Mentors: What's something you wish you knew going in?

[Steven Smith]

Most of this is written under the assumption of a newer mentor looking to grow a program to a "high level". That is a personal/team decision though, and I'm not implying that is the only route to take.

• No one is perfect, and mentoring is a trainable skill that you get better at over time. It's good to have a 1/3/5 year plan, but it is also equally important to keep chipping away and make solid progress.
• Along the same lines, know your faults, surround yourself with people you trust to give you critical feedback when needed. Accept your faults, do what you can to minimize them, and delegate around them if needed. AKA, if you stink at planning and organization, you need to find someone to help you with it if you are the lead mentor.
• There is always more to do than time. FIRST gives us an endless buffet of opportunities. I'll second the comment on how good it feels to see a student (or a new mentor) knock something out with minimal instruction. It is awesome for them personally, but it is such as relief as you transition someone from a resource drain (in an acceptable way, people need training) to a new resource, as they can help with projects, help train new people etc.
• Again, along the same lines, you need to manage the amount of resource "drainers" and "suppliers" in your group. If you have 5 people that know what's going on and bring in 30 newbies, it will stress everyone. Focus on training people and getting them over that hump. You can't do the work of 5-10 alone, you have to train your team.
• Everyone has something to give or contribute. Find out what the skills are of people in your group and practice organization and delegation. You can't grow people if you try to do it all yourself. Nine times out of ten in the offseason, it is more important to grow the person than to do the thing... during build season, it's maybe more 50/50 for me.
• Make sure every meeting has a purpose. Don't just meet to hang out. It will burn you out. Leave time for planning and to be able to come in prepared.
• Focus on what's important. Write it down. Review it annually, you'll be surprised at how much you have accomplished.
• Know what is holding your team back. If you don't know, talk to mentors on other teams and get their perspective. It's too easy to look at the Tier 1 teams, and start selecting items off their "done list". I'd argue for many, it is the lack of team skillset (thoughout the team) and inability to plan and execute effectively. It is likely not... the fact that your pit isn't as cool, or that you don't have a $50K CNC machine. However, building a pit can give you an opportunity to train/plan/execute. Almost every offseason project should be viewed as a training exercise in some way.
• Communication is critical. Find a way to keep info out in front of your team. However, you need to watch over-communication. Not everyone is "on board" like you yet. Give people the information they need, and an avenue to get more if they choose.
• Document things. Blogs are great, just don't obsess over quality or audience. I shoot for one a week and to spend under 15 minutes writing it. It's ok to just have a blog for you, to remember what you do. Take lots of pictures, you'll love looking back at them in 2-3 years to see how far you came.