Mentorship...crucial for professional success

  • Published
  • By Col. Joan H. Garbutt
  • 436th Mission Support Group commander
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  A couple of weeks ago at my Change of Command, I mentioned how important mentorship is to me. I strongly believe it is every officers' and senior NCOs' responsibility to mentor our next generation of Airmen.

You might agree with me, but I would like to ensure I explain my definition of a mentor.

I am blessed! I have had the great fortune to have been surrounded by mentors. In fact, to quote my former First Sergeant, my best mentors have been "tormentors". This is not a negative connotation whatsoever--this is strong leadership that has kept me on track!

Mentorship is more than being a supervisor. Mentorship is knowing your people and their families-what motivates them, what they enjoy and what support they need.

It is beyond recognizing when things are rocky at home--it is inserting yourself into their lives and helping. Mentorship does not end with a PCS move or a change of rater--it continues throughout our careers and becomes stronger and more impacting.

It's telling our Airmen what they need to hear, not just what they want to hear. Equally as important, it is explaining the "why's" not just the "do's".

Continuous teaching breeds continual learning and sets the stage to raise our performance which greatly enhances mission capability. People are our most important asset and we need to ensure we, as leaders, invest strong mentorship into these warrior Airmen.

All of us will retire and knowing our Air Force is in great hands makes those decisions rewarding versus challenging. There is no more important commitment to our great Air Force than raising the next generation of warriors.

Please do not mistake mentorship for being pals. Mentorship enhances good order and discipline, it does not strain morale with perceptual inequalities. It does make people believe in themselves and achieve great levels of accomplishments.

It prepares our subordinates for a job yet to come. In the words of Winston Churchill, "To every man there comes in his lifetime that special moment when he is figuratively tapped on the shoulder to do a special thing unique to him and fitted to his talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds him unprepared or unqualified for the work which would be his finest hour".

What a shame if we allow one of our Airmen to not be ready for that tap on the shoulder. Keep leading from the front and put mentorship into your leadership toolkit. If you don't have a mentor, find one. You will find both to be rewarding and educational!