Rory Cullen, Kaizen Software Developer

I’ve been thinking about mentorship lately due to my schedule of meetings last week. I had lunch with my last manager last week. He was the guy who had to hand me my “blue folder” when my position was eliminated this winter. Poor guy, he got his own folder three months later. We had only worked together for just over a year, and I admit our relationship is still developing. Working out of separate offices didn’t help, and we hardly worked together on the same projects. Due to all these circumstances, he never really became a mentor in the true sense of the word. As I get to know him better, I realize we have a lot in common, so I’m glad we remain in touch.

The next day, I had lunch with another of my former managers. He is a good guy, and someone I get along well with. Again though, our relationship was not one of mentorship. In this case, I had already learned most of the technical aspects of my job prior to reporting to him, and already had the reputation as “the go-to guy” for all things tech. In general, I would say we have different strengths, and both worked to use those to move the group forward together.

We all have a lot of managers in our lives, but not a lot of mentors. Mentors don’t need to be managers, but could be anyone in your life who influences you in a positive way. Nearly all of my managers have been valuable, or even friends, but not all are mentors for whatever reason. Professionally, I have had three primary mentors in my life. I thrive with mentorship, and would like to figure out why they were good mentors compared to other managers I have had over the years.

Paul B was my first mentor. Paul moved in next to my parents’ house when I was about 10 or so. He didn’t really move in, as much as he bought the land, and proceeded to build the house himself. My family is great, but we don’t have a history of building things. This alone was impressive to me. Anyway, time moved along, and Paul hired me to work part time in his office when I was about 14. He ran a steel fabrication company across town, about a 20 minute bike ride for me. I would work mornings from 9:00-12 or so, opening mail, answering the phone, etc. I worked this job for about four summers, eventually working full days, and expanding my responsibilities. I was copying blueprints, delivering steel around the state, one time supervising some onsite work. Ok, I may have been supervising because the other guy lost his license in a DUI, but we take our promotions where they come! Anyway, Paul was a great businessman to watch. From my desk in our one room office, I heard every call, every deal, and an occasional curse while looking over plans. He dealt fairly and sternly with his employees, and clients. I guess Paul was the first person to give me a chance to do things I’d never tried. If I typed up a letter and it had a typo, he would have me retype that letter. It might take me all morning, which was costing him money, but he was willing to let me learn on the job. I made other mistakes, and he might reprimand, but he always gave me a second chance.

My next mentor was one of the great leaders in my career, Geno from my first professional role post-college. Geno had what great leaders should have: Powerful voice, great suits and ties, and he was tall. Geno hired me on to my first job after college, and he was a master motivator. He was a dynamic leader, and knew the value of his people. He was only my direct manager for part of my time there, but before that he had identified me as the guy to take over a lot of his tasks. He was the “tech” guy on the team. He took the client questions about our software. He dealt with the largest clients, he dealt with the trickiest data, he went to the client when necessary. And he chose me to be his protégé. I took to the tech side very easily, going on to be an Operations Manager myself (his former role), and eventually founding the help desk for our company. Geno made this happen by making me feel important, and truly believing in me, and being a natural leader. I made this happen by being smart, a quick learner, and willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done right.

Most recently, I had a solid mentor early in my development career in Bob. Bob and I butted heads as often as not, but he was the technical guy in the group. Although not a natural leader in the frame of Geno, Bob was the perfect person to help me take that next step from software support to software programming. Again, I was groomed to take over for the top tech guy, and I did. Bob showed me the ropes, answered my questions, and taught me the right way to do things. Again, we never really did things exactly the same way, but we both believed in doing things right.

It’s been fun recalling these memories, now I just need to determine what made them valuable to me. Paul gave me chances to try things I’d never done, and he gave me responsibility with the possibility of failure. Geno believed in me, and taught me that great leadership goes a long way. He also taught me about respect. Bob taught me how to program. In the end, I took over the jobs of two of these three mentors. They all had this in common: They saw my potential, and gave me a chance to shine in their organizations. In exchange, I achieved that potential each and every time. I also learned how to be a mentor, which is just as important. These are the relationships that breed success, and that breed loyalty. I hope I can find another one of these guys in my next role.

Have you had mentorship in your career? Is it something you look for in a company? I do. I haven’t seen Paul for years now, I’m going to arrange to meet him soon and say thanks in person.