Sharpening My Leadership Potential Through Mentorship
Friday April 6.
Friday April 6 was one of the best, most exciting days of my semester — it was one of those days, where you wake up before your alarm clock goes off with butterflies and nerves taking over your body. I was not only able to spend my morning meeting six amazing executive professionals, but I was pushed to think differently, to make a difference in the community, and to truly understand what I want and need in my future career.
I’m getting ahead of myself — so let me back up…
The Telfer Executive Mentorship Program
Being heavily involved in extracurriculars at the Telfer School of Management, has provided me many unique opportunities — this one being a part of the Telfer Executive Mentorship Program. The program matches student leaders with an executive professional based on goals and interests — and in my opinion, I couldn’t have been paired up with a more fitting mentor: Bernie Ashe. I am so lucky. Six years ago, I took a sports and entertainment marketing class, my favourite class in high school, with the football coach/business teacher and since then, I haven’t looked back. Growing up as an athlete and sports fan, as well as a creative “maker” in between practices and studying, it was clear to me that I wanted to pursue 1) business, specifically marketing and 2) in the realm of sports. So why does this matter? Because Bernie Ashe is the CEO of Ottawa Sports & Entertainment Group. Like I said, I am lucky.
My Mentorship Experience
I’ve spent many hours with Bernie, talking about his career path and changes he’s seen throughout the sports and entertainment business, OSEG products and events (I love TD Place and Lansdowne), and my experiences and future. If I could summarize the overall experience in one sentence thus far, it’d be that I’m sharpening my leadership potential through mentorship — a unique opportunity that I can’t thank Telfer (or Bernie) enough for! The amount of knowledge, advice, and encouragement Bernie has shared with me is not only inspiring, but has allowed me to reflect, grow and develop as a leader, and furthermore, a better person in today’s society. One piece of advice that sticks with me everyday is to keep your horizons short. I constantly take a step back and reflect on my daily life and career goals, keeping this in mind to ensure I am living in the moment — because things never go 100% as expected, and everything happens for a reason.
Now back to Friday April 6 — Bernie provided me with the amazing opportunity to individually meet and tour with the Senior OSEG staff including: the Director of OSEG Foundation, VP Event Services, VP Communications & Content, General Counsel, the Growth Hacking & Analytics Manager, and COO (soon to be CEO), as Bernie is retiring. Like I said, exciting! After spending my entire morning at TD Place, it is clear to me that the people and culture of OSEG is passionate, inspiring, fun, and creating a unique entertainment experience for Ottawans to come together to share and enjoy. If I thought I loved TD Place and Lansdowne before, I love it even more now! The connections I made were strong and meaningful — I learned so much in just one morning.
Key Takeaways
Here are some of my key takeaways as a student leader and marketer heading into the business world soon:
- As a leader, it is so important to understand the Human Resources element of a business, and to take public speaking courses — it will pay off!
- When leading a group of people, know enough. Know enough about each role and task, but surround yourself with individuals who are specialized and understand those areas to a high degree.
- Get in the dirt — lead by example. Taking the first step and having the initiative to dive into a task or situation, will allow others to observe and follow.
- Philanthropy can be seen as a business strategy. It benefits the business and the community.
- Be aware of yourself and those around you. Understand what makes you tick, how you communicate, and how you come across to others — but also try to understand how people you do business with and spend time with, work and communicate most efficiently and effectively.
- Always make sure you’re having fun — work life balance is key in achieving business goals while managing stress, well-being and happiness.
- Growth hacking and analytics. As a modern marketer, I want to dip my toes into the field as soon as I can! Lots of learning to happen there.
To close off, “a lot of people have gone further than they thought they could because someone else thought they could”. My mentorship experience all-in-all, and my April 6 did just that — I’m inspired and hopeful in pursuing the career and life that I want. Thank you Bernie for being such a motivating mentor, to the rest of the OSEG staff I got to spend my morning with (can’t wait to visit again soon!), and the Telfer School of Management for the unique opportunity!
Mentoring is a two-way street, you get out what you put into it.
So tell me — who’s your mentor? Who do you look up to?
PS. I also received some awesome book and resource recommendations. Message me and we can chat further! :)
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