Mentorship: Paying It Forward

He might not know it, but watching Daniel Pierce take on the role of Regional Field Sales Director for the Word & Brown General Agency has been as meaningful to me as it has been to him and I’m not ashamed to admit that it’s bittersweet.

I’m proud of his success and the small role I played in it, but I can still miss working side by side with the guy because I consider him a dear friend.

For 10 years we worked together, strategized together and even enjoyed hunting together, and throughout that time I was honored to share in a mentorship with him. I was even more honored to discover that he has been able to take that experience and carry on the legacy in his new role.

In Daniel’s words, “The greatest benefit is that you have an accountability partner, it’s like the friend that’s gonna meet you at the gym every morning to keep you motivated, only it might be about life lessons or about work lessons or even just a sounding board.

“Whether it’s family or business, they’re both the same, there are things we can learn from each other. As long as your mentor has shared values, that’s important, and as long as you are willing to put yourself out there and are willing to learn, you can grow as a professional and as a human being. You don’t have to be friends with your mentor, you don’t need to agree with everything they say, but you do need to be willing to be a little bit vulnerable and open yourself up to feedback.

“From there you eat the meat and you throw away the bone.”

Daniel says he was open to the idea of being mentored early in his career because he looked around and saw that the people that were successful were connected at the hip to people that were even more successful, “People that are willing to be humble enough to do that, to take a step back and ask, what can I learn from you, those are the people that really improve their journey in life.”

The ability to have a mentor is something that I personally think should be highly coveted. Daniel said it well when he pointed out that it means having your own views but then getting the advantage of having another person’s insight as well.

I asked Daniel what he wants his employees to understand about mentorship opportunities and he was quick to point out, “You get to take out what you put in. You have to put in the time. It’s all about consistency and commitment.”

I tend to agree.

Daniel is working to build mentor relationships throughout his inside and outside sales teams. He says the hardest part has been helping people find the confidence to put themselves out there.

“This is about honing your craft,” he explained. “I’ve asked them to take a step back and to find out what they can learn from the person on their right and the person on their left because the difference between someone that’s mentored and someone that isn’t is continued growth year over year.”

Daniel is just as impressive out of the office. He is a loving husband and a father to three beautiful children that are sure to follow in his footsteps. To learn more about Daniel Pierce you can connect with him through LinkedIn.

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