Voice of the DBA

Tag: mentoring

  • Giving Back to Speakers

    It might be hard to think back to 2007, but at that time, there were only a few SQL Server events taking place in the world. SQL Bits held its inaugural event, and we had the annual PASS Summit, DevConnections, and Visual Studio Live conferences. Microsoft had a few large events, but outside of user groups, that was it.

    In 2007, Andy Warren and I were talking and planning for SQL Saturday #1. That year we thought there were plenty of speakers in that area, with a number of MVPs. However, after the event, as other events sprung up in 2008, we worried if we’d have enough speakers.

    He did, and we continue to find new speakers every year. I’ve seen some really good ones, and some that need help. GroupBy is trying to do something in this area. They only choose a few speakers, but they’ve started a mentorship program that is geared to helping new speakers grow.

    You can apply to help today, and I’d encourage you to do so. I did.

  • Do You Have a Mentor?

    It’s partway through the year 2020 and I’m wonder if many of you are continuing with your resolutions at this point? I know that the yoga classes at my gym were already thinning before the COVID-19 crisis as people that started out coming regularly at the beginning of the new year slowly started coming less often or dropping out. I see that every year as resolutions start to fade in importance.

    Goals are good drivers, but also stern taskmasters, especially for those of us that are more type-A and driven. I sometimes avoid putting down goals because I’ve struggled to accept my inability to attain them. I’m working to accept the fact I miss some goals, but it’s a hard balance to strive. The goal has to mean something to work towards it, and it should be hard enough to stretch me, but I can’t be upset for not making it. I also can’t just accept not trying. I am never quite sure how to best tackle this.

    Earlier this year I was reading the sqlSkills newsletter and saw an editorial from Paul Randal. In it he talked about improving yourself, the different things you might try, and also the need to post-mortem your previous efforts. One other thing he mentioned was the value of having a mentor.

    I wonder how many of you have a mentor that you can call on. I know I’ve tried to help in the past with The Mentoring Experiment, Paul does some mentoring, and there other efforts out there. I think it’s valuable to get some mentoring at different times in your life, and from different people.

    I have a couple people that I know I can ask things of with regards to my career and personal growth. I’ve leaned on them at times, asking for advice or feedback on different ways to change my life. My wife is one, but there are a few others that have had quite a bit of influence on how I move forward.

    If you don’t have a mentor, I’d advise you to seek one out. Or maybe more than one. Ask someone you like, you trust, that isn’t directly supervising you (spouses excepted here), and that you think can give you honest and supportive feedback on your career, life, or something else. It’s a valuable tool to help you cope with the world and assist you in achieving your goals.

    Steve Jones

    Listen to the podcast at Libsyn, Stitcher or iTunes.

  • The Mentoring Experiment – Closing Thoughts

    Andy wrote a post today called The End of the Mentoring Experiment, which is something we’ve talked about for some time. In fitting with the decision, and perhaps justifying it further, we decided to do this a few months back, but as with many things, we haven’t gotten to it until today.

    I remember when we started this, and we were very excited and interested. The first cycle of matches, using 8 people we hand picked, consumed a lot of time, and while it was successful, it was difficult to scale. We continued on a couple other cycles, trying to tweak to process a bit, but never found a way to manage this effectively, given other parts of our lives, and were never quite comfortable with automating too much of the experiment away.

    We also struggled with the idea of accidently making some mistake, breaking someone’s privacy, or causing harm to another’s career or life. Andy wrote a few things about this, and it made sense to us.

    We do believe in mentoring, and I hope that those of you looking to grow your careers take time to look for mentors. If you need advice or want help, ask. There are lots of people that will probably give you a little time. It’s not a sign of weakness to need or want a mentor. It’s a sign of maturity.

    For those of you with some experience, keep an eye out for someone that might ask for help, or maybe just seem to be lost. Tread lightly, and carefully, but offer to be a sounding board if they’d like one. You can really make a difference in someone’s career with a little effort.

  • The Mentoring Experiment is taking applications

    If you would like a mentor, we’ are taking applications at The Mentoring Experiment. We ran this last year and it went well. We’ve been slow to get another round going for a variety of reasons, but we’re finally moving forward.

    If you would like someone to help mentor you in your career, apply. We have many more mentors that volunteered their time this year, and there should be a better chance of getting matched.

    NOTE: This isn’t training. A mentor isn’t there to teach you Reporting Service, or Service Broker. They are available to listen and help guide you in making decisions and choices in your career and life.

    Apply today.