AIO on Mentoring: 'Include Them in Your Journey'

Understanding personality types and being a generous professional mentor can influence one’s career, help or hinder one’s relationships, and affect one’s approach not only in business but in life.

That was the message of a seminar Tuesday led by George Okamoto, agency chief information officer for the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency. The workshop was part of the California Public Sector CIO Academy, held this week under the auspices of Techwire sister publication Government Technology.

“Somewhere along the way,” Okamoto said, “someone invested in you. If you bring folks along and include them in your journey, your work will get easier.”

“Achieving Leadership – Practical Applications for Today’s State Leaders” was Okamoto’s topic; he was joined by Tim Rainey, executive director of the California Workforce Development Board; and Cinnamon Cook and Michelle Peregrine, both from Deloitte.

Hitting the theme of leadership and mentorship, Okamoto and Rainey both noted that the best leaders aren’t afraid to surround themselves with bright proteges — no matter where one finds them.

“If you invest in someone when they’re at a lower level, imagine what that looks like later,” once they’ve matured into a leadership position of their own, he said.  

Rainey, who came from a labor leadership background, summarized a problem faced by executives in the public and private sectors alike: “I had to look around my organization for people who had the skills I didn’t have.”

Okamoto noted the difficulty of that challenge when training budgets are often the last thing on a priority list and the first thing to get cut when money gets tight.

“I can see a lot of heads nodding,” he said. The workshop participants included state workers as well as those from the private sector.

“Find out what motivates your staff,” Okamoto advised. “Tell them, ‘I want you to ride with me.’ How do you generate the next generations of leaders? You tell them, ‘You’ll own this someday.’”