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January is National Mentoring Month

  • Published
  • 81st Training Wing Public Affairs

National Mentoring Month was launched in January 2002 to connect people invested in the mentoring movement and to help people accomplish their life and professional goals.

On Dec. 30, 2021, President Biden proclaimed January 2022 as National Mentoring Month. The Department of the Air Force values mentorship as an enterprise imperative and is committed to increasing deliberate mentoring for our Total Force Airmen and Guardians. DAF will capitalize on National Mentoring Month in January 2023 to promote a Total Force mentoring culture and to show Airmen and Guardians how mentoring can help maximize their full potential. The Air Force’s 2023 theme for NMM is “Love your mentoring journey.”

President Biden’s NMM Proclamationhttps://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/12/30/a-proclamation-on-national-mentoring-month-2022/

“Love your mentoring journey” means to enjoy the process it takes to form a mutually beneficial mentoring relationship and achieve your most desired goals. Every Airmen and Guardian is unique, and their mentoring journey should be tailored to meet the needs of their specific journey. 

As part of National Mentoring Month, the Department of the Air Force will host a series of virtual live events focused on educating Airmen and Guardians on key aspects that influence their mentoring journey, the importance of mentoring, and how to register on the MyVECTOR Mentoring platform.

Mentoring is a relationship in which a more experienced person shares their knowledge and skills with a person with less experience in an effort to help them grow, develop, and gain new perspectives. Often this relationship is between a senior and a junior member.

Both services hope to motivate Airmen and Guardians to use the mentoring capabilities of MyVECTOR. Recent updates allow members to search for mentors with new attributes such as Exceptional Family Member status, race, and ethnicity. Race and ethnicity were specifically added as an effort to overcome the lack of mentorship options addressed in the Racial Disparity Review.

This year, the Air Force will work with private social media professional development mentoring groups to modernize the messaging and outreach of NMM. Facebook groups like Us-Mentoring-Us (UMU), Crucial Convo, and AF Blue lab are established and valuable social media platforms that have been highly influential promoting the message of mentoring across the force.

Below are the virtual events scheduled for National Mentoring Month:

9 Jan 2023 @ 1100-1200 EST: Mentoring Month Kick-off (Zoom)
11 Jan 2023 @ 1100-1200 EST: USAFA Mentoring Month Workshop (Zoom)
18 Jan 2023 @ 1800-1900 EST: AF Blue Lab: Mentoring in a Digital Era (Facebook)
23 Jan 2023 @ 1930-2100 EST: Crucial Conversations (Zoom/Facebook)
31 Jan 2023 @ 1100-1200 EST: Mentoring in Action! (Zoom)
1 Feb 2023 @ (TBD): Us-Mentoring-Us (UMU): “We got Next” Mentee Perspective (Facebook)

9 Jan 2023 @1100-1200 EST: National Mentoring Month Kick-off (Zoom Webinar)
In order to maximize engagement for National Mentoring Month, the Air Force will be hosting a virtual mentoring month kick-off panel. Hear from key leaders from enlisted, officer, guard, reserve, Space Force, and the US Army as they share key insight on factors that helped shape their mentoring journey. After hearing from each panel member, there will be a short MyVector demo that demonstrates the mentor and mentee features within the system.

https://www.zoomgov.com/j/1603334786?pwd=c2FYZnJaanFHWkhudVBiYTBQQWRTdz09

Webinar ID: 160 333 4786
Passcode: 371908

11 Jan @ 1100-1200 EST: USAFA - Mentoring Month Workshop (Zoom Webinar)
The United States Air Force Academy will host a NMM panel that illustrates the roles and responsibilities of mentors and mentees in a mentoring relationship. See how both parties of a mentoring relationship can benefit from one another and work to reach their fullest potentials. Whether it be job related or personal habits, hobbies, or curiosities, a mentoring relationship can help unlock the burning desire to achieve new things in your mentoring journey.

https://www.zoomgov.com/j/1608456220?pwd=MEdmN2F3TXlOOEtwNWU4QzVFeXZYZz09

Webinar ID: 160 845 6220
Passcode: 319405

18 Jan @ 1800 – 1900 EST: AF Blue Lab – Mentoring in a Digital Era (Facebook)
Air Force Blue labs and key Air Force tech leaders will be discussing the impact that digitization and technology has had on mentoring. Technology has changed the world forever and, with that, comes a new era of how we see mentoring. Leveraging technology to enhance the mentoring experience will allow the Air Force to connect more than ever and open the door to more effective mentoring relationships across generations. With things such as social media, virtual collaborations applications, and digital tools that enhance our learning capabilities, we must understand how to leverage this digital environment to enhance our mentoring relationships and journey.

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/AFBlueLab/?mibextid=LQQJ4d

23 Jan @ 1930-2100 EST Crucial Conversation – Mentoring impact on Diversity and Inclusion (Zoom/Facebook)
Crucial Conversation is a private social media organization that often addresses tough conversation topics from a leadership perspective. They are hosting a virtual panel to discuss the impact that mentoring has on diversity and inclusion. As mentors, we must understand how to connect with and develop diverse airmen to help them reach their highest potential. As mentees, we must help our mentors understand our uniqueness so we can form a stronger mentoring relationship. Our force’s diversity is one of our most powerful weapons and mentoring is a key part of unlocking the potential of each Airmen from all walks of life as they embark on their mentoring journey.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/509141773753762/?ref=share&mibextid=zoDNOU

31 Jan @ 1100-1200 EST Civilian Leadership Development School (CLDS) – Mentoring in Action
The Civilian Leadership Development School (CLDS) will host a Mentoring Workshop to help build this solid foundation of supervisory skills. Supervisors are often the first level of mentorship, and it is crucial for them to be equipped with the skills needed to help develop the mentoring relationship. Experience a Live Virtual Mentoring Workshop to improve employee performance planning, goals, and outcomes.

https://www.zoomgov.com/j/1613669742?pwd=R1hNT0ZpVnJGbTVvaytFREZBcTgrdz09

Meeting ID: 161 366 9742
Passcode: 690808

1 Feb, Us-Mentoring-Us (UMU) (time TBD) – “We Got Next” the Mentee Perspective (Facebook)
UMU is a private Facebook organization that has been highly influential in promoting the message of mentoring across the force. The organization will be hosting an event where they dive into the mindset of mentees and find out their views on mentorship. Mentees must understand how to be accountable in their mentoring journey to help shape a mentoring relationship that allows them to achieve their life goals.  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/557575514611382/?ref=share&mibextid=zoDNOU