Articles

One of the questions I am asked the most is, How does one go about finding a mentor? The advice that a lot of the executives interview for this newsletter give is, “Ask someone.” A lot of people expect a mentor to find them and take them under their wing. While that certainly happens, you should feel just as capable of finding your own mentor. There are two basic steps to take before you “ask someone”: get yourself ready for a mentor, and start searching for one. Before you ask someone to be a mentor, you first need to ask... Read More

by Rik Nemanick, Ph.D.             Over the last few newsletters, I have written about the role goals play in mentoring and given advice to mentors working with a protégé and her or his goals. However, merely having goals does not mean they are the right goals. This article reviews goal setting as a key tool to take charge of your career as a protégé.             To help you take charge, it helps to think of yourself as a small business developing a strategy for success. The strategy starts with a vision... Read More

Mentoring in Practice A Conversation with Adam Heflin, Vice President of Nuclear, The Callaway Plant, Ameren Corporation Q:  Can you give me a quick synopsis of where you are and how you got here? A: Coming out of high school I joined the Navy as a “Navy Nuke” on a submarine. After six years in the Navy, I joined Arkansas Nuclear One as an equipment operator. I went up through the ranks of operations, became the outage manager for a period, then the operations manager. I was plant manager when Ameren called about 6 months ago.  I have been the... Read More

by Rik Nemanick, Ph.D.             In the last newsletter, I wrote about the role setting goals plays in a productive mentoring partnership. In this issue, I take a look at the process of working with career goals in the mentoring context.  1.   Create an environment for goal setting: The first thing to do is encourage your protégé to set goals. For some protégés, this comes naturally. For others, it can be difficult. Some may actively resist setting goals. Resistance may come from a fear of failure, fear of success, a desire to keep options open, or... Read More