Ever wonder how leaders get ahead by mentoring and taking risks? Should you try? If so, when? Shane and David share valid points to consider beforehand.

WAEPA CEO Shane Canfield joined the organization in 2016, having most recently served as the Executive Director of the Council on Employee Benefits. He has spent most of his career in the pooled-risk group/affinity insurance industry. He has an MBA from George Mason, is a Certified Employee Benefit Specialist from the Wharton School of Business and the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, and is a Registered Health Underwriter from the American College.

A 30-year career veteran, David Vela retired as deputy director, exercising the authority of the director of the National Park Service (NPS), in August 2020. In this role, he managed over a $3 billion dollar budget, more than 20,000 employees, and America's 419 national parks. In addition, Vela served as Chair for the Committee for the Preservation of the White House. 

Main Takeaways:

• First impressions are important impressions
• You are not born a senior executive. But rather you get to learn certain skills throughout your life and career that you use. This is a lifelong journey and you should be encouraging and mentor those that are starting out as well as prepare to be mentored in turn.
• There are certain expectations and realities of the workforce that you have to learn when you are starting out.
• You need to have a development plan for those who are starting out. Strive for a balance between building expertise and passion and temper it with the reality of the business or organization that you are in by providing mentorship, support and encouragement in the process.
• Be humble when you receive hard feedback. You need to analyze the feedback that you receive and discover the intent behind it. Remember that there is always something to learn from feedback, even if you do not agree with it.