Mentoring in the Engineering Profession - …

1 Mentoring in theEngineeringProfessionThe James F. Lincoln Arc welding FoundationThe serviceability of a product or structure utilizing the type of information presentedherein is, and must be, the sole responsibility of the builder/user. Many variablesbeyond the control of The James F. Lincoln Arc welding Foundation or The LincolnElectric Company affect the results obtained in applying this type of variables include, but are not limited to, welding procedure, plate chemistryand temperature, weldment design, fabrication methods, and service guide makes extensive reference to the AWS Structural welding Code-Steel,but it is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all code requirements, nor is itintended to be a substitution for the code.

2 Users of this guide are encouraged toobtain a copy of the latest edition of the code from the American welding Society,550 LeJeune Road, Miami, Florida 33126. (800) information has been provided byThe James F. Lincoln Arc welding Foundationto assist the general welding in the Engineering Profession , IntroductionBy Duane K. Miller, , , Engineering ServicesThe Lincoln Electric CompanyCleveland, OhioMentoring - What Is It? Mentoring is a common buzz word in thecurrent field of training and professionaldevelopment. Most people believe it is adesirable activity that should be encouragedand done more often. Those who providetraining programs for companies and orga-nizations often boast in their promotional lit-erature that they will facilitate mentoringactivities.

3 In spite of all the current focus onthis issue, there is a surprising lack of infor-mation about precisely what constitutesmentoring. Even more discouraging, myexperience suggests that what people writeabout on this subject, and what trainingorganizations suggest they can deliver, sim-ply does not work. At a minimum, it isinconsistent with my experience in mentor-ing. Rather than debate the issue, three ofmy colleagues and I will each offer a per-sonal perspective on how Mentoring can beperformed in the Engineering Profession ,the benefits that can be achieved, and howthis activity can be DID IT BEGIN?The word mentor comes to us fromGreek mythology. Mentor was the name ofthe friend to whom Odysseus entrustedthe education of his son, to the American HeritageDictionary(Second College Edition), theword s meaning today is a wise and trust-ed counselor or teacher.

4 Defining Our TermsMentoring is a relationship between two core of the Mentoring process is therelationship between the mentor and theprot g . There must be a unique chem-istry and desire on the part of both individ-uals for the process to work. I doubt thatthis type of relationship can ever be forcedto occur. Corporate management cannotcreate these relationships. The mentoringrelationship is based upon respect, trust,and a mutually shared objective or person may initiate the relationship generally is initiated byone of the two individuals involved. Out ofadmiration and respect for the mentor, theprot g may attempt to initiate the relation-ship. The more common approach, how-ever, is for the mentor to seek out aprot g who will be capable of carrying onthe mentor s common goal is mentor and the prot g share a com-mon goal: A desire for the transference ofknowledge and experience.

5 The mentor iswilling to give and the prot g must beequally willing to receive. The mentoringrelationship will be successful when thishas been accomplished. The mentor willultimately view the success of the prot g as an extension of his own. Whatever suc-cess the prot g experiences, that personwill always consider it a direct reflectionupon his or her wisdom transferred is the mentor and the prot g recognizethat what is being conveyed through thementoring process is more than just infor-mation. Both individuals, and the prot g in particular, must regard the wisdom andskill being offered by the mentor as a high-ly prized treasure that is being entrusted tothe prot g . Mentoring is a long-term relationships generally last sev-eral years.

6 The process is gradual, proba-bly due in part to the fact that it is sopersonal. The prot g must earn the men-tor s trust, and the relationship will gothrough a trial phase before the mentoringprocess truly begins. Years of experienceare being transferred in the mentoringprocess, and they will not be immediatelyassimilated by the prot g .Most mentors will have just one prot g .The mentor generally counsels and teach-es just one individual who will carry onaspects of the mentor s life work. Whilethere may be exceptions to this rule, arelationship representing such a uniquecommitment usually occurs just once in prot g eventually will become soon as the prot g has assimilatedthe knowledge and experience of the men-tor, and particularly as he/she begins toreplace the mentor as the daily practitionerof the skills that have been transferred, theprot g will begin to think about being amentor.

7 After all, this individual hasreceived the gift of knowledge from anoth-er, and this gift constitutes a heritage thatmust be passed along to another individualwho will carry the expertise understanding of the mentoringprocess is heavily influenced by my per-sonal experiences, which are described inPart I of this series. In attempting to learnabout the subject from other authors, Icame across an article by Mr. Neil Bluntwho suggests that Mentoring may takemany different forms. According to Blunt,writing in the May 31, 1995 issue of PeopleManagementmagazine, There may be acase for collecting a sample of mentoringtales to gather for publication, in anattempt to encourage a wider audience tosee Mentoring in a desirable and realisticlight.

8 At the 1996 AISC National SteelConstruction Conference, Dr. Leroy of Georgia Tech argued for anincrease in Mentoring , so that the experi-ences of older generations can be trans-ferred to the next. This series of articles isour attempt to support such InnovationThe James F. Lincoln Arc welding FoundationMeeting My MentorI studied welding Engineering atLeTourneau university . The text forthe welding design course was (natu-rally) Blodgett s Design of WeldedStructures. During my senior year,Omer W. Blodgett and his wife Dorothyvisited LeTourneau university wherehe was the scheduled speaker for ameeting of the AWS Student Chapter Chairman, I had the privi-lege of sharing dinner with Mr. andMrs. Blodgett. To be able to share ameal and dinner conversation with this larger-than-life individual was a trulymoving was overwhelmed as he presentedprinciples of weld design, followed byapplication after application thatrecounted his experiences in the field.

9 Provide a path for the load to betransferred to a member that lies par-allel, Don t over-weld, Don t designwith your heart, Remember what youare designing for, and, Listen to thewelder were principles that heexpounded upon with experience andexcellence. After stating the princi-ples, he gave examples of how manu-facturers had violated the principles,and the solutions that he had offeredto overcome the design deficiencies. Iwas impressed! At the time, I had noway of knowing that this would be justthe first of many such the GroundworkDuring this visit to campus, met with several members ofthe welding Engineering faculty andexpressed to them his desire to havehis employer, The Lincoln ElectricCompany, hire a young engineer whowould eventually take over for him,since at the age of 60, he didn t knowhow much longer he would work.

10 Thementor had started the search for aprot g , and the Mentoring processhad few weeks later, I received an appli-cation for employment at LincolnElectric. It seemed rather routine atthe time. In reality, it was the initiationof a relationship that would becomefamily-like in its joining the company and com-pleting its training program, I went intoTechnical Sales just as Mr. Blodgetthad done. I can still hear him say, That s where you ll really learn aboutwelding and how it s applied. You llmeet some real geniuses out there,get to know some tremendous compa-nies, and make a lot of friends. It willbe a great education for you. And so itwas. Without my knowledge, the men-tor was already directing the activitiesof the prot g.