The Transformative Power of this mentor helped me unlock my true potential
Finding the right mentor is the key to personal and professional growth.
I have been very lucky to find the right set of people around me throughout my life (excluding some exceptions that I’ll talk about in some other article). I have learned a lot from them and I owe them appreciation.
I believe that appreciation is a powerful tool that can uplift and motivate individuals. Therefore, I am always eager to express my sincere gratitude to those who have made a positive impact on my life, whether it be through their actions, words, or simply by being a supportive presence.
In this article, I will be discussing my most recent mentor who happens to be a senior colleague of mine. I will also discuss what I learned from him and you should learn that too if you are leading a team.
His name is Marc von der Wall.
He doesn’t even know how much I secretly admire him for being what he is and for guiding newcomers most selflessly and genuinely. He is not even aware of how much one could get inspired by the way he works and influences the new generation professionally. He is a true inspiration for my professional growth and continues to be one to date.
Allow me to discuss:
1. My initial impression of him when we first met
2. How has my perception of him evolved?
3. How he ultimately became a source of inspiration for me?
Background information
It was February 2018 when I joined the organization where I’m currently working as Technical Project Specialist. I started there as an intern for a research project. It lasted for 6 months and then the same project was converted into my master thesis which lasted for another 6 months.
In February 2019, I received a full-time position as an IT Engineer.
Since I started there as an intern, everyone had this impression of me being a master's student even after I was employed there as a full-time engineer. During my internship and master's thesis, I was directly reporting to my boss who was the CEO of the company. And it remained unchanged until March 2020 because I was still working on the next phase of the same research project.
This situation resulted in minimal or almost no communication with my colleagues because I would come to the office, sit at my desk and work for 8 hours per day if needed talk to my boss and go home.
I would only smile at them, and some days we might even talk a little while having lunch in the eating area. I would only be having assumptions about everyone in my office based on that little-to-no conversation that we used to have while eating.
Initial impression
Out of everyone I encountered, Marc was the only one with whom I did not exchange a single word. He is the first employee of my company, making him the oldest and most experienced person here. I had this impression that he is very strict and doesn’t like to talk to juniors. That was because I always saw him with the senior management team.
Meanwhile, during the first year in my full-time job, my colleagues wouldn’t burden me with any other work and I would also seek someone’s approval after each task completion as we do with our professors. My boss kept telling me to mingle with other colleagues, discuss what they were working on, try to understand other projects that were ongoing at that time, etc. But I was failing at it because of several reasons.
A few of them are:
- Everyone was too occupied with their work
- I would shy away from talking to them and asking questions
My boss made numerous failed attempts to integrate me with the teams.
Changing Perception
One day, my boss called me into his office. Marc was also there. My boss said, “There is a very important task for you in one of the ongoing projects”. He explained to me what needs to be done and asked me if I was interested in doing it. I agreed to it, and then he said, “Marc will guide you in this”.
The first thought that came to my mind was, Oh my God! I’m screwed. This was because of the impression I had about Marc. I thought he would be very straightforward, would expect me to work perfectly, would not tolerate any mistakes, etc. Most importantly he would not help as he had many things to do and he would not find time to talk to me.
On the same day, Marc came to my office and handed me a pen drive with a bunch of documents. He asked me to read them to understand the nature of the work that I had to do. He was very friendly and asked me to talk to him if I didn’t understand anything.
This conversation had already eased me a bit about what I thought of him.
Final impression
As time passed by, I started learning about his super supportive behavior. I was still finding it a little difficult to communicate with him because he mostly spoke in German and sometimes it was hard for me to follow him with his talking speed. But he balanced it with a friendly attitude and explained something to me to the point where he was confident that I understood it.
He would come down to my level of understanding to explain to me the problems in the project. At the same time, he would also not help me in solving it. He would ask me to try it myself and would keep an eye on it and suggest me some ways if he feared that I was losing track.
He would also get angry at times, and say some harsh words but in the end, it always made me a bit better than before and a bit closer to the task completion.
He also understood my problem of being hesitant to talk to other teammates so he would call me to meetings that didn’t need my presence. He would ask me to just attend it and listen to others so that I could know what was going on, in the project. Even though he could answer my questions, he would ask me to consult other teammates.
This helped in filling the communication gap I had with my colleagues.
He would always say jokingly, “She is not an intern or student anymore. Now she is a full-time Engineer like us. Give her work, give her responsibility.” This boosted my confidence and slowly I started feeling that I’m one among them.
He would always say two things that inspired me the most,
You are in an on-job training where you would learn by doing.
You should be able to do everything because you are an Ingenieur (German translation of Engineer) and there is a GENIE in InGENIEur.
Before I could realize it,
- I had already done most of the work that was assigned to me. He made the process so smooth and organized that the task became easy.
- And I also felt integrated into the team with improved confidence and better communication skills.
After some months I was able to complete the task assigned to me and it helped me bag several accolades.
It has been around 4 years since this story and many things have changed since then. I have been moved to technical management but things I learned from him in those months are still playing a critical role in my professional growth.
I still look forward to him when I need any professional advice and surprisingly he always has a solution for my doubts.
Conclusion:
While I consider myself extremely fortunate to have found one such mentor in this cutthroat, competitive world who has generously shared his knowledge without hesitation, I also aspire to be one like him for my juniors.
I have learned many things from him but the most important ones that I try to practice and want the world to know are:
- Sharing knowledge and expertise: If you have experienced and overcome various challenges and hurdles that came with the job share it with your junior employees.
- Building trust and confidence: Try to create a safe and open environment where junior employees feel comfortable and confident to seek guidance and advice without fearing that they might be seen as incompetent or incapable.
- Encouraging personal and professional growth: Being an experienced employee you are more capable of identifying the strengths and weaknesses of fresh graduates. Be a good mentor and set realistic goals and provide guidance and feedback to help your subordinates achieve those goals. This encouragement and support will motivate them to improve their skills and abilities and develop a successful career path.
- Passing on the legacy: A good mentor not only helps junior employees in their professional growth but also passes on their legacy. As mentors retire or move on to other opportunities, the knowledge and experience they possess can be lost if not passed on. Ensure that the knowledge and experience you have gained are not lost but instead passed on to the next generation.
A good mentor is like a compass that steers you in the right direction and helps you reach your destination faster. — Simon Sinek
That’s a Wrap!
Read my other favorite stories here:
Why do I love reading “ABOUT MEs” the most?
A tragic saga that turned my friend into A man of Suspicious Character
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