than them and take over their job. Am I training this person to do my job so the company can let me go and pay the trainee to do it for a lower pay? That may have been the sheet metal worker’s fear at first, but he was the only one with the specialized knowledge that the company had.
4. MUST BE WILLING TO MAKE
THE COMMITMENT Being a mentor is going to take a commitment to be there when required. It may cut into the person’s time to do their regular work.
5. ACT AS A MODEL
FOR THE MENTEE There are few things worse than a mentor that says “never mind what I do, just do as I say.” You may be able to get away with saying this a few times if you elaborate why you require more experience in order to Safely carry out a certain task. Work hard to set the example that they can follow.
6. MAY NEED THE
“PATIENCE OF JOB” For those who are not familiar with the saying, Job is a person in the bible who exhibited extreme patience when he suffered many tribulations. What may have become simple for you with your experience may be difficult for some to learn how to do right every time. Ridiculing, yelling and calling of names does nothing to shorten the learning period, but can seriously harm the relationship between the mentor and the mentee.
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HelicopterMaintenanceMagazine.com February | March 2020 1-3 Page HeliMX
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