Professional Development: Part 8—Mentoring the Next Generation

      As in other fields, aspiring EMS leaders require role models and guidance. This is especially true in EMS, as we have a higher-than-average turnover rate, and an increasing number of our managers opt for work outside the EMS setting or leave to start careers in different fields. There are even some who say we're at a crisis point in regard to this "brain drain" of talented managers in EMS, and without current leaders mentoring the next generation, this crisis could become worse.

   At some point during your career, you may have considered becoming a mentor but dismissed the idea, thinking it wouldn't be worth the energy you'd put into it. It may be time to rethink your decision. Being a mentor is more important than ever--and you may get more out of it than you think.

What Is a Mentor?

   A mentor affects the professional life of a protégé by fostering insight, identifying needed knowledge and expanding growth opportunities. This assistance supplements the coaching an individual receives from his or her direct supervisor. The mentoring relationship traditionally consists of a more experienced person providing guidance and advice to an associate with less experience. The associate is looking to move up the career ladder, usually by learning from someone successful and respected.

   Mentors typically play four overlapping roles:

• Coach, showing how to carry out a task or activity;
• Facilitator, creating opportunities for learners to use newly acquired skills;
• Counselor, helping the mentee explore the consequences of potential decisions;
• Networker, referring the mentee to others when their own experience is insufficient.

Why Become a Mentor?

   Mentoring gives you the extraordinary opportunity to facilitate a protégé's personal and professional growth by sharing knowledge you've accumulated through years of experience. While the primary intent of your mentoring role is to challenge the protégé to think in new and different ways, the protégé is not the only one who gains from the arrangement. As a mentor, there are various ways you can benefit as well.

   You enhance your skills. The experience you gain by mentoring someone can facilitate your professional growth, making you more of an asset to your EMS agency or even later when you leave it. Mentoring lets you strengthen your coaching and leadership skills by working with individuals with different backgrounds and personality types. Your ability to manage people different from you is a valuable commodity, especially as the workplace grows more diverse. Besides enhancing your skills, mentoring can improve your performance. One of your roles as a mentor is to set a good example for your protégé. Knowing you are responsible for providing appropriate and accurate guidance to that person motivates you to work harder. Further, mentoring can give you a fresh perspective on your performance.

   You develop and retain talent in your organization. As an EMS manager, you know the importance of developing and retaining good employees. By priming promising employees to become top-performing managers and by providing them with the challenges, support and commitment needed to keep them in your organization, your mentoring efforts effectively address issues of succession planning and retention. They will also assist in identifying and developing internal talent and provide upper management the option of promoting from within.

   You create a legacy that has a lasting impact on your protégé and the EMS field. Not only will you gain the satisfaction of helping develop future talent, the knowledge you foster can inspire new ideas for generations to come. You also help carry on your organization's legacy by passing its values and mission on to your protégé.

What It Takes

   After reading all of the above, do you feel you have what it takes to be a mentor? It takes commitment and confidence in your own abilities and requires that you be sincerely interested in someone else's growth. You won't win any awards, but you will have the satisfaction of doing an important job.

   There is no one element that can make or break the mentoring relationship. Each relationship will be influenced by a variety of factors. While one may progress smoothly, another may take more time to develop. If you find a relationship is not going as planned, make some changes. Remember, the underlying goal is to create an opportunity for open dialogue and feedback between an experienced operator and an underling looking for guidance and wisdom.

Conclusion

   Although mentoring can be a rewarding experience, becoming a mentor is a weighty decision that shouldn't be taken lightly. The benefits to you, your agency and the field of EMS, however, can be well worth your effort.

Mentoring Resources

• MENTOR: www.mentoring.org
• Mentoring: https://managementhelp.org/guiding/mentrng/mentrng.htm
• The Mentoring Group: www.mentoringgroup.com
• National Mentoring Center: www.nwrel.org/mentoring/index.php
• Coaching and Mentoring for Dummies: Marty Brounstein, For Dummies, 2000.
• The Elements of Mentoring: W. Brad Johnson, Charles R. Ridley, Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
• Power Mentoring: How Successful Mentors and Proteges Get the Most Out of Their Relationships: Ellen A. Ensher, Susan E. Murphy, Jossey-Bass, 2005.

Raphael M. Barishansky, MPH, is chief of public health emergency preparedness for Prince George's County (MD) Health Department. A frequent contributor to and editorial advisory board member of EMS World Magazine, he can be reached at rbarishansky@gmail.com.