CAF Story | Mentoring through the ranks
Video / January 26, 2024
Transcript
So, the journey started for me... back in 1986. I was part of the Air Cadets at the time. And we had gone through a change of leadership. And it was what he imparted on us as young men and women. The values, the ethics, the teamwork that got hooked on wanting to join the Canadian Armed Forces. Because I wanted to be part of an organization that was like that. I'm Chief Warrant Officer Bob McCann.
I’m the fifteenth Chief Warrant Officer of the Canadian Armed Forces. I joined as an MSE Op, so a trucker. And I joined because of the special pattern vehicle. I joined because of the heavy equipment. I joined because of the snow removal equipment. Because that's really what got me excited. I wanted to operate equipment and machinery. Um... But I stayed for 34 years now, because of the people. It's the leadership, and it's what we can do when we get together that really got me hooked. It's the opportunity to be coached through hard times. It's the mentorship that we can get with each other that really made me want to stay with this organization and help our members move forward.
So, I was fortunate, during my first posting at Bagotville ... the instructor who had taught me on my QL3, which is the basic course in the Canadian Armed Forces, was transferred to Bagotville. So, I had ... not a friendship, but an acquaintanceship with that master corporal who was promoted to sergeant. And he took me under his wing because I was the only soldier at Bagotville at the time in the transportation field. He started showing me the tricks of the trade. He started to get me involved in how to give training periods, defensive driving courses, hazardous materials courses. Then, slowly, he began to transfer his knowledge to me.
It's something that I really appreciated because I had someone who was really able to show me how to move forward. When I was transferred to Valcartier, he was transferred to Valcartier as well. He continued to mentor me and help me on my career path even then, to the point where we were promoted to warrant officer at the same time in 2002. So it's really, when we talk about mentoring, a friendship relationship that developed, but that evolved into a mentoring relationship over the years. So, for me, when you talk about mentoring, it's the ability to use your experience, pass your knowledge and not make decisions for people, but to really give them choices.
So, if I could talk to my younger self, I think the most important thing I would tell myself is: Don't chase promotions. Take care of the people in the organization, support them, look after them and your career will take care of itself. Every day, when we go to work, we have to be ready to give 110% of ourselves. We have to be ready to make mistakes and learn from our mistakes. We must be open to learning something new every day, remain open to being coached and mentored by our peers, but also coach and mentor our peers and subordinates. Then, when we get home in the evening, we spend quality time with our families, but we must be ready to do it all over again the next morning.
Being a member of the Canadian Armed Forces is probably one of the ... proudest things I've done in my career. It's the opportunity to show the flag. It's the privilege to come into work every morning and wear this Canadian flag on your shoulder. And not every Canadian gets to do that.