SSC embraces mentoring to develop our future leaders

SSC values employees’ professional development and has many ways to support them on their career paths.  For example, we have been involved in the Dr. Roberta Bondar Career Development Program for Young Women in Science and Technology (program) since it began in 2016.

The two-year program links young women to mentors in science and tech fields who can help them develop leadership skills and expand their networks.

SSC’s Laurie Stewart is a senior procurement officer and a program mentee. She credits her manager, Michelle Beaton, for telling her about the program and encouraging her to participate.

Laurie’s broad experience includes communications, project management, national security exercises and procurement. This, coupled with the skills and knowledge she is gaining through mentorship, have given her the confidence to work towards a senior leadership role within government.

In the first year, Laurie met a wide variety of mentors across Canada. She found most define success as personal growth.

“You start looking at things differently when you listen to all these amazing women and their stories. The program has already given me confidence in my abilities to take on additional work. Even if I don’t have the skills now, I’m building them as I go. There’s great value in learning from others and it’s much better than working alone. I’ve learned to reach out to people to help me.”

She also heard Roberta Bondar speak to program mentees.

“She told us the true measure of success should be the progress you make in building your skills toolbox.

Using that as a gauge for success in the workplace has changed how I see my role here and how I approach my work. I now measure success by asking:

• How am I changing as a person?
• Am I learning new things?
• Am I building my skills toolbox?
• Am I sharing those skills with other people here?
• Am I absorbing from the people above me?”

Dr. Bondar also shared the advice she would give her younger self.

“Don’t look at your career as a series of successes and fails, look at how it is changing you as a person. Look at your life as a work in progress and be proud of the small successes that fill your canvas. We all start out as blank canvasses and at the end of our lives, we hope they’re messy and full of mistakes and personal growth.”

In year two, Laurie will continue in her role at SSC and begin her one-on-one mentoring relationship with a senior public servant. Laurie looks forward to learning much through regular one-on-one conversations, job shadowing, attending meetings together, and more.

SSC’s Carol Hopkins, Director General, Integrated HPC Management is a second-time mentor in the program. She advises young women beginning their careers to seize opportunities with confidence.

“When you see an opportunity and want to refuse out of fear, think again. See the fear as simply a signpost of a challenge ahead. Overall, it’s important to value ourselves, value what we do, and enjoy what we do.”

Mentoring can have a huge impact. It helps employees set career goals and empowers them to take the steps they need to realize them. It helps develop future leaders and allows current leaders to “pay it forward”; passing their knowledge on to the next generation of talent. For Laurie, it has changed everything.