The People, Process, & Progress Podcast - How are YOU Mentoring Others? - Reset Friday | S7 Ep8

Episode Date: September 27, 2025

In this Reset Friday road edition, Kevin reflects on the importance of sharing what we know instead of keeping it bottled up. Too often, knowledge, skills, and experience leave with us when we move on from a job, a team, or even life itself. Mentorship—formal or informal—is how we make sure others don’t have to start from scratch.Kevin shares examples from the workplace, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and fitness to illustrate how anyone can be a mentor, whether by giving pointers, offering structure, or simply encouraging someone to start. Whether you’re brand new or seasoned, you have something to offer. The challenge is simple: How are YOU mentoring others today????? Learn more in Kevin’s books:The Stability Equation: 7 Pillars for a More Balanced Life → https://a.co/d/fyLPR0QThe People, Process, & Progress of Project Management → https://a.co/d/bJTqTNG???? Own your mind, move your body, anchor your spirit.

Have you had somebody on your team or that you know in your personal life that had a bunch of knowledge and how to do things well, but it was all bottled up in their head? Well, on this Focus Friday, it's a thought from the road of driving home, from just being part of kind of a speed dating mentor, mentee, mentorship program where I'm going to be a mentor for somebody else and we got to meet different candidates, if you will. But what I thought about is how I have a lot of information. They have a lot of information. and people have so much knowledge, skills, and abilities in their head. And sometimes we miss the opportunity or we don't set up structures or opportunities for them to share that with others. So if they leave your organization, if your family member moves away or passes away or whatever it is, all that knowledge goes with them, all that know-how.

And that's really a negative impact to the organization, certainly to you. And so I just want to encourage. all of us, if you're brand new, you have something to offer, but also look for a mentorship program where you can sign up to put some extra time into learning from others who've gone through a lot of hurdles and road bumps, speed bumps, and walks that you have it yet, and they can share what worked for them, what didn't, give you better insight, prop you up for success. And then if you are that person that's been doing something for a while, you figure out a better way to do it, share that with others. Don't leave it in your head.

just so you can feel more special or just, you know, so you're always in the spotlight or just for whatever reason. Maybe you're not even doing it on purpose. It's just something you haven't thought of is think about if your organization doesn't have a mentorship program, think about how you can start one or unofficially just help others. If you're leading teams, you're by default, a mentor if you're a leader, right? Because you've been picked to be a leader for a reason. And part of that responsibility is how do I make this experience better, more efficient,

easier, if you will, for the people that work for me, based on what I know, based on the connections I can help them make in their relationships, and really provide that mentorship. Now, there's unofficial mentorship. You know, I'm not officially a mentor in Jiu-Jitsu, but as someone that's been grappling a little bit, I help people that are newer than me that totally lost, don't know what to do. Give them pointers, like, hey, see how I keep frustrating you here. Hey, see how you don't know what to do. Consider this move.

Give them little tidbits, right? or set up a structured orientation program to get them used to the basic moves. You can do the same thing, whether it's workouts, you know people that haven't worked out in a while, have never worked out, whatever it is. If you're regular into fitness like I am, and I know many of you are, don't give them the whole workout split, if you will. They don't even know what you're talking about. Mentor them and saying you've got to start somewhere.

Maybe do a baseline test to see where you are, get a physical from your doctor, try walking, try some body weight, build them up with basic exercise. exercises and help them get started. And in the workplace, it's very similar. In the workplace, you can have more structured because you can observe their work, right? You can sit in on meetings. You can give them feedback solicited or unsolicited sometimes if you feel like it's meted or you throw it out there.

And then you'll learn as a mentor how to give the feedback, not just here's the way I did it. Here's the way we've always done it. And here's what we should do. But here's what I found helpful. Here's what I've not found helpful. His feedback have gotten from the same literature work. with or having challenges with. And it's a very, it's a very uplifting and really positive experience to both receive

mentorship and coaching, like I'm in an executive coaching program right now where I'm being coached. And then to also provide mentorship based on the good works that you've done. So take this focus Friday to think about how are you helping others? How are you lifting them up? Particularly in your workspace. what are two or three things you can share with somebody

that you see struggling or that you think could use that information and then the same thing outside of work in your hobbies and coaching in your community and how can you help prop others up so you don't just keep all that information

and how we can just again keep those people the primary focus look at some processes that you can use or that you have used that others can benefit from and then you can both make progress together you progress as someone that's teaching someone else and then progress as someone that's receiving your knowledge.

Thank you for helping this show make progress and for listening on whatever platform you are. You know, it seems normal to say all the platforms, but you all know where you listen to podcasts. I'm also on YouTube at the People Process Progress YouTube channel. There's workout videos, cold plunges, chitza after actions. Got a few video episodes out. The audio version of this podcast is there.

And I appreciate your patronage there. It's free, right? I appreciate you like and subscribe and share. internet helping the channel grow because one positive feedback one changing you know one uh inspirational workout can change someone's life and that's what i try and do it's not just look at me if you want to follow me on social media i'm at uh own move anchor actually on twitter and instagram own your mind move your body anchor your spirit that's a principle i believe in and try and live by and you can find me on lincoln kevin penel thanks so much for finding the people process progress

podcast, particularly this Focus Friday Road edition. I hope you all have an amazing day and God's sweet.