The fever of 'Mentoring Madness' Published March 19, 2009 By Lt. Col. Marc Del Rosario 2nd Range Operations Squadron VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- It's that time of the year to get revved up because it's March-Mentoring Madness! Just like choosing your favorite basketball teams during March Madness; perform your research and make the selections based on past performance; or stick to strong loyalties; or choose based on who is at the top of their game and is respected by the competition. Surprisingly, the same level of research and passion in picking the best teams to win should apply to choosing your mentor(s). Mentoring is not just a buzzword in sports, military or business; it is what makes the difference when you have the right people furthering the development of your leadership skills. Two leaders have provided us an example of how they have taken mentoring to new heights, shared their visions and perpetuated success through their active mentoring of people they lead. Mike Krzyzewski is a leader who has made an impact in the lives of the Duke University basketball players. His mentoring style can be summed up in one quote: "That's what I do now: I lead and I teach. If we win basketball games from doing that, then that's great, but I lead and teach. Those are the two things I concentrate on." Three NCAA Division I Men's basketball championship titles and 828 wins are the result of mentoring his players to share the vision that breeds success. It all starts with early recruiting of basketball players who not only want to attend Duke but those who want to learn and play for Coach K. The select few are mentored in the Duke basketball's "team first" culture where the senior leadership core plays a vital role in passing down the values of the team to the next group. Lastly, Coach K. is personally involved in the grooming of each player in practice, in team meetings, on the drawing board, during the game, at halftime, during post-analysis of the games and in their responsibilities outside the basketball arena. Gen. Wilbur Creech, commanded Tactical Air Command (TAC) from May 1978 to November 1984, led the "TAC Turnaround" that is still felt today across the joint community. It was during his tenure that new combat scenarios were introduced into Red Flag, precision munitions were acquired, and the A-10, F-15E and F-16 were fielded in Air Force operational units. He is also remembered for establishing a mentoring system within TAC consisting of a selection process with record reviews and interviews for leadership positions in his command. Mentoring occurred on a routine basis in group settings at his commander conferences where he would discuss leadership topics across the AF to broaden perspectives outside of the flying environment. He also made sure these leaders were passing on this knowledge--to create more leaders. Lastly, a select few were systematically groomed for senior-level, strategic decision-maker positions in the AF. This involved moving those leaders to positions outside of their comfort zone to continue their leadership skills development in other environments different from their career fields. There are commonalities in the mentoring approach of both leaders in building the next generation of leaders: they personally involved themselves in the selection process, mentoring focused on leadership development, and grooming prepared the individual to succeed when faced with opportunities. Their success as mentors is an indicator that each one was viewed by the people they guided as trusted, wise counselors providing knowledge and life experience wisdom. Commanders, flight chiefs and Supervisors should take a lesson here in developing a mentoring style. Everyone you lead wanted to be in the AF and is looking at you as a mentor figure because you have succeeded in your area of expertise. The AF invests heavily in training our highly technical airmen and it's essential to the mission that we retain our highly-skilled personnel. Their decision to remain in or leave is ultimately a measure of their experience while serving in the AF. The responsibility of being mentors to our airmen should be taken with enthusiasm to ensure we grow the next generation of leaders for our AF. We, as leaders, need to be able to shape our personnel with career guidance, professional development opportunities, and immerse them in our Air Force Core Values so they can become professional Airmen with a warrior ethos. Having a strong mentoring program, with direct commander involvement, sets the tone for the unit. The results of Coach K and Gen. Creech speak for themselves. Six former players of Coach K have followed in his footsteps and coached at the highly competitive Division I level and another three are his assistant coaches. Gen. Creech's mentoring system produced general officers who have risen to become MAJCOM commanders, AFSPC commanders and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force. Mentors of this caliber and influence are rare; so how do you know who to pick as a mentor? First, you need to be able to be a good mentee. This will require an introspective look at your skills and evaluate your goals. Being "coachable" is key because mentors share lessons from their experiences so you can benefit from their mistakes and successes. Next, identify those skills you want to further develop and look at selecting several mentors who can act as your board of advisors. Your mentor(s) don't have to be directly in your workplace; they can be exceptional noncommissioned officers and commanders from previous assignments. Having several mentors will assist you with relevant perspective, and you should use them as a sounding board. Lastly, put that wisdom and guidance into action and make great things happen. All the knowledge they are passing is preparing you to lead in and outside of your comfort zone to take on increased responsibilities. March Madness has become a tradition for many college basketball fans to rally and discuss their bracket choices. Selecting your mentor(s) will require you to start the scouting process early to narrow down your "Elite Eight" or "Final Four."