Mentorship a 'fundamental responsibility' for senior leaders

  • Published
  • By Rebecca Amber
  • Staff writer
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Selina Carr-McEwen, 412th Test Wing Financial Management budget analyst, was stationed at Aviano Air Base, Italy, as a military spouse when she began to feel that her career was on hold. It was only two years since she graduated with a masters degree in 2008, but she was beginning to feel lost.

"In Italy it was really hard for me because I had my masters, but I couldn't really move up; there was no promotion potential. You were lucky to even get a job over there," said Carr-McEwen. "I wanted something more, but what could I do sitting here in Italy for three years to advance my career?"

That's when she discovered a Defense Decision Support Course for Financial Managers and decided to take it. At the end of the class, Carr-McEwen had the opportunity to speak with the Defense Financial Management & Comptroller School director about her career goals and her desire to reach Senior Executive Service.

Carr-McEwen was later introduced to her mentor, Glenda Scheiner, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, Human Capital and Resource Management director.

"The DFM&CS director was a colleague of mine who was in the military and contacted me to ask if I would be willing to begin a mentoring relationship with Selina," said Scheiner. "Since we were both civilians, she thought I might be in a better position to advise her."

Scheiner and Carr-McEwen began interacting by phone and email, finding opportunities for Carr-McEwen's career development.  

"There were things that I could do to help set myself up so that when I got back to the states I could quickly catch up and be competitive," said Carr-McEwen.

Today, Carr-McEwen has been at Edwards AFB for two years and in that time she has achieved two Air Force-level awards - Civilian Achievement Medal for Outstanding Service and Financial Management Analyst of the Year. For further development this year, she also applied for the Financial Management Staff Officer Course and Air Command Staff College; results are still pending.

"She really helped me through a very stagnant period in my career where I felt lost," said Carr-McEwen.

Carr-McEwen has continued to be mentored by Scheiner over the last four years and on Sept. 23, that relationship brought Scheiner to Edwards to speak to financial management personnel. Scheiner gave insight on the new mandatory, three-level certification process for all DoD financial managers that was launched in July 2014. While Scheiner gives that brief regularly at various bases, what made this visit special was the additional brief she offered on leadership and mentorship.

"I feel like it is a fundamental responsibility of every senior leader to mentor the next generation; to help bring people along to be our replacements in the future," said Scheiner. "Senior leaders get busy and some people think that they do not have the time to mentor other people. I think that we can't afford not to."

The value in a mentoring relationship, according to Scheiner, is the opportunity to have meaningful, directional discussions.

"When Selina and I chat we usually have a particular topic so it's a very focused discussion."

For those seeking a mentor, Scheiner recommends finding a mentor who will offer a candid perspective. Once that mentor has been selected, the mentee should be committed to the relationship and prepared to take initiative.

"The mentor is usually very busy so the mentee should develop a schedule if they want to have recurring sessions. The mentee should take the initiative to put the schedule on the calendar, and when they do make those appointments, they should be prepared with different things they want to discuss."

"A good mentor finds out about you and your goals. If you are lost, they help you focus on something to strive for," added Carr-McEwen. "Ms. Scheiner has empowered me to realize that self-development is whatever you want it to be."

For those who want to be a mentor, Scheiner advises them to consider the mentorship a top priority, not something that can be put off.

"One of the things I think you derive [as a mentor] is a renewed energy and excitement," Scheiner said. "As you move along in your career, you forget some of that initial excitement and energy and enthusiasm that you get along the way. The mentor also grows through the relationship because the mentee brings forward different situations from what you've even encountered; you're challenged to think through the lessons you've learned and apply them to the new situations so that you can provide good advice."

Still today, as a senior executive officer, Scheiner has mentors that she reaches out to for guidance. Carr-McEwen has started to share what she has learned with others starting out in her career field. What both women have learned is that mentorship is what you make of it and attitude is everything.

"I may not always be able to control the things that are happening," said Scheiner. "But I can absolutely control my reaction to it. That is determined by one's attitude and that makes all the difference."