When people discuss mentoring, we think of an experienced and trusted adviser in a company or institution who trains and counsels new employees or students. Whether mentoring takes place at, or outside of work or school, it is invaluable, and will provide many benefits to both the mentor and mentee. Individual careers, businesses, our clients and the entire consulting industry will all profit by sharing our expertise and experiences.

I was fortunate to have several excellent mentors throughout my career, and I continue to learn and grow with them; one of many reasons I enjoy teaching AESAC training courses, and mentoring students, co-workers and colleagues. I get immense personal satisfaction from sharing my knowledge; and I always learn more about our industry with every course I teach.  As the poet Robert Frost observed ‘I am not a teacher, but an awakener.’ That’s exactly what mentoring means to me.

Benjamin Franklin once wrote ‘Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.’  This is especially true for experienced consultants who have the opportunity (obligation), to pay it forward to a new generation of environmental practitioners. When any industry forsakes employee training for profits, everyone suffers. Proper training requires dedication, patience, and a willingness to listen and learn on both sides. Yes, there is a time commitment and there can be financial implications for business; but the mutual benefits far outweigh any costs.

Our product is knowledge; and investments in training and mentoring serve to strengthen our product, clients, and the environment. Phil Collins, of the band Genesis, summarized it well by saying ‘In learning you will teach and in teaching you will learn.’ I encourage everyone to find the time to listen, to learn, and to teach; we all will be greatly enriched.

Originally published by AESAC as “The Instructor’s Blog” in January 2015