1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,000 2 00:00:18,070 --> 00:00:20,070 throughout my whole career has been 3 00:00:20,070 --> 00:00:22,420 part of organizations where we don't 4 00:00:22,420 --> 00:00:25,950 have an active enlisted or officer 5 00:00:25,950 --> 00:00:28,172 mentorship programs have also been part 6 00:00:28,172 --> 00:00:31,950 of organizations where they exist . I 7 00:00:31,950 --> 00:00:34,660 believe that organizations that have an 8 00:00:34,670 --> 00:00:38,300 active program or programs to mentor 9 00:00:38,300 --> 00:00:40,800 airmen are the ones that thrive when I 10 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:43,022 was a squadron commander . Actually had 11 00:00:43,022 --> 00:00:46,370 a saying that uh we are growing 12 00:00:46,370 --> 00:00:49,190 squadron commanders and chiefs in order 13 00:00:49,190 --> 00:00:51,468 to do that , you have to have programs , 14 00:00:52,740 --> 00:00:56,360 book clubs , active leadership 15 00:00:56,940 --> 00:01:00,260 forums , leadership laboratories that 16 00:01:00,270 --> 00:01:02,950 airmen can go in and think about how to 17 00:01:02,950 --> 00:01:05,080 lead in their current capacity and 18 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:07,820 their future jobs in the Air Force . 19 00:01:08,530 --> 00:01:11,970 My lifelong mentor 20 00:01:11,980 --> 00:01:14,820 was one of my squadron commanders . 21 00:01:14,830 --> 00:01:17,710 He's not retired and throughout my 22 00:01:17,710 --> 00:01:20,070 whole career , after even after we 23 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:22,560 separated , he's kept contact with me 24 00:01:22,570 --> 00:01:26,260 even after years as a 25 00:01:26,260 --> 00:01:28,316 major as a lieutenant colonel , he's 26 00:01:28,316 --> 00:01:32,240 always checked on me and Going back to 27 00:01:32,250 --> 00:01:34,970 my earlier point of being mentorship , 28 00:01:34,970 --> 00:01:38,400 being a two way street . I've 29 00:01:38,410 --> 00:01:41,280 also not , I've failed in that regard 30 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:43,470 that I didn't reach out to . So my 31 00:01:43,470 --> 00:01:45,860 encouragement to mentees and people 32 00:01:45,860 --> 00:01:48,130 that are seeking mentorship is to 33 00:01:48,140 --> 00:01:50,660 actively maintain that relationship . 34 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:53,840 Uh and my squadron commander , former 35 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:56,160 squadron commander , now retired , uh 36 00:01:56,170 --> 00:01:59,070 was a great mentor uh from a personal 37 00:01:59,070 --> 00:02:01,260 standpoint , giving me professional 38 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:05,110 insights as well , making sure that 39 00:02:05,540 --> 00:02:09,350 uh I stayed the path as he said , 40 00:02:10,230 --> 00:02:13,940 and really just looking out for me from 41 00:02:13,940 --> 00:02:16,650 a personal and professional standpoint , 42 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:19,370 one of the things that I took from him 43 00:02:19,370 --> 00:02:22,640 is that being a good person matters the 44 00:02:22,650 --> 00:02:26,580 character matters that if you can 45 00:02:26,580 --> 00:02:29,700 choose any other characteristics , you 46 00:02:29,700 --> 00:02:31,644 have to have character , character 47 00:02:31,644 --> 00:02:33,644 drives integrity . Character drives 48 00:02:33,644 --> 00:02:37,220 hard work . Character drives being an 49 00:02:37,220 --> 00:02:40,060 empathetic leader . One of the 50 00:02:40,630 --> 00:02:44,360 examples that I can give you is that 51 00:02:45,010 --> 00:02:46,843 you know when during his card in 52 00:02:46,843 --> 00:02:49,760 command he was given this ah 53 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:53,860 squadron that's really um 54 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:56,960 going south . And what he did is he 55 00:02:56,960 --> 00:02:59,860 turned turned it around 1 80 . and 56 00:03:01,250 --> 00:03:03,360 he often says that as long as you're 57 00:03:04,620 --> 00:03:06,509 moral compass is pointing north , 58 00:03:06,509 --> 00:03:08,676 Everything else will fall into place , 59 00:03:08,676 --> 00:03:10,731 tips on finding a mentor . No one is 60 00:03:10,731 --> 00:03:13,460 you have to ask to have involvement in 61 00:03:13,470 --> 00:03:15,692 your community and your organization in 62 00:03:15,692 --> 00:03:19,320 order for you to find the senior leader 63 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:22,050 that talks to you . 64 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:26,800 And the first step is asking uh 65 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:30,370 huh And I believe that once you ask 66 00:03:30,370 --> 00:03:33,260 everything else , well then follow suit 67 00:03:33,740 --> 00:03:36,210 that the leadership aspect of 68 00:03:36,210 --> 00:03:38,377 mentorship will follow suit the mentor 69 00:03:38,377 --> 00:03:41,390 that you seek doesn't have to be in 70 00:03:41,390 --> 00:03:43,612 your own career field , it doesn't have 71 00:03:43,612 --> 00:03:46,830 to be in the same profession , it 72 00:03:46,830 --> 00:03:49,550 doesn't have to be the same 73 00:03:50,540 --> 00:03:54,400 background . If you find something in 74 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:56,670 that mentor that you think you believe 75 00:03:56,800 --> 00:04:00,250 that can help you grow as a person , as 76 00:04:00,250 --> 00:04:02,440 a professional . I believe it's worth 77 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:06,320 asking too get on their calendar and 78 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:08,487 have the conversation . One of the key 79 00:04:08,487 --> 00:04:10,653 things that I learned early on is that 80 00:04:10,653 --> 00:04:12,598 a relationship is just a series of 81 00:04:12,598 --> 00:04:15,660 conversations . I thought about it then 82 00:04:16,140 --> 00:04:18,251 and I thought that that was so simple 83 00:04:18,251 --> 00:04:21,050 that it's it doesn't make sense . But 84 00:04:21,060 --> 00:04:23,116 the more I think about it , the more 85 00:04:23,116 --> 00:04:24,893 that I've grown as a person and 86 00:04:24,893 --> 00:04:27,980 obviously with age , relationships are 87 00:04:27,980 --> 00:04:30,640 just series of conversations and it 88 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:32,696 makes sense . Mentorship is the same 89 00:04:32,696 --> 00:04:36,050 way that if you speak and you talk to 90 00:04:36,050 --> 00:04:39,270 someone you get to know them more than 91 00:04:39,270 --> 00:04:41,950 you did the previous conversations and 92 00:04:41,950 --> 00:04:44,061 that and that's when the relationship 93 00:04:44,061 --> 00:04:46,172 grows and that's where growth again , 94 00:04:46,172 --> 00:04:47,960 both professional and personal happen .