By: Elmer Zook, CEO/President, Quality Buildings LLC

Mentor: a trusted counselor; coach
Protégé: a person who is guided and supported by an older and more experienced or influential person

The ABC Young professionals have a mission statement of Empowering Young Professionals to integrate into ABC and the construction industry through: Networking, Education and Mentorship. In order to continuously cultivate the three components of our mission statement, we incorporated Networking, Education and Mentorship into our monthly committee meetings, with the mentoring consisting of a 15-20 minute presentation of the life of somebody’s daily responsibilities.

My personal experience with mentoring has a been a huge part of my personal and professional development. Learning from somebody who has already accomplished something that you are attempting to accomplish is extremely helpful and can help you to potentially avoid some of the mistakes that you will be prone to make without this wisdom and guidance.

In my position in building a business and adjusting to the demands of a rapidly growing business, I can say that mentorship has been crucial. It is easy to burn out when you think you are by yourself, but spending a few minutes in conversation with somebody that you trust and has faced very similar challenges can quickly change your perspective on the situation that you are facing.

As mentors ourselves, there are numerous individuals that might greatly appreciate words of encouragement and, so let’s be willing to give that perspective on a situation where we can be helpful to somebody or offer advice.

As a protégé, let’s ask questions and seek out those who are experienced in the areas we need to develop personally and professionally.

In the current construction climate here in the Keystone region, skilled labor is a big challenge which drives the need for mentorship in all aspects from business development, estimating, project management, job cost accounting, construction law, carpentry, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, masonry, and everything else that goes into construction. The increasing effect that technology continues to play in construction brings a need for mentorship across the board as the construction industry continues to thrive.

April 30, 2019