New Year, New You?
UFCW Sisters,
You matter.
Your thoughts, your skills, your experiences, and your abilities are POWERFUL. As you look at the year ahead, I encourage you to view it through the lens of confidence. Confidence in the immense power you already hold within.
January is National Mentoring Month. We begin this year with you by providing some mentorship tips to help build upon the power we each hold.
Take a moment to think about your own experiences. Who have you turned to for guidance during your career? Who has turned to you? What impact did those relationships have on your work life?
It is easy to become overwhelmed when thinking about mentoring others or even being a mentee yourself. It does not have to be all or nothing though. While formal mentorship programs are found to be quite successful, informal mentor/mentee relationships are also impactful. Retention rates, career development, personal growth, and mental health are all significantly improved when we participate in purposeful relationships with others in our field.
The UFCW Women’s Network proposes mentorship can be broken down to 3 C’s; Connect, Counsel, Champion.
Connect- Build trust with others who have the knowledge you desire and/or desire the knowledge you possess.
Counsel- Listen. Reflect. Guide. Others can learn from our experiences, yet each path is unique. Guiding others to find their own power, their own solutions, is how we share our power in a lasting way.
Champion- Advocate for success in all forms. Celebrate definitive victories. Focus on the knowledge gained from perceived failures.
Implementing mentorship into your own life can be as simple or complex as you have capacity for. Many of us already have these relationships in our lives yet, approaching them consciously can multiply the positive effects. An easy start could be casually asking for advice on an upcoming decision or inviting a less senior member/ peer to sit down for a cup of coffee. If you are seeking a more substantial relationship, ask a new union sister or admired leader to set aside 30 minutes each week, to review their steps or your own. The only ingredients that are critical to a successful mentor/mentee relationship is the desire to grow and a willingness to share.
In my own journey I have benefited from the power of mentorship. Blanche Pasnick, Union Representative at UFCW 1442, embraced the role as my mentor when I first became a union representative. During the transition of her territory becoming mine she led me through crucial components of the new to me position. Blanche was an invaluable counselor, inoculating me in many parts of my new position such as; how to deal with labor relations to get the best results for our members and navigating contract enforcement issues. With her support I was able to more easily navigate how to be a woman in our male dominated industry and most importantly, how to prioritize taking care of our members. To this day, we meet twice a year and Blanche checks in on my progress and offers her support.
This year women may again face battles that were believed to have already been fought and won. We have not lost our power! Our ability to embrace, encourage, lead, and follow one another is innate and cannot be squashed unless WE allow it to be so.
If you are seeking help in finding a mentor of your own and/or are open to welcoming a mentee, please reach out to us. We hope you will continue to join us in this journey, share your stories of victories and challenges with us and of course, invite your fellow UFCW sisters as well.
The UFCW Women’s Network is dedicated to offering opportunities to continue to build upon the power you possess. Only you, though, can make the choice to embrace your immense strength and utilize it to meet the needs of yourself and others.
In Solidarity,
Deliana Speights
Chair, UFCW International Women’s Network
