What if there was an established channel in our organizations where the senior people could learn from the junior people and the junior people could be coached by their senior counterparts?
Russ Fostiak, Camden Breeding and Larry Nelson of hbk Engineering
Recently I had the opportunity, along with my colleague Richard Pearlman, to work with Ron Kaminski, CEO of hbk Engineering, and his senior leadership team. After we completed a communication exercise together, we were chatting in the hall with Ron, asking about the company and how he develops leaders. He casually motioned to a nearby office where three gentleman were seated around a computer and were in an engaged conversation. Russ and Larry were clearly the seasoned pros and in the middle was Camden, in his twenties – a new engineer with the company. Ron shared how its a regular practice at hbk to create opportunities for senior leaders and new hires to have regular forums to meet and learn from each other. I popped my head in and asked the three about the experience of sharing knowledge, learning from each other. They all agree it was a very helpful and effective experience. Larry added that he learned years ago that “the first ten years with a company you learn…next 10 -20 years you earn for the company…last ten years you teach. Clearly both Larry and Russ have embraced that idea and Camden is the lucky recipient.
Thanks Ron and hbk for the practical reminder of what coaching and mentoring can look like in real time.
