Importance of Leadership

"As a mentor, it is my responsibility to provide a new hire with the tools and resources to be able to succeed on their own. It is important to build their confidence along with their experience, so they feel able to make decisions and stand on their own."

- Jamie John, P.E

No matter what kind of business you're in, good leadership is crucial. Leaders set the tone for the quality of work to be done, make a positive influence on the staff's morale, and most importantly, teach others. At Excel, our leaders not only take on the role of guiding their team, but they also personally mentor our entry-level employees.

Excel Employee Mentoring Program

Each entry-level employee at Excel gets assigned a mentor in their respective department. We have identified a mentor as someone that is a leader within a department that both enjoys and is skilled at teaching.

Once an entry-level hire begins, they will work with their mentor for a minimum of 60 days. In this time, the mentor introduces the new employee to the ways of Excel, from standards to workflows, programs, to the best snacks in the vending machine. The mentor selects the projects and tasks given to the new hire, and gradually raises the difficulty of these tasks until the new hire can confidently work independently. Once the new hire reaches this stage, they have graduated from our Mentorship Program.

We believe that with this program, a new hire can hit the ground running, while also having structured guidance and a designated resource when questions arise. It benefits the new hire by giving them a strong leader to look up to, while also giving our mentors the ability to do something that they are passionate about, teach the next generation of our company.

Thoughts from current leaders at Excel:

Jamie John, P.E. - Engineer III

Question 1: How do you define leadership?

Leadership is being an example for and guiding others. Effective leaders lead in a way that inspires their peers to learn, grow, and do.

Question 2: What is the best advice you've received in your career?

Always remember that, to be a leader, you need to have people willing to follow you. If you cannot lead in a manner that shows respect to those you are leading, no one will choose to follow where you lead.

Ned Derksen - Architect

Question 1: How has leadership impacted your career?

College did not adequately prepare me for entering this career. The early years of employment were a continuation of education by coworkers and leaders who surrounded me.

Question 2: Why is mentorship important?

Mentorship needs to be intentional for it to become successful. It is really an investment in time within someone else to experience growth potential in a team.

Scott Polacek - Project Engineer

Question 1: How has leadership impacted your career?

Leadership has been a driver for me in understanding how best to achieve the results we're after and the ability to withstand the negativity associated with distractions, procrastination, or otherwise misleading topics/people.

Question 2: Why is leadership important?

This is a great program to promote growth and learning from within the company with those who have the ability and more patience than others to help ensure the successful transfer of knowledge and process. It also allows for the mentor to learn new tips and tricks coming from a generation that is typically more in tune with the latest technology, so the trainer gets trained in the process.

View Our Current Career Openings: https://bit.ly/ExcelCareers