Mentoring program finds matches

  • Published
  • By Daryl Mayer, AFLCMC Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB, Ohio (AFLCMC) – It’s the age old question from “Ghostbusters.”  Who are ya gonna call?
 
“For some, they find it very comforting they're not held accountable, the mentee, to find the perfect mentor,” said Scott Boyd, Deputy Program Executive Officer for Mobility Aircraft.  “They're relying upon more senior leadership to help find a good match for them and we've had great success today with doing that for them.  It's all about that first step, helping someone make that first connection.”
 

He and Senior Master Sgt. Austin Peak, Senior Enlisted Leader, participated in an episode of AFLCMC’s Leadership Log podcast to discuss the Mobility and Training Aircraft Directorate’s new Mentorship Program. 
 
“I feel that mentorship is an inherent part of deliberate development both for leadership and followership.  I think it builds relationships, it fosters communication and helps the mentees to accomplish their goals and their ambitions,” Peak said. 
 
“It's certainly not a new thing for us, so the question as to why now, I think it should just be always.”
 
The secret sauce to the directorate’s program is building a site where people can request a mentor or volunteer to be a mentor.  Then senior leaders review the lists and make matches.  The program has built in progress checks after the initial sessions to ensure the match makes sense and is comfortable for all parties.    
 
“I think a lot of times as mentees, we see how busy our potential mentors are and it's hard for us to make that first connection.  We don't want to be seen, either as a nuisance or taking up the boss’ time, so to speak,” Peak said.  “Being able to get past that first hurdle is a big step for the mentee.  We have found a lot of success in the fact that we've actually got more mentor volunteers than we have mentees at this point, which is phenomenal.”
 
From the onset of the program, the focus was on making the whole team better by giving newer members “a little extra help.”   
 
“How do we help someone who is new into that career field or new into civil service or new in the military, how do we help them understand what it takes to succeed in the military environment, in the civil service,” Boyd said.   
 
To hear the full conversation, you can watch Leadership Log on YouTube at https://youtu.be/tTA6yhTrBQg.  You can also listen by searching “Leadership Log” on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, Overcast, Radio Public or Breaker.