What’s Going On Out There?
Only you know for sure. There are so many things happening in the software world today, it is an utterly futile task to report on it all effectively. In order to increase the value of SSWUG to all of our readers, we are enabling you to increase our awareness by becoming a "Field Reporter."
Intrigued? Want to be a part? Send an Email to Sam Brace at sam@sswug.org. You can also get more information about being a Field Reporter in the latest issue of SSWUG TV.
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Leadership vs. Career Building
As a follow-up to the previous editorial on this topic, I’d like to share responses from many of you.
Michelle writes:
My thoughts: you need two ingredients for a mentorship: someone who is willing to share experiences and insight, and someone who is willing to listen and absorb.
If you are the former, then mentoring happens with every breathe you take, and with every word you utter, whether you mean it to or not. Is the mentoring done in short bursts or over a longer period of time? Ah, that’s another story!
If you have any depth of experience, understanding, and skill (not necessarily in that order), and assuming that you have a hungry audience (like those of us who read your column daily), you’re going to be mentoring, and your mentorees (is that a word?) will be absorbing what you have to share. It used to be that your audience was small, composed of those you worked with on a daily basis, or — if you taught classes — students in the classroom. Today you can find yourself mentoring via emails, blogs, newsletters and — I suppose, if you’re really good at succinct bits of thought — Twitter.
So, to answer your question, " Do you find it difficult to fit mentoring into you daily work alongside of the technical tasks given you?", my answer is "no". It just happens.
I agree with you on the first idea, leadership versus career-building. if you’re in it for the long haul then I don’t see how you can separate the two. However, if you don’t care about your chosen field, if you’re only interested in ruthless corporate ladder-climbing and getting to the top as fast as possible, then yes, I can see where there the two would be mutually exclusive. However, note that while the leader tends to climb much slower than the career-builder, s/he is creating a "cushion" of support that is not available for the ruthless ladder-climber. When that ladder-climber slips and falls, it’s all the way to the bottom, and will often involve a career change going forward. I don’t think that’s for me…how about you?
Bill writes:
Regardless of the exact title, someone with a ‘Senior Anything’ title would have the responsibility to develop the ‘junior’ staff members. Such mentoring fulfills the “in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task” potion of the Wikipedia definition of ( Leadership ). One would think this is a non-stated job requirement. For the educated employer, senior people are not hired for their technical ability alone but, for their ability to create and motivate teams. Only a ‘pima donna’ would assume otherwise.
So, I have to agree with your assessment.
I have worked as a Consultant(programming), System Architect, Technical Lead(programming), Data Analyst, Truck Driver (Class A), Marine Mechanic, Plumber, and Stone Mason. In every endeavor, when I became senior, I assumed that it was ‘part of the job’ to mentor and co-ordinate activities for the less senior folks. It always seemed that my salary dictated that I assist the Owner/Manager with as much technical management and co-ordination as was possible. Of course, there are times when the ‘extra time’ required to mentor is limited (and must be limited to E-mail or other Question/Answer – such as Lync). But, one hopes that those limits are only temporary.
As a person who moves from position to position (Jack of all trades), I have often required some assistance from the senior folks (as I moved to their area). Of course, I am a self-starter and need only limited mentoring but, having people ‘in the know’ can save time regardless of level. The best teams are created from groups of people who enjoy sharing. Takers (prima Donnas) rarely give, and, Givers (Team Builders) rarely take.
Well, we have some cool things coming up next week. I hope you find great value in the different kinds of content we put in our daily newsletter. Of course, comments are always welcome…send them to me at btaylor@sswug.org.
Cheers,
Ben
SSWUG TV
With Stephen Wynkoop
Don’t miss this Interview with Itzik Ben-Gan, SQL Server MVP and co-founder of SolidQ. We’ve been reading his articles for years…find out what he has to share in his interview with Steve.
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