THE UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO
I have been fortunate throughout my career to work with some great mentors and professional coaches. I am also grateful for the opportunity to help mentor and coach people during their career journey. They have helped shape who I have become as a leader today. While being a leader inevitably puts you in a position to mentor and coach those on your team or others around you at work, I think it is important to acknowledge the importance and impact an outside mentor or coach can have on someone. Sometimes people think that only younger workers need a mentor or coach…nothing could be farther from the truth!! No one is too old or too experienced to not have a benefit of working with a mentor or coach. A mentor can informally help guide you or provide objective advice that you may not normally observe or learn on your own. It is important to seek out mentors who have experience in areas that you are looking to learn, grow, or expand in. Perhaps they can help you with a weakness you think you may have. While friends and co-workers can provide feedback, and outside mentor can often give feedback the correct objective perspective that those close to can sometimes not see because they are too close to you. If you have the opportunity to participate in a professional development program involving an executive or professional business coach, I encourage everyone to take advantage of it! A good coaching experience that is part of professional development program is a great way to really focus on key areas of improvement or further sharpen key skills. Twice in my career, I have worked with executive coaches at key junctures in my professional development. Their ability to quickly hone in a key areas and provide concrete steps to improve my own leadership and performance helped step up my career to the next level. I challenge all of the leaders out there to take advantage of opportunities to be a mentor or coach for someone else who you can help. Whether it is someone just starting off their career or someone looking to grow, you have the opportunity to be a positive impact on someone! I am excited to be currently partnering with the Penn State Alumni Association as a coach for their newest iteration of the Young Alumni Ambassador program. As part of the program, myself and 16 other alumni coaches are paired with a recent graduate to help coach them 1 on 1 over the next year as they begin to transition from college life into professional life. It is an exciting program and I am looking forward to the opportunity to give back and return the coaching favor to help a future leader!
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About Shawn:My philosophy as an IT leader today is that I believe you must first and foremost be a business leader. It is my goal to be a strategic partner with the business to help it make money, save money, and be the absolute best in the industry at what we do. Having the technology competencies and experience is just your entry fee to sit at the table. Every day, I am bringing 20+ years of IT experience to the table in the areas such as:
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