I am not a religious man, but I attended church some months ago with some friends and found the sermon to be quite inspirational. It talked about the relationship between Paul and his protege, Timothy. The sermon focused on how Paul had taken Timothy under his wing and given him the tools he needed to become a leader within his community. The point of the sermon was that Paul needed Timothy as much as Timothy needed Paul. The pastor went on to encourage the more senior members of the church to adopt a young member, looking for that spiritual mentor – because it is a mutually beneficial relationship.
Now again, I am not a religious man – at all. But I appreciated the value of the sermon and believe that its overarching theme is one that is vital in today’s government work environment. Mentoring emerging leaders will help you, as much as it helps them. There is so much value in being able to share your knowledge, experience and ingenuity with the up-and-coming members of the government workforce. It adds value to the organization, diminishes generational divides, and encourages retention within the agency. It also increases your skills as a manager, being able to communicate with a younger generation and leveraging a more productive work environment because of it.
Mentoring this generation now, will encourage them to mentor future generations.
How has being a mentor helped you?
To hear more on this topic and others come to the 3rd Annual GovLoop/Young Government Leaders Next Generation of Government Training Summit (July 26-27, 2012).
Originally posted in the Next Generation of Government Training Summit Group on GovLoop – please provide your comments there or here.
