When you meet my guest for episode 8, he immediately draws you to him. He has spent the majority of his career as a college professor, but he taught so much more than what was on his students’ syllabus. Actually, he didn’t just teach, he created environments and opportunities that helped everyone become a student that wanted to learn. We all had those teachers that taught you, made you memorize the financial formulas or repeat back the parts of the body, but you were lucky if you got a teacher that enabled you to dig deeper and ask questions. They push you to immerse yourself in learning. If you experience this, you walk away being confident in your understanding and possibly mastery of the topic or task, but even more, you learn “soft skills” and life skills along the way.

Dr. Fadi Aramouni is the epitome of an enabling teacher. You can talk to any of his students over his 30+ years as a college professor and they will agree. But furthermore, he also had the opportunity to work with small and large businesses across the industry to also help them to immerse themselves and grow as problem-solving innovators. With a focus in food science Dr. Fadi knows the importance of providing an environment to learn, without providing all the answers. In this episode, we dive into how to foster others’ ability to learn and so much more. Dr. Fadi had spent the majority of his career at Kansas State University in the Food Science Department and has recently taken a new position to tackle more challenges.

CONNECT

I remember being about six years into my career and thinking I’d like to train to become a manager. I find that it’s rare for medium to small businesses, and sometimes even large businesses, to train their employees to move into management positions. Instead, it seems you change jobs and start managing to get promoted. If you are in a similar position, maybe now is a good time to help create an environment for interns or maybe students still in school. How can you help them learn and make connections, but build a safety net so it’s not so intimidating? 7:08

Dr. Fadi shared specific advice from his experience on how to build a culture of learning and growing for others. He mentioned that he worked with many female students that were some of his top students, but they weren’t comfortable enough in their knowledge. So he helped. He reminded them that nobody was born knowing everything. Second, he created that safety net. If they failed, together they would look for the reason why they failed and he would be the fall guy, so there was less risk. 8:14

CHANGE

When you are a driven individual who wants to grow, that means change is inevitable. If your goal is to get a promotion with your current company or get hired for a role with a new company, that means change. What are you doing today to prepare yourself for that change? Are you surrounding yourself with individuals who will help you grow, but also that you can help in return? If you are looking for a position in management, but have yet to manage employees, look for opportunities to lead the team on a project. Take this chance to look at what you like about managing, what you are good at and where you can improve. Create opportunities for yourself to grow. 12:29

A great mantra that Dr. Fadi shared is perfect for a time when you are changing and evolving. A ship in the harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for. If you are built for bigger things than where you are today, take the leap. Or maybe it’s not you that is ready for bigger things. Do you have a teammate that reports to you and is on the fringe of the next step in their journey? If so, how can you create the opportunity for them to leave the port? Make it so they can fail, but not be scared to learn from their mistakes and come out the other side. 13:38

Another important idea that Dr. Fadi shared from his experience was the need for cross training. He started his career at a poultry processing facility and he managed 13 individuals. At the beginning of his time in the role, if any one employee was sick, there was no one to fill in for them during their shift. This was not productive. So, Dr. Fadi saw an opportunity for cross training. Each of the 13 employees were trained in each position. That way if someone was out, they could fill in the missing position and production could continue. If you, or someone on your team is out for the day or an extended period, could someone fill in? We can’t be intimidated to have someone else know how to do our job. If they can keep the balls in the air while you are out, productivity continues and you can shift back once you are back for your position. Cross training also allows managers to identify opportunities for their teammates to find skills or responsibilities that they would like to learn more about and grow into in the future. 14:43

Once you’ve identified those areas for your teammates to learn, it may mean you stepping aside and letting them step up. In my last position I had a few aspects of my job that I held on to, even as our team grew. Why? Not because I was the only one that could do them, but because I liked them. If you are wanting to grow, that means you must let go of some of those fun aspects of your job, and let your reports and teammates have a chance to learn that element of the job and have their opportunity to challenge themself. 19:09

Even though 2020 has put a damper on some of our adventures, traveling to other countries or even eating at multicultural restaurants are great ways to stretch ourselves. If you have the opportunity to travel to another country, take it. Dr. Fadi provided that opportunity for many students and it helped them to grow in their cultural awareness and understanding. 21:04

CHALLENGE

Before you focus on building others, you have an opportunity to look back at those that have helped build you and your career. The first challenge is to consider two of these individuals. What did they do to help you grow? How can you take what they taught you and help others? What tactics did they use? Now, go and say thank you. Everyone could use a pick me up of merry mail. Send a thank you to at least two of these supporters. It will go a long way for your relationships. 24:01

The second challenge is to think about one person that does not work with you currently that you could help grow. Maybe it’s a student, a young professional, relative or someone you are connected to socially. Meet with them and see where they want to grow in 5 to 10 years and see how you can help. Is it an experience you have been through, that you can share about, or maybe a connection you have who is in the position they would  like to grow into? Find a way you can help build others, and you will find yourself growing. 24:49

Also, if you are in a time of transition, don’t be afraid to reach out to those that have helped you, or those that you have helped. Connect with them on LinkedIn or ask for reviews and feedback. Maybe you need a reference - just ask! 30:01

I hope you gained some insights from my friend, the insightful, fun and caring Dr. Fadi Aramouni. Just remember, if you help others, you are learning and growing at the same time.